Thessaloniki and Interim Report

Day #54

Tuesday, June 23rd.

From Evangelistria to Thessaloniki

Country: Greece

The night was good, no one complained about my presence.

Well, maybe they did, but I didn't notice it.

People seem to be really relaxed here.

Unlike when greeting, where people are usually very reserved.

It looks somewhat exhausting how fixed their gaze is straight ahead.

Maybe I’m just too spoiled from Turkey.

Hornets and other flying insects make me quickly pack up my camp and move a few meters away to pack and have breakfast.

I much prefer the butterflies that settle on my belongings.

Finally, I know which fruits I picked up in Istanbul; they were mulberries. I now have them in dried form in my fruit mix for breakfast.

I already tackled the steepest climbs last night, so today’s tour through the mountains remains strenuous but manageable.

Unfortunately, the descents mostly go straight down, so they are boring and, above all, far too quick.

At least I am covering a few fast kilometers, as the heat is quite intense.

After one last mountain stage, Thessaloniki unfolds beneath me in the early afternoon.

The entrance somewhat reminds me of Istanbul, with multi-lane streets packed with traffic, scooters are back in the mix, and I am somewhere in between.

My first stop is the White Tower, the city's landmark.

After booking accommodations, I ride a bit further along the promenade.

This brings me closer to the part of the city where I saw on the map that there is a bike shop.

So I make a quick detour there and I'm lucky; they have side mirrors.

Check-in works wonderfully smoothly, and the first thing I do is load the washing machine.

For the shower, I have to press the head and wait for warm water anyway.

This is already a known routine.

Since the programs are obviously listed in Greek, I select 30 degrees and 600 spins; it should be fine.

The apartment has a covered rooftop terrace with a clothes dryer.

It's reassuring to let the clothes dry there, as dark clouds are rolling in and it has already been humid throughout the day.

After the necessities are taken care of, I set off on foot to explore the city.

At first, I found it hard to connect with the city; the traffic was too annoying.

That eases with time, and I see some beautiful corners.

During my tour, I spend a long time on the phone with Juri and later with Jenni, and it's nice to have social contacts.

Of course, it was already after midnight when I finally got into bed, and now I need to go to sleep quickly.

Interim Report:

It’s nice to see how far I’ve come so far and it feels great to see it on the map.

I've now covered just over 5000 km, and the bike is starting to creak.

We need to hold out a bit longer; my body is doing well aside from the occasional injury.

Losses:

Shoe covers

X bananas

Two donuts and a cucumber

Rear derailleur broken, but luckily that happened in Istanbul and could be repaired.

Brake replacement in Bucharest was a predictable necessity.

Always found suitable camping spots; something always comes up.

So far, there have been many nice encounters, and I look forward to the rest of the journey and am curious about what awaits me.

Song of the day:

Sebastian Sturm - Time