Tag 62-66 - Deeper, older, warmer!

In the past few days, we have explored northern Greece. Since there are hardly any worthwhile climbing areas here - at least according to our research - we only made a quick cultural tour. For the sake of readability, we will only highlight a few things here.

The first is a real superlative, because the Vikos Gorge is the deepest in the world. At least in relation, as it is 900 meters deep and only 1200 meters wide. Well, that was enough for the Guinness Book of Records.

Whether particularly deep or not, the gorge is worth seeing. The winding roads on both sides, meandering through boulders, are an experience in themselves - not only because of the grazing cattle that can sometimes block the way with a few cows or goats. There are a few great viewpoints overlooking the 10-kilometer-long gorge, the mountains, and the small slate-roofed villages. We were in Monodendri and the uniform roofs and blue-painted shutters create a very idyllic atmosphere.

Thessaloniki is the largest city in the north and one of the most important in all of Greece. It is historically significant, especially in terms of its many buildings from the Byzantine Empire, and also thanks to its intellectual role as a university city. Therefore, our expectations were high, but unfortunately not completely fulfilled.

Maybe it was the rainy weather and the cold that forced us to wear hats and gloves, but the many high-rise buildings and shops in the background of almost every Orthodox church (of which there are admittedly many) somehow spoiled the view for us. The old town within the castle walls appealed to us better, but unfortunately we didn't get there until much later.

At least we were able to refresh our knowledge of Greek history and present, first in the museum of Byzantine culture and later in a lively conversation with two demonstrators. Quite by chance, we found ourselves in the middle of the commemoration march of the student uprising against the Greek military dictatorship.

The Junta ruled Greece between 1967 and 1974 and made significant changes in all areas of Greek life, including education. Resistance was mainly offered by left-wing parties and groups. There were also riots and resistance against interference in the curriculum and professors loyal to the regime at universities. On November 16, 1972, students occupied their institutes in Athens, Patras, and Thessaloniki. On November 17, the military used tanks to violently suppress the negotiable protesters inside, resulting in deaths, injuries, and arrests. In 1973, the universities were returned to their administrations, and in 1974, the decision-making power of the military was transferred to a civilian government.

Every year on November 17, a memorial demonstration takes place. Therefore, despite everything, we are glad to have been in Thessaloniki and to have witnessed this event up close.

In addition, we found our most extraordinary parking space for the night in Thessaloniki, namely on the premises of a caravan sales company. At first, this might not sound so extraordinary, because with a toilet, shower, electricity, and Wi-Fi, this parking space was equipped just as well as an ordinary campsite. However, what was fascinating was the conversation with the owner and the reason for this free, private camper stop. As a child, he and his family, his German mother and his Greek father, also toured Greece and Europe with a caravan. At that time, motorhomes were not very common in Greece and were viewed with suspicion. However, when their home of Thessaloniki was shaken by an earthquake that cost many people their homes, the family imported caravans and set up their own business. Since the business has not been doing well since the economic crisis, many parking spaces on the company premises are empty. In order not to leave them unused and to do a bit of advertising for the spare parts trade, they decided to create a free camper stop. We think that's pretty cool!

Other than that, we don't have much more to tell, except that it has been raining terribly for the past few days. One day we sought refuge in a hot spring, which was a very interesting experience thanks to the rain. If you are in the area, the water in Pozar is a warm 37 degrees and the outdoor pool is open 24 hours a day. Since hot water in the van is a luxury, we really enjoyed our stay there.

Nevertheless, we would prefer it if the rain would stop soon, because next we want to get a close look at Mount Olympus.

Until then, stay superlative!