28.-29. September 2020: Thessaloniki (Greece)

Already on Monday we continue north to spend a few days at Lake Kerkini near the Bulgarian border. The route passes through Thessaloniki and we decide to stop there for at least a lunch break because so many people rave about this city.

Compared to Athens, the houses appear higher to us as we drive through for the first time, the traffic is even wilder, and we are somewhat overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of this metropolis. We are relieved when a parking space opens up right in the center. So we can walk a few meters to the promenade and enjoy the view of the Mediterranean Sea while having lunch. For digestion, we stroll past the White Tower, stop for a coffee, but quickly have enough of city life and want to continue to the national park.

Back at the spot where we parked, the car was still there - but the license plates are missing! Front and back - simply gone. The shock is great - without license plates, we cannot continue our journey and there will probably be a lot of trouble!

What follows reminds us of Kafka's Trial or for the younger ones, Asterix in Rome: From one police station with grumbling children through the bustling city to the other responsible one, where a really nice officer found out after various phone calls with other police units that the license plates were not stolen but were removed by another police force (Municipal Police) because we parked illegally. She didn't know if and how we would get them back - she suggested that we should beg the officers with a guilty conscience, maybe then we would have a chance.

By now it's after 6:00 p.m. and the Municipal Police seems friendlier than expected: We just have to go to the post office, pay money there, and return to the town hall with the receipt to get the license plates back. So quickly to the only post office that is open until 8:00 p.m. so that we can get out of this city - but in vain: It is September 28: Ochi day, a national holiday, where all shops are closed but the post office is not open.

So we unintentionally stay another night in Thessaloniki - exhausted but relieved at least that the license plates are not stolen! The next morning, we have to drive several kilometers across the city to two different post offices and the Municipal Police at the town hall, where various passes Y, Z, and A38 need to be filled out and authorized by different postal and police employees.

But in the end, there is a happy ending, we get the license plates back, can leave the city, and are back on the road.