Durch Griechenland: Florina

4. September

Early flight to Thessaloniki. At 10 o'clock in the morning we land and immediately take the next bus to Florina. From there we want to go to the Prespas Lakes on the border to Albania and Macedonia. Not quite easy, as we quickly discover.

The bus doesn't leave again until Friday and our hitch-hike attempts fail miserably. Few vehicles pass by, and if they do, they turn for home at the next corner.

We look for a hotel in the small city center. First we rest a bit after the long journey. It is already dawn when we set out on our first exploration tour. We like Florina right away. When we were on the street earlier, the town looked deserted. Now it is alive.

The main artery is a small street full of lounges, cafes and bars. The Greeks are coffee fools. They either sit together at the little table and sip their espresso on ice or hurry through the alleys, a cup of chilled cappuccino in their hands.

It is our first evening. We treat ourselves to delicious chicken and vegetable souvlakis, stuffed eggplant and a refreshing salad in a small restaurant. Back at the hotel, a little ouzo helps us digest the oily food.

5. September

Yesterday evening I corrected via e-mail Thomas' report about the „Globetrotter Simon Hasenfratz"for the Aargauer Zeitung. Somewhere I could read that "Simon is not a jack of all trades who knows great luxury".

I lie on my big hotel bed. Outside on the balcony we have the best view of the city and the mountains that surround it. Well, sometimes I too take a vacation from my otherwise deprived lifestyle.

Our room is perfectly situated. From a height of thirty meters, I have a unique view of the people strolling through the little town or just standing around a bit. And smoking. I noticed that yesterday. Nowhere these ugly prohibition boards, which are supposed to keep smokers in pubs and public buildings from pursuing their needs. They are all allowed here. There's an ashtray in the hotel room, too.

Below, posters and advertisements hang on a utility pole. I observe an older gentleman looking at one. I wonder if it's his election poster? Which is outdated? Or does he not like what it says? I can't judge for sure, because the scene is taking place too far away. Besides, Greek is difficult to decipher.

The gentleman pulls it down with a jerky movement, crumples it into a respectable ball, which he drops to the ground and disappears into a corner with a discreet kick. Then he clasps his hands behind his back, looks to the left, to the right and crosses the street with an unconcerned expression on his face.

The age groups are striking. On the one hand, many children and young people. On the other - mainly male - old people who meet in one of the numerous cafes or on the street. In between all the others. Mothers with strollers, craftsmen, cab drivers. I like the city. People seem happy with themselves. They smile. They have what they need.

The sky also shines in the purest blue. There is no need for a cloud to adorn it. The sun warms, she does not droop. It is clear that she also contributes to the joy of life.

Nevertheless. I would like to touch the people and their everyday life just briefly. Fleetingly roam and be part of them. I never want to change places with them. Stay nowhere, always move on. Like an endless story.

8. September

They have been on my mind for a long time. When I first saw pictures of them, I guessed China. Huge bare rocks, on which they have put monasteries in the most impossible places. I was wrong. The Meteora monasteries are not in China, but in the interior of Greece.

And now, finally, the huge boulders pile up in front of us. Early in the morning we set off on a hike through the rocks. The area is impressive, but we can't quite concentrate on it at first. A whole swarm of horseflies surrounds us and stings as soon as we stop waving our arms wildly in the air.

Soon, however, the sun is higher in the sky and the buzzing invasion disappears. The views are simply magnificent. The rock giants alone can leave one speechless. If I then imagine the hardship of building entire castles in such exposed locations... Indescribable!

As everywhere, where beauty shows itself, mass tourism clouds the picture. There are connecting roads up to some monasteries. Cars and tour buses are parked in front of the monasteries. A mob armed with cameras creeps around. We prefer to avoid this spectacle and flee back into the crevices of the rocks. Here we meet only a few hikers. Climbing along the steep paths sometimes becomes an ordeal. The views and the tranquility of nature, however, are always rewarding.

10. September

An early four-hour train ride takes us from Kalabaka to Athens. We stroll through the streets and remember our last arrival in the Greek capital. That was in the middle of the night. After quickly finding a hotel, we decided to take a nightly stroll through the strange alleys up to the Acropolis. We spent a wonderful night.

Now it is still light. Unbelievable how many neglected people we see. Poverty and drugs - a final mixture. Sometimes like zombies, barely able to stay on their feet, they stand out among the other city dwellers.

Here we dared to go out at night? Were we more carefree back then, or did the situation get that much worse? Did we just not notice? No question. Today we stay at home. On the way back to the hotel we try not to get lost.

11. – 18. September

After almost five hours on the ferry, we finally arrive on Paros. We quickly notice that the sun is burning here after all. Without the wind that often blows across the island, it would be almost unbearable. Only in the evening, when it slowly approaches the horizon, it becomes pleasantly cool.

These are the hours when we usually sit down at Yannis' café in Piso Livadi. Vroha's café. As soon as we arrive, he shows us the refrigerator behind the bar: "Here. Help yourselves. You are at home here!" No argument.

Yannis Vrohas lernten wir zusammen mit Agelos und Nikos (der auf Korfu eine Bar führt) in Mexiko kennen. Wir lachten selten so viel wie in jener Zeit. Hier beweisen sie, dass Herzlichkeit in ihrer Natur liegt.

Yannis as well as Agelos are most of the time only seasonally in Greece. They like to spend the winter half-year together or individually in India or anywhere else in the world where their little savings allow them to travel.

In these years, things are not looking so rosy in crisis-ridden Greece. Nevertheless, the difficult times are hardly able to dampen Greek optimism. On the contrary. The crisis has brought them even closer together.

Wir kommen zur richtigen Zeit. Der sommerliche Hochbetrieb auf der Insel ist vorüber. Tags nach unserer Ankunft kommen wir in den Genuss einer Bootstour mit Yannis, Agelos und vielen ihrer Freunde. Das Meer leuchtet in den verschiedensten Blautönen. Ich habe es selten so klar und sauber erlebt. Den ganzen Tag kurven wir den Inseln entlang, schwimmen durch Höhlen, springen von Felsen.

Nach ausgiebigem Mahl und nicht endendem Trunk kehren wir erst abends um halb elf wieder im Hafen von Piso Livadi ein. Ein kleiner Schönheitsfehler ganz zum Schluss: Beim Einparkieren verhadert sich die Schiffsschraube im Ankerseil eines anderen Boots. Unser Capitan muss tauchen gehen und bekommt die Schraube nur mit Mühe wieder frei.

Eat, drink, sing and celebrate. That's what Greeks are good at. Our friends often invite us to this and that party. They don't want to know about us paying for them. I tried more than once. In the end, I hardly dared to pull out my wallet.

19. September

We leave in the morning for Athens airport and fly to Milan, where the train brings us back to Switzerland.

We confess: A short vacation before the exhausting traveling has something. Now we know pretty well what will and what won't be packed for our South America trip. I'm afraid our backpacks will be full to bursting on October 3!