Athens-Thessaloniki Train, and adventures locating transit to Istanbul

In this latest installment of my Greek adventures, I spend a lot of time sitting down staring at various scenery...

Yes, this was primarily a transit day.  The train between Athens and Thessaloniki is 6-7 hours of beautiful scenery, rolling by a dirty train window at speeds that oscillate between 5 and 70 miles per hour.  This is not as infuriating as it sounds, since at any speed, Macedonian mountains are breathtaking.  It's much easier to snap awful photos at 5 than at 70.

The sharp eyed tourist or overly poetic visitor may note that the landscape in Greece at this time of year is dominated by shades of blue, purple, and green.  I think this is what gives it its unique charm--it's a combination that I don't see much of (naturally) at home, so it is always novel in a way that isn't easy to grasp at first.  Even discovering the mystery halfway through the ride didn't serve to diminish its intensity.

I read a poem, probably by Lord Byron, about the silver of the olive leaves, and at the time I thought "this guy is crazy."  Turns out, he was actually right.  A photo of an olive leaf is clearly green; at a distance, in the wind, and in contrast with the pines and the sky, an olive grove does actually look like silver.

The train system in Greece may as well be 100 years old.  The buildings that whiz past are a fascinating mixture of old and new, with an astounding proportion of them exhibiting the kind of run down lack of attention one would expect from an abandoned town.  Apparently TrainOSE doesn't bother to tear down old stations, either--they simply build a new one 100 meters up the track and relabel the old one "paleo-stathmos," with whatever town's name replacing the dash.  Thus 'Paleosaloniki Stathmos" for the old Thessaloniki station (although no such sign exists, it's the best name I can think of at the moment).  In some places this disrepair is picturesque, in others it is simply a clear sign of financial and demographic problems.

Also along the rails are pillboxes, perhaps every few hundred yards through the mountains, but regularly even through the flatlands.  I don't know the provenance of any of them, but they do show quite clearly Greece's turbulent history in the not so distant past.  Albania is famous for Hoxha's extensive fortification of the countryside; Greece has something analogous, albeit on a smaller scale.  I half expected to find a gun barrel sticking out from of the slit windows, with an evzone glaring over its sights.  Even the old garrisons for the small detachments of mountain troops were evident in a few places, although I don't believe I managed to snap any photos of them.

Our arrival in Thessaloniki was otherwise uneventful.  Our Serbian hotelier showed us to a room much nicer than the one I stayed in during my first trip here (even though it was in the same hotel).  Finding the place turns out to be easier on foot than by cab--the hostel is located in one of the very, very old neighborhoods, with the vernacular architecture of 17th century Greece dominating the scene.  These streets are excellent for wandering, getting lost, or enjoying views; but as any of the taxi drivers we attempted to utilize will tell you, they are a nightmare to get around in, particularly via car.  It took 2 taxis to get us 'home' after dinner tonight, and it would have taken more had the second not made extensive use of his map book, cursed in Greek, and generally lost patience with every other driver on the way.  He was admirably friendly to us, however, and he did get us very close to the hostel--which was much appreciated in the rain.  If there's one thing that is harder than finding a house in such a neighborhood, it's finding a replacement taxi.

Dinner is another story altogether.  After attempting to find an old haunt of mine, and succeeding only to find it boarded up, we stumbled upon a very nice alternative.  The restaurant was called Zythos, and it had quite a collection of traditional Macedonian specialities, as well as a good selection of Byzantine and Ottoman inspired dishes.  Ben and I shared some Kibes (pork and cheese, ground, breaded, and fried), a Macedonian country sausage, Byzantine pomegranate chicken served with mashed potatoes, and lamb meatballs, grilled chicken, tomatoes, and green peppers served with eggplant puree.  All washed down with a bottle of absolutely incredible Macedonian Retsina.  I never thought that stuff could be tamed for respectable restaurant usage--but somehow this particular brand was downright refined.

That's it for now-- we are attempting to find our way to Istanbul tomorrow.  Unfortunately Greek railways have cancelled all of their international routes as a cost cutting move, and no ferries go to Istanbul from any point in Greece.  The bus system is... fascinating here.  That is what we will be attempting tomorrow, but if today's experiences finding the proper bus station are any indication, it may be airports ahoy for us.