Ultimate Balkans and Transylvania Travel Talk Tour: Thessaloniki, Day 16
Day 16: Sunday 23rd October 2022
Start: Skopje, North Macedonia (Currency: Macedonian Denar)
Finish: Thessaloniki, Greece (Currency: Euro)
Welcome back my literary friends!
Today we sadly say farewell to our Balkans family and progress on to the final leg of our journey; Greece! We were up for 7am breakfast and an 8am departure. One thing I’ve loved about this tour is how consistent the start times have been. It makes it so much easier not to have to adjust your schedule every day. Breakfast at the Panoramic Hotel was really good, not to mention hosted in the Sky Bar with sweeping views of Skopje below. This morning we separate our luggage onto different busses, with the Greek travellers piling into a tiny Mercedes van/minibus.
We commenced a local walking tour with our guide and learned much about the history of Skopje, including taking in the multitude of statues and deities scattered around the squares. On the riverbank sat a pirate ship converted into a hotel and restaurant, which naturally I had to return to and take excessive numbers of photos of. After the walking introduction, we were given an hour to walk around the city and pick up a cup of coffee. I also took this time to thank (and tip) Bojan and Vlad, our guide and driver for taking such fantastic care of us. Vlad took this opportunity to remind me that he was eagerly awaiting an invitation to my ‘husband’ and my official wedding in New Zealand! Then, sadly it was time to say farewell to everyone returning to Sofia as us Greek travellers continued on south. After hugs and goodbyes, we piled into our separate vehicles and departed.
On the minibus we met our new driver and guide and drove an hour and a bit toward the border. A few hundred metres from the border we stopped at a truck stop for bathrooms and snacks, which was hilarious because we left, only to stop fifty metres down the road with a flat tyre. We disembarked and unpacked our luggage to get the spare tyre from the back of the bus, only to discover the spare was also flat! Added to the hilarity; the jack ‘didn’t work’. So, we settled in at our second truck stop (which thankfully had tables and chairs and a restaurant) where we waited for news on what to do next. An hour later we were updated; we will be getting a new minibus/van which should take approximately an hour to arrive.
A couple of us decided to order food while we waited, keeping in mind that when we crossed the border we’d be losing an hour. An hour and a half later, our new bus arrived, which looked suspiciously like the bus we had into Kosovo the night before.
The drive across the border was uneventful, thankfully! Arriving into Thessaloniki was a relief after such a long day (for some of us!). Our local guide jumped into the bus at 6.50pm as we drove in late for the start of our tour. We drove down past the white tower on the water before following the fortress wall up the side of the mountain to the North Tower for photos. The next stop was the Church of St Dimitri where an amazing service was being held in preparation for the official day of celebration on Tuesday 26th October in honour of St Dimitri’s Name Day.
After the driving tour ended, we checked into the ABC Hotel on one of the main streets in Thessaloniki. I was lucky enough to get a room to myself, I suspect because I was the only solo traveller left on the ‘whole’ 19-day tour I joined originally. In fact, only five of us booked the entire trip from Bucharest to Athens, and I intend to get a photo of us in Athens together to send to our original group. The rooms at ABC are pretty basic, but exactly what I needed after a long day (and night). After a quick change, some of us met in the lobby and our guide kindly walked the streets with us, but due to being a smaller group, we went off-plan and ended up finding a local pastry shop selling the most amazing sweets. After having a late lunch, I didn’t feel like eating much, so the thought of a little sweet treat was perfect. Panos recommended these large triangles called ‘Triangular Panoramic’ which were delicious. Like a cross between a turnover and a cannoli, I bought two by accident and am so glad I did! One member of our group described them as ‘like … on steroids’ and he wasn’t wrong. The flaky puff pastry is dipped into hot sugar syrup and piped with a creamy custard filling. Our walk continued back down to the water where we viewed the White Tower (formerly Bloody Tower), wandered along the water past the decorative ships where you can buy a drink (entry is free but you must buy something on board) and sail around the harbour for 20-30 minutes. We then took a series of photos with statues and the real sized spears used in battle in Ancient Greece. Further down the promenade we found the ‘big square’ where a wide marble walkway opens up, ensconced by cafes, restaurants, nightclubs and specialty bakeries.
Tips:
Accommodation: ABC Hotel, Thessaloniki, Greece