The last days in Greece

After four weeks in beautiful and diverse Greece, we are taking the ferry to Bari, Italy tonight at 0:00. It's insane that we have been here for four weeks and even more insane that I still feel like I haven't seen so much. Of course, we haven't been to any of the islands, but we also skipped the Peloponnese and the rugged eastern part of Greece, where it slowly transitions to Bulgaria and Turkey.

In the end, we traveled from Epirus to one Ionian island that is accessible from the mainland, Lefkada, through central Greece to Attica, we just waved at the Euboea peninsula, then entered Macedonia through Thessaly, and finally, we are going to Igoumenitsa in Epirus today to catch the ferry. Since Greece differs greatly in landscape within the country, we probably didn't even notice that we were always traveling in the same country, and we definitely didn't get bored! If someone asks me which part of Greece I liked the most, I probably can't give an answer. The Epirus Mountains and the Corinth Gulf area are definitely high on my list, but that doesn't include the beautiful beaches and bays, where you can easily camp with a camper van at least from mid-September. But what I really like is what Greece now reflects culturally: on one hand, the Balkan influence in the north, on the other hand, the Mediterranean influence from the west of Italy, and finally, the Oriental influence from the east and the times of the Ottoman Empire. The country has natural spots in the mountains where you feel like you are the only person, and then again, cities that remind you of a bustling bazaar.

Besides Athens, Thessaloniki is a city worth visiting. Similar to Athens, history mixes with modernity in this city. The people all seemed very young to me, but it's also a university city. Especially in the evening, the streets fill up and live music is highly valued (despite the bad weather, it poured buckets one evening!). A guide told us that there are no bad restaurants in Thessaloniki, and we can only confirm that. On the first evening, we went to the so-called Bit Bazar. A backyard where one restaurant follows the other. That's where the young people gathered and enjoyed their food in a typical Greek ambiance and typical Greek cuisine. It's worth wandering around the city without a plan because you will always find something you like. I already liked the concept of markets in the entire Balkans, and Hellas also offers a lot of market activities, which is why we couldn't resist visiting the market hall in Thessaloniki.

Currently, we are in the southern Epirus Mountains (at 5 degrees Celsius!) at Lake Aoos, where the pictures speak more than words. You can also check out its unique shape on Google Maps :). But before that, we visited the Meteora Monasteries in Thessaly. They are

My conclusion: there will definitely be a second visit to Greece!