Gerakini is ...
... still a wonderful place to unwind and relax
Well... a lot has happened since the first report (which was a summary of the holidays in '18 and '19)!
Starting with the hotel Possidona Beach:
As I said, I was last there in 2019 and then the sh*t C-time struck here too.
However, Gianna (the owner) made perfect use of this (break) time,
to change their hotel from "typically functional" to "modern, chic, comfortable".
All rooms got new beds, refrigerators, bathrooms, tiles, ...
actually everything was new in all the interiors!
In addition, all rooms also appeared larger due to the large tiles throughout and intelligent lighting.
The son of the house studied design and has impressively brought all of his knowledge here!
You can see a few pictures of it in the gallery...
But fortunately only the appearance has changed - friendliness and approachability are unchanged!
A welcome new addition to the team is Leo(nidas), who looks after the guests attentively, in a friendly and open-minded manner. He works the late shift and then takes over the lobby and serving on the terrace. He also speaks perfect German because he attended a German high school. If time allows, you can have a great chat with him.
Unfortunately, as in Dalmatia, we were unlucky with the weather here:
The so-called "omega weather situation" ensured that we had far too cold, humid and windy weather in Greece:
Did look like this:
But this phenomenon occurred not only here, but in the entire South-East European region in May 2023.
Omega weather situation (WWW)
(Words With a Warning - not funny!)
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But let's start the journey where it began: on departure!
Checking in at Hamburg airport was a DREAM!!
(...and that was NOT meant to be ironic or sarcastic!)
Hamburg Airport was repeatedly in the media because of its complete overload!
After Covid anyway and strangely also at the beginning of '23:
every few weeks other unions one after the other went on strike and
caused an enormous number of flights to be delayed or completely canceled.
It was publicly advised to be there more than the usual two hours before departure.
Our agency even advised us the day before to be there THREE hours beforehand!
But we didn't let ourselves be frightened:
What's going on HERE?!?
You can get lucky sometimes ;-)
In addition to the three already described (Oasis, Mouragio, El Greco) the following are new for us:
Simply furnished but slightly upscale atmosphere
Very good food (especially the fresh fish!) - the tastiest open white wine in town!
And with the "Smyrna" meat rolls they have a unique selling point ;-)
... btw: open white wines:
All restaurants seem to have agreed and sell the wine by the glass for 6 euros
per half liter - Hamburg restaurants should follow this example ;-)
...we discovered 2022 through a tip and visited several times in the off-season.
Very good food here too (the sea bream is served filleted) and very friendly service
and a beautiful view "from above" (it's slightly up stairs) of the sea...
... and now comes a "but" that unfortunately isn't that small either:
But the 4 Seasons takes part in the "Dine Around" of the all-in bunker "Ikos" diagonally opposite. Strangely enough, the hotel guests are largely Americans, who were probably all unlucky - because behavior is literally a matter of luck (so a german saying says)!
A restaurant where four (constantly) screaming (small) children who eat their food everywhere
on and under the table and the parents don't care at all about it,
is pretty much fun-free for other guests!
... they probably haven't heard of the newly invented concept called "education" in Europe
"They" behave towards the staff as if they were still colonial masters and can send their slaves back and forth. You can train good behavior, but you can't buy it!
Again about "Dine Around":
We thought that the participating restaurants would make their mark,
that there is a bottle of wine for two people at each table
(and the bottled wines are significantly more expensive than the open ones...).
But Gianna explained to us that the bottles are provided by Ikos,
and the restaurants don't earn anything from it.
In addition to the 4 Seasons, the Mouragio also takes part in the Dine Around - that's