Tragic Thessaloniki

The train journeyed past Mount Olympus and through an area that looked exactly like Meyringspoort. Opposite mom and dad were two young lovers, it became so intense between the two that mom and dad moved to the seats next door. My mom laughed herself silly when my dad tried to put his knife on his belt and when she asked? Wat maak jy nou Flip? En hy sê: nou rape ek jou!

The Thessaloniki station turned out to be a complete dizasta (disaster)! All the lockers were broken and it looked like a junk yard filled with scrap metal, trains rusted and covered in graffiti. I went to the Baggages, waited patiently until a short ill tempered little Greek arrived and when I produced the suitcase of the duchess, he flatly refused to keep it for more than a few hours. Our voices raised a few decibels, I shouted louder and louder, eventually he threw his arms up in the air and sent me to the 1st floor to speak to the station master!

The station master sat in a very sparse office. I explained that my mom is old and that she cannot carry the Baggages therefore it needs to be locked away at the Baggages!!! And I can't help that the lockers are broken!

Always the question: Where are you from! 'Afriki' I say and then he says 'No No No! Not my jurisdiction...private!' By now we are both shouting and he refuses to budge! I say 'We are tourists and you Greeks need our money!' He is swearing at me and the only kind of swear word I know (could be Greek or Portuguese) is molarri (it means donkey)! I now shout: 'you are just a bunch of molarris!' But actually I mean morons! By now the station master laughs so much that he can barely speak! He just says 'pardon madam pardon, I understand, pardon but there is nothing I can do! This is the real Greece!'

The duchess is waiting downstairs at the baggages and when I get back there, I decide there is no way in hell I am going to schlepp this suitcase on and off trains! I decide to find a hotel to store it! I abandon my parents at the station and start wheeling the &@(//;?!! Suitcase through the very run down and dilapidated streets of Thessaloniki.

E...v...e...n...t...u...a...l...y I find a 4* hotel, and at the front desk I tell my sorry tale to the person on duty, the story of broken lockers and the old lady etc! 'No madam sorry madam' and I say, 'call the hotel manager!' He does so indeed and after a few minutes the manager arrives and I say! 'Now sir please show me some real Greek hospitality! You have to help me and store this bag for a month!' 'A month!' 'Yes a month' I say. 'How much money do you want! I pay you now!' Where are you from? 'Afriki' I say, 'but you look Greek' he says! Everybody always think I look Greek or Italian! I have heard this before! I open my purse and ask how much! '€20' he says! I say 'I give you €30!'

Hallelujah the Baggages are sorted! I run back to the station and when I get there my father says there is no train to Sofia! Damn!!! Damn!!! Damn!!!

I run to bus terminal after bus terminal, yes I can go to Albania or Bulgaria but all the busses leave tomorrow morning 8 am!

I buy bus tickets to Sofia and the lady gives me a discount because I have Euro rail! I get back to my folks! Shame they look tired and exhausted!
We have to sleep in Thessaloniki tonight!

We schlepp back to the hotel were I stored the suitcase! The hotel manager is surprised to see me again, 'yes he says we can store our bags for a few hours', 'no I say we are booking in! We are only staying for a night but please give us a good rate!'

St Nikolas has heard our prayers and he gives us a phenomenal rate! And we are back at a hotel with our personalized logo AH, and my dad can use the sauna too!!!

Mom and I then walk through town to the agora and to the Bit Pazar, an old trading area, one of the best kept secrets of the city! It will remain a secret forever as it was totally abandoned, run down and we saw many empty shops! Here and there we saw a few restaurants. But really nothing to write home about!

We saw many many people scratching in dustbins and Africans flogging fake watches and then, the gypsies started to circle around mom! I turned around and showed them that I was going to cut their throats! They backed off but came closer again! I turned around and walked towards them in an aggressive manner. The girl then crossed the street! The boy entered a shop, I looked back and there he was again! I then got very aggressive and he backed off completely! Mom is definitely a soft target ! I will have to keep a close eye on her! Close to the hotel another gypsy pretended that she lost her arm. She walked straight towards mom! I showed her the same cut your throat gesture and then she walked across the street! Phew we are getting closer to Romania and I will have to have my wits about me!

Close to the hotel we found 1 open shop! The most amazing button shop! I bought three buttons as a memory of this strange city.

I got back to the hotel and told my parents that I will be wearing my money belt inside my panty and that all our passports and valuables will have to be in there!

Tomorrow morning I will spend more time in prayer at the St Nikolas chapel, to pray for protection on our journey!

Here we saw the real state of Greece! It is really sad sad sad! No business therefor all the shops close at 2pm in the afternoon. I said to the hotel manager 'Greece should charge for the use of the Olympic flame!' He thought it was a brilliant idea!