Thessaloniki, First Day

The drive into Thessaloniki was pretty incredible. There is a vast ravine, I guess you’d call it, with a huge lake at the bottom. You begin from way, way high up in the mountains and wind down to a long stretch through a series of probably a dozen tunnels, with bursting windows of amazing heights in between them. It was really gorgeous.

We arrived in Thessaloniki planning for the women to stay at the monastery in Panorama, a village outside the city about 30 minutes away. With no directions and no phone number, it took us awhile, but we did find it. I had the name wrong, which was a big part of the problem in trying to get accurate information. Sadly, we finally arrived to learn that it was completely closed on Wednesdays and Fridays. Had we been able to call, they may have come and opened the door for us, but as it was we had no recourse. We enjoyed talking to the other pilgrims and 2 priests haging around outside the locked gates as disappointed as we were.

But we headed back into town hoping we could still get a room in the same hotel Fr. Nicholas had booked for himself, Gabriel and Christopher. Thankfully, they could accommodate us in a beautiful room for a good price – 60E, situated on a block in between St. Demetrios church (major monument) and the ancient Roman Forum which is being excavated and is fascinating to see. We decided to forego the monastery altogether and spend more time with the men and less time on the road, so we booked our room for 3 nights, too. We all went out to dinner around the corner and hit our beds pretty quickly. Poor Fr. Nicholas and Gabriel were extremely tired from several very late nights and a long train ride. We were all very happy to be together, though.

Scott and Ethan, staying with friends outside the city, also made it into town. They came to the hotel the next morning and we all set out for Agios Demetrios, venerating his wonderfully fragrant relics, standing in awe inside the beautiful bascillica, and exploring down in the crypt where the origianal bascillica from the 4th century has been unearthed and the site of his martyrdom is commemorated. It was marvelous.

After that we split up. The walking tour which sounded wonderful, passing by many of the major sites, would be too much for Grandma and me. So Emma went with Fr. Nicholas, Gabriel, Scott, and Ethan. They visited the house where Attaturk was born and walked by the Turkish baths, which were closed. They also went to the Rotunda, the Byzantine Museum, and the White Tower, which was also closed. It was a lot of walking and Emma came home beat, but happy.

While Christopher and Basil napped, Grandma and I walked uphill 3 blocks to St. Elias church, which was also closed for the day. I had hoped that most of the churches remained open all day, but they do not. So the only time you can visit is from 9-12, usually, and then during Vespers for an hour or so around 7PM. Only a couple of the most active churches are open all day.

Heading back toward the hotel, we passed a small electrical shop and I tried to go in and get a plug Fr. Nicholas needed. I couldn’t find the door, however, and kept trying a door that belonged to the space next door where there was a guy inside musing at me. About the 3rd time I looked in there, still not able to locate the right door, I saw that he had a paintbrush in his hand, and then, that he was painting a huge icon of the Dormition of the Theotokos on the wall. We stood at the window for a minute marveling at the four painters working within. They seemed to be amused that we were standing there watching them. I finally motioned them to let me in and told them that I paint, too. One girl spoke English and we talked for at least a half hour. It was just incredible.

They were a group of 4 painters working together to do huge paintings on linen to be glued onto church walls. We compared notes and talked trade for awhile, also telling the story of why we were here. I thoroughly enjoyed this and it was a high point of the trip for me. We exchanged numbers and addresses, and I went back later to give them a CD.

That evening, Christopher and I went down to the Metropolis church for Vespers, where St. Gregory Palamas lies. It was an incredibly sweet service and the priest who served spoke with us afterwards and was very kind, Fr. Methodius. We had also visited St. Theodora monastery and church earlier in the day, venerating her relics and those of Osios David.

We met up with everyone else and headed to dinner. We ended up at a Weinerschnitzel German restaurant of some sort and had the best meal yet. We ordered dishes to share altogether, and got some incredible food for about 10E each. We had a whole plate of various sausages and another of grilled meats. The salad stands out in my mind: arugula, very thin hard cheese, pine nuts, raisins, croutons, fried wild mushrooms, and a light balsamic dressing. Gabriel and Fr. Nicholas each had a halfpint of beer and Grandma indulged in a glass of red wine. The kids fed the stray dogs as a quartet of South American singers serenaded us. The table next to us was full of young people in their early 20’s on a study abroad program. Three of them were Orthodox and very enthusiastic to talk with us about their studies and travels and experiences in Greece.