Thessaloniki

 February 28

Anton took this Find Frankie shot of the ship:

Thessaloniki is the 2nd largest city in Greece, population 815,000.  It is part of Macedonian Greece (not to be confused with North Macedonia LOL) and has a history of over 2300 years.  It was founded in 315 BC by King Cassander of Macedon who named the city after his wife Thessalonike (half sister of Alexander the Great).  This was after he had killed Alexander the Great's mother and children.

imagecredit https://www.britannica.com/place/Thessaloniki

There is a subway in this city that took 20 years to build because every time they started to dig, they found more archaeological ruins.  The streets are narrow and windy, and parking is a nightmare.  So many times we saw cars that were double parked.  They just leave their name and number on the car they are blocking so they can come move when needed.

This is another city with ties to the Apostle Paul.  He established a church here around 50 AD during his second missionary journey.  He faced intense opposition which led to riots and he was forced to leave after only 3 weeks.  The first Biblical letters that he ever wrote were to the Thessalonians, dated around that time.  He wrote it while in Corinth.  The letter focused on hope and endurance during hard times:

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

In 1917 the Great Thessaloniki Fire broke out when refugees were frying eggplant.  Dry conditions and a strong wind fanned the flames for 72 hours, and it didn't help that Allied forces had taken over the city's water supply for their nearby military camps.  The fire destroyed a third of the city and permanently altered its identity.  There were no fatalities, but 70,000 people were left homeless.  A large proportion of them were Jewish, and this led to a mass migration of the Jewish population to France, Palestine, and the US.

imagecredit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Thessaloniki_Fire_of_1917#/media/File:Aftermath_of_the_Thessaloniki_Fire_of_1917.jpg

Today we decided to stick to the included tour called Scenic Thessaloniki.  Basically a 4 hour bus tour.  We booked the earliest one so we could have the afternoon free.

We started at the Church of St. Demetrios, a 5th century Byzantine church built over the ruins of a Roman bathhouse.  A Roman soldier named Demetrius was said to have been imprisoned here because of his faith, and martyred by spearing in 306 AD.  Much of the church was destroyed in a fire in 1917 but rebuilt using plans from the 7th century.  We arrived during the service (Liturgy), there were a surprising number of locals there.  We couldn't wait until it was done because their Liturgy can take 3 hours.  We heard a lot of chanting, and watched as they took Communion.  The priest dunks the bread in the wine, and then uses the same spoon to place communion directly into the mouths of the parishioners.  Ugh!

There are some mosaics and frescoes that survived the fire.

Demetrius' relics are in the main nave of the church.  He is known as Demetrius the Myrobelite because 

his tomb exuded fragrant myrrh in the 10th and 11th centuries.  Well, not all his remains are here.  His remains were stolen by the Ottomans and later found (labelled) in Italy.  Italy returned most of him, but kept some for themselves.

Beneath the main church is the Crypt where you can see the Roman bathhouse ruins and other artifacts.

 Next, the group went to the White Tower of Thessaloniki:  an Ottoman fortress and former prison about 500 years old.  It has been called The Tower of Blood due to it being an execution site.

This is the statue of Alexander the Great, even though he never technically visited here.  But there is no statue of King Cassander who founded the city.

These are life-sized spears:

We spent time at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki which has artifacts from the Prehistoric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods.  It has the largest collection of golden crowns (wreaths) in the world.

Next to the Acropolis which is the highest point of the city, for Panoramic views of the city and the Thermaic Gulf.  The old city walls are from the 5th century.

We got back to the ship at 12:30 and had a quick lunch at the buffet.  Since we were the early ones back, Frankie was able to have a gluten free pizza made for her.

In our room, we had a surprise message on our phone.  They noticed that our handle is broken on our luggage and offered to fix it for us.  We think it got broken somewhere at the Athens hotel, because it worked at the airport.  Not sure why they waited 3 days after boarding to contact us about it, but impressed that they did.

After dropping off the broken luggage, we made our own way into the city for a walkabout.  Oops, Frankie had to use the washroom.  Can she go in that Starbucks?  Oh oh a keypad directing us to punch in the 4 digit code on our receipt.  Hey, that guy at that table has his receipt beside him.... We're in!

We walked along Nikis Avenue, a seaside promenade along the waterfront.

This was the Palace of Galerius, Roman emperor from 305 - 311.  Well, really just his summer home.

Next we found the Arch of Galerius (the locals call it Kamara).  It was built in 305 AD to celebrate Emperor Galerius's victory over the Persians.

