21 Apr 2015
My personal Grexit
Since Kos was the last destination in Greece, I should probably wrap up my experience there.
It’s pre-season for a reason
First off, I was there at the wrong time. Well, technically every Greek person assured me that normally the weather isn’t this bad this time of year. The effect was the same though: I remember being cold more often than being warm. I also used my rainjacket way more than my sunscreen.
At the same time, being there before all the tourists was a blessing. Especially on the islands many locals told us various horror-stories about the numbers of tourists that would descend on the small towns like drunk, sunburned and tattooed locusts. If that’s not your thing - it certainly isn’t mine - than you really want to go to the islands outside of main season. Given my experience with the weather, I would probably prefer to go post-season rather than pre-season. That way, the weather might be a bit more predictable.
Nobody told me they hated me
Well, at least not to my face. Coming from Germany, I had some mild reservations about going to Greece. “Sorry your economy is in the toilet, but isn’t it lovely how cheap everything is?”
But somehow this never came up. I didn’t even see any riots in Athens, which was a bit of a letdown, really. No burning flags or Merkel effigies either.
I had several conversations with locals about the whole topic (mostly young people). The consensus there seemed to be that the whole Euro-kerfuffle was a thing of politics, and politics were always fucked up. You know, the elites oppressing the little people like you and I. But you and I, we get along just fine, right?
On the one hand that was reassuring to hear. On the other hand, I could not help but wonder if the fact that I sat right across from them may have moderated their positions a bit. Maybe they they secretly harbored more negative opinions? After all, I couldn’t really blame them for being angry about the economic situation. One way or another, people were consistently friendly, so I have no complaints there.
Everybody here should be fat
Right at the start of my trip, in Thessaloniki, I asked the hostel staff to recommend a restaurant. “You like meat?” they asked back. Those words warmed my heart. Why yes, I do! And meat likes me! Meat and I are made for each other!
From a meat perspective, Greece was all I could have asked it to be. Grilled, fried, cooked, you name it. Meat of course does not make anyone fat. Virtually anything else served here does. The sheer variety of pies, puff pastries and sugary desserts would be enough to give a heart attack a bad case of the beetus (sic). Yet, you rarely see overweight people. Certainly none of the towering hamplanets you tend to get in some Anglosaxon countries.
One explanation must be that most of Greece is built on hills. So whereever you go, you’re either working your way up an incline or doing your best not to fall down one. The other explanation might lie in portion control. Most foreigners clearly sucked at that: On one occasion, two Americans and I devoured a huge serving of juicy, sugary baclava right in the bakery. The digusted look the owner gave us had “You animals!” written all over it. I think we may have obliterated what was meant to be a family serving…each.
The locals seem to pace themselves a bit better: Most restaurants offer decent servings but nothing excessive. Many of the locals tend to consume various greenery with their meat. Maybe that’s their secret.
Damn, it’s a beautiful country
Even ignoring all other benefits Greece has to offer, the nature alone would compel me to go again. I didn’t see a single part (excluding Patisia, Athens) that wasn’t beautiful in some way. You know what I’m talking about, you saw the pictures! Hills, mountains, rivers, cliffs, fields, and of course the sea. Oh, the sea! If nothing else, go there for the sea!
Until next time,
Arne