GREECE TRIP APRIL 1966 - PART 2 THESSALONIKI & BEYOND

GREECE TRIP 1966 – PART 2 – THESSALONIKI & BEYOND

Before embarking on the further travels of this trip, I should explain that my sense of direction is appalling – to the point where though I have a respectable list of O and A levels and higher under my belt, Geography is not one of them so please forgive any discrepancies in directions, timing or whereabouts in any of my travel stories.  Even to this day I still get lost coming out of Marks & Sparks in Bromley.

Tuesday 5th April 1966 we arrived at Thessaloniki and discovered the pre-booked Hotel International now had ‘no room at the inn’, and our expected coach and driver was nowhere to be seen! Luckily we managed to find taxis to the Hotel Metropolis which managed to accommodate our party.  It was not the best of hotels – terrible plumbing (we later realised this was par for the course), and the shutter broke in our top floor room and crash landed in the courtyard below.  A Susan leant out of the window to look at the damage and dropped the bottle of lemonade she was holding, further startling the poor man below already standing in the splinters of said shutter. The first day was spent exploring the pretty town with its Byzantine buildings, pretty churches and ancient monuments. And we found the Greek people very kind and helpful.  Especially the boys.

Next day we were up at 7 a.m. and enjoyed a typical Greek breakfast of warm bread and delicious honey at 9.30 a.m., after which our missing coach and driver – who predictably was called Kostos (there were many of such named men including the king) - arrived and proved his worth immediately by haggling down the cost of our accommodation and then taking us all to a bank to collect our cash.  Strange goings on in the world at that time meant you could not actually take cash in or out of various countries (especially the ones requiring visas such as Yugoslavia) and had to have credit transfers or travellers’ cheques arranged beforehand. 

Then we met the coach which was to be our second home for many days.  I know this trip was over 55 years ago, but even then it was ancient! And rickety…. Which made for an interesting if hair-raising journey along narrow, twisty mountain paths at high speeds, with Kostos constantly turning round to give us a commentary on the countryside en route to Meteora. We passed Mount Olympus, the home of the gods (none seen), and looked down into the beautiful Valley of Contentment.

Meteora itself was very high in the mountains and its claim to fame was four monasteries perched right on the summit.  Food was sent up to the monks by hauling baskets on rope pulleys. Being females we were not allowed much access to the site but it was a wonderful experience.  It poured with rain, making the drive back down terrifying.  We devised and sang a comforting song to take our minds off it : ‘Oh you’ll never get to heaven oh you’ll never get to heaven on an old Greek bus on an old Greek bus..  cos an old Greek bus cos an old Greek bus makes such a fuss….etc etc… ain’t gonna grieve my Lord no more’.. and many more amusing verses until we reached Trikkala, where we lodged in a comparatively posh hotel, the Rex, where again Kostos beat down the price, and the arrival of a bevy of English girls caused quite a stir amongst the male population.

Thursday 7th April was a day I had been looking forward to – we were to visit the Oracle at Delphi! So Friday was a very early start, once again screeching round tight bends on mountain roads (and I thought riding pillion on my boyfriend’s Vespa round London was dangerous!) until the inevitable occurred and a tyre on the coach burst near Lamia. Ha! No help from the Oracle here!

Eventually arriving at Delphi we settled into the youth hostel and having eaten our packed lunches on the rocky hillside, set off to see the sights of which there were many. I have to admit it was slightly disappointing to find that the seat of the oracle was just a hole in the hillside near a sacred pool, but in fact the whole experience was amazing.  There was a museum and temple ruins, and higher up the mountain an ancient treasury near the Oracle’s seat, then an ancient amphitheatre (amazing acoustics) and stadium, which Misses Odder and Fry, being P.E. teachers, found it necessary to race round. The rest of us declined the offer. 

The really amazing thing here was all this history just laying about unattended for anyone to access!  Think how most of our own ancient heritage, for example Stonehenge, has become inaccessible or asking you to pay pay megabucks to enter, no doubt for very good reasons; but there we were in the Swinging Sixties practically having picnics on ancient monuments! After dinner back at the Youth Hostel (address 29 Apollo Street Delphi) we looked round the shops, with ‘Zorba’s Dance’ music playing everywhere, and had an early night as we were off to Athens first thing.

Next morning – Good Friday - after yet another wonderful breakfast we began the drive down to Athens stopping on the way to sample Kostos’s friend’s gift shop offering ‘pretty dolls good prices for pretty English girls’.

Our hotel, the Hotel Demokritos, 40 Kapodistriou Street was just off Ommonia Square in the centre of Athens.  We had the whole day to explore Athens, which was at its beautiful best preparing for Easter.

In the morning we explored the wonderful Acropolis and its surrounding temples such as the beautiful Erechthion with its carved maiden columns the ‘caryatids’, - (which are now replicas, the originals now being in the national museum in Athens and one in the British Museum). I like to think we actually saw the originals.  And high up on the Parthenon hill, we marvelled over the fantastic view of the well-preserved amphitheatre – just as Cliff and his Young Ones left it back in 1963.  Yes – ‘We’re all going on a Summer Holiday’….much singing ensued. As was now fairly predictable, we were pursued by several Greek boys – at least one called Kostos – at the foot of the Parthenon, one of whom purported to be an Egyptian sea Captain – Yeah right.  I still have their photo though!

In the afternoon we coached down to Cape Sounion Head, stopping on the way to dip our toes in the beautiful, incredibly blue waters of the Aegean before arriving at the temple of Poseidon the Earthshaker, God of the sea. We stood or sat by the temple on the clifftop for ages, hoping to see a wonderful sunset: but just being there was magical; seeking out the spot where Lord Byron had carved his name on the temple, still visible today, I’m told. As we sat looking out over the sea with the rays of the late sun sparkling on the water, which as night drew in would soon become Homer’s wine-dark sea, we improvised a song based on the old standard ‘Oh Shenandoah’, the last line being ‘across the blue Aegean..’ Sounds really corny but believe me it was utterly enchanting with our voices wafting away on the warm winds.

Then back to the hotel for dinner and a change of clothes.  We were staying near the Cathedral in Athens and wanted to see the Easter service on the steps.  The pavements were lined with crowds of people, flowers decked the streets everywhere, and we got a good position to see the colourful Easter icon procession and the arrival of the handsome King Constantine and retinue.  Candles were handed round, and at midnight, it now being Easter Sunday, the King lit the first candles near him from his candle, and the light was passed round through the crowds until all the surrounding streets were glowing with soft candlelight. Eventually the crowds began to disperse and everyone made their way back, singing Easter carols. I have kept my candle all these years.

Easter Sunday 10th April dawned bright and hot for our early start to Daphni and Eleusis – but we saw nothing much of the extensive ruins as they were closed, it being a Holy Day.

We stopped at Aio Soteria (Soteria being the Goddess of Salvation and Safety) near an army establishment, where we had traditional red painted boiled eggs for lunch and bought kebabs of spiced lamb barbecued on spits, all cooked over long trenches tended by rows of uniformed soldiers with the words (in Greek of course) ‘Christos Aneste’ (Christ is risen) picked out in stones on the grass.. I’ve never had such tasty lamb since. After a walk through the surrounding countryside, we sat outside a nice little café and were entertained by our driver Kostos doing a Greek dance to the accompaniment of a guitar.

What a good day that was! Then back to rest up for the start of our tour of the Peloponnesos, the southern peninsula of Greece which boasted many ancient sites. 

Watch out Olympia, the HAHGS are coming!