Near the Arch of Galerius is the Rotunda, built in 306 AD to be Galerius's mausoleum, although he ended up being buried somewhere else.  It was converted first into a Christian church, then into a mosque during the Ottoman period, which is why there is a minaret on it.

Unfortunately the Rotunda was closed, possibly due to the huge crowds of demonstrators that we inadvertently found ourselves amongst.  Oops!  There were thousands and thousands of demonstrators marching down the main roads, carrying signs and chanting.  They were almost all young people.

At one point we heard several loud bangs.  Firecrackers?  All of a sudden the white-helmeted police came running.

Anton was quite nervous but Frankie was fascinated to watch what was going on.  For the most part the demonstration was peaceful.  The worst we saw were some large garbage bins toppled into the street.

We stopped and asked some young people what the chanting was saying.  It was all Greek to us!  Yes, we've been waiting to say that tee hee.  The girls told us that the chanting was protesting the lack of transparency by the government regarding the train crash.  They were offended by the crash being called an "accident" and no one has been taken into account for it.

imagecredit https://abc7ny.com/post/larissa-greece-train-crash-derailment-two-trains-collide/12895540/

e sunseth

The sunset was at 6 pm as we were eating dinner.

Volos

 February 27

Our ship left Athens at 5 pm last night.  Here is a map of our sailing itinerary:

imagecredit https://www.vikingcruisescanada.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/eastern-mediterranean/greek-odyssey/index.html

We could feel the ship really making time overnight, but by morning we had docked in Volos and all was still.

Volos is a coastal city on mainland Greece, halfway between the 2 largest cities of Greece:  Athens and Thessaloniki to the north.  According to mythology, Volos was the starting point for Jason and the Argonauts.

imagecredit https://the-past.com/review/travel/volos-archaeology-and-myth-in-thessaly/

However, we did not see much of Volos at all.  Today we booked a full day excursion to Meteora, a 2 hour bus drive each way, travelling through the plains of Thessaly.  These are monasteries built "where meteors fly".

From the 9th to the 11th centuries, Christian hermit monks lived in caves to seek solitude and to practice extreme asceticism.  

In the 14th century, the monks decided to move to escape instability and Turkish occupation. The monks decided that the top of these rocks would provide the perfect peaceful isolation.  Eventually 24 monasteries were built here, 6 of which are still active and now open to the public (they rotate which one is open each day).  We visited 2 of them today.

imagecredit https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/case-studies/a9497-meteora-monastery-in-greece/

In the 1920s, visitors were pulled to the top using a net pulled by a rope.

imagecredit https://tbeartravels.com/2012/10/28/day-1-meteora-greece/

Thankfully, today we can access the monasteries on rock-carved steps or by bridges.

The Germans bombed the monasteries during WWII and stole many valuable art pieces which were never returned.  There is a painting that depicts a story of a Nazi officer who was trying to climb to the top to replace the Greek flag with the Nazi swastika.  One of the monks began chanting. Lo!  A miracle!  The soldier lost his footing and fell to his death.  Guides often caption the painting as "Another One Bites the Dust".

imagecredit https://projectstranger.navisioglobal.com/2018/02/16/suspended-in-air/

The monasteries have a strict dress code:  shoulders must be covered, and women MUST wear skirts.  Since most women tourists sensibly wear pants while climbing, wrap skirts are helpfully provided.

The first one we visited was St Stephen's Monastery.  It is the most accessible because you can park in the parking area and cross a bridge and you are there.  The bridge used to be portable for privacy but now it is permanent.  Thirty nuns live in this monastery, rotating jobs.

imagecredit https://www.viking.com/myjourney/shore-excursions/2026-02-27

Our guide Efi took us through a courtyard and few rooms, that is all that is open to the public.  The rooms were tiny, not bigger than our kitchen, and really could not fit more than one tour group at a time.  We are glad we are not here in the summer!

We were not allowed pictures inside, so we bought some post cards in their tiny gift shop.

Back on the bus, then a quick stop for pictures of the Holy Trinity Monastery.  Three monks live here.  It is known for its dramatic location and for being a film location in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only.

Then we visited the Roussanou Monastery, dedicated to St Barbara.  Ten nuns live here.  The bus parked higher up and we hiked a 10 minute trail to get there.

This was much the same as the other one, but it had a nice garden.

Views from the balcony:

Then we climbed down again about 90 steps to reach our bus (clever bus driver!) and had lunch.  We ate with another Canadian couple we just met, Monette et Guy.  They both spoke French and Monette was really happy to speak French with Frankie.

We got back to the ship at 5:30 pm.  The bus dropped us off and they told us to get onto a shuttle.  They crammed 2 bus loads of people onto the shuttle.  The shuttle went around the building, and our ship was right there, 200 meters away.  Everyone on the shuttle started laughing.  Oh well.

Since we had finished eating at 3 pm, we were not hungry right away.  We went to the 6:30 pm talk about Greek culture which was fun.  We likely won't go to many of these talks because they are at a stupid time.

We had a very nice (LATE!!!) dinner with our friends Kathy and Kelly that we met on the pre-tour.  We are calling them honourary Canadians since they are so nice.  And they would be very happy to be Canadian LOL.

We have been warned that there is a planned demonstration tomorrow where we will be going.  It is the 3rd anniversary of the mega train collision.

Corinth

February 26

Today the ship is still in Athens.  We've seen a lot of Athens, so we signed up for the excursion to Ancient Corinth, an hour and a half away by bus.  

And yes, we have already seen the Corinth Canal but we didn't know it would be a duplicate stop.  Exactly duplicate LOL.  They stopped at the exact same shop for the washroom break, and we got the exact same view of the canal.  Although the lighting was different today.  It was sunnier today, and we found the shadow of the bridge interesting.

On the way to Corinth, the guide talked and talked.  Then she noticed that most people were sleeping, so she stopped talking for awhile.

One thing she said that stuck with us:  the word "Mediterranean" literally means "middle of the world" (mid terra).  And if you look at a flat map of the world, they are not wrong.

imagecredit: https://www.alamy.com/3d-rendered-country-map-locator-pointing-on-a-global-destination-on-flat-world-map-symbol-carries-greece-flag-isolated-illustration-with-copy-space-image409555626.html

The remains of ancient Corinth are about 5 kms away from the modern city of Corinth.  Ancient Corinth was one of the most powerful and prosperous city states of ancient Greece.  It was strategically located and controlled vital trade routes.  

Our guide started us off at the small Archaeological Museum here.

This is the Fountain of Peirene, a famous ancient spring system with several chambers, once decorated with elaborate frescoes.

The Temple of Apollo was built around 550 BC and is one of the oldest Doric temples in Greece.  Seven of its original columns still stand.  That is amazing!

Most of the ruins you can see here were part of the Agora, or marketplace.

Anton was most impressed by the Acrocorinth.  It is a medieval castle perched on a rock 575 meters above the ancient city.  It was a military stronghold for over 2500 years!  But don't go visit without your boots.  The area is full of  Ohia vipers, the only venomous snake in Greece.

The Apostle Paul lived and preached in Corinth for 18 months around 51-52 AD.  He was put on trial at the Bema, a platform (seat) where Governor Gallio made public rulings.  This is actually confirmed by other archaeological findings.  A stone inscription at Delphi mentions Gallio and matches the dates from the following passage from Acts 18: 1,12-16,18

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.  While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law."  Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you.  But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law-settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things."  So he drove them off.  Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time.

After being put on trial at the Bema Seat, Paul used his experience of judgement and wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:10

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Here is the Bema Seat:

After the tour while on our way to the bus, we stopped and bought a little urn for our mantel.  The shopkeeper told us to go see his workshop, which was interesting.

We got back to the ship at 1:30.  We popped into the buffet for a quick lunch.  Frankie was able to talk to Grace the head waitress again.  We received a menu in our stateroom and Frankie knew she was supposed to do something with it, but what???? Okay, order ahead.  Got it.  Too late for today.  

After lunch we went off the ship for an hour.  We made our way to the St Nicholas Church Piraeus.  No, not Santa Claus.  St Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors and the Greek Navy. The church was built between 1879 and 1902.  

Frankie was most impressed by all the identical rugs covering the beautiful marble floors.  There must have been 100 of them.

On the way back to the ship (via a pharmacy), Anton grabbed an orange off a tree and decided the oranges are NOT ripe yet!

We stopped at the Duty Free shop and Anton accidentally knocked over a row of tiny metal Trojan Horses.  They went down like dominoes!

The ship left Athens at 5 pm.  As we were pulling out, we got a good view of that poor Celebrity ship that is still stuck in port.

At dinner we asked for a table that was not too close to other tables, a lot of people seem to like to wear perfume at dinner.  We got seated at the very back of the restaurant which is the back of the ship.  Great, no people, but the waitress reeked of perfume!  Grace came to see how we liked our spot and said she would set us up here in the future.  We said no, we didn't like the perfume the waitress was wearing but would deal with it tonight.  Two minutes later Grace shows up with 2 different waiters and has them waft themselves at our table.  One was okay, and he ended up serving us the rest of the night.  We found the situation rather comical.

And just for good measure, Grace had Frankie fill out her choices for tomorrow night's dinner.  No forgetting allowed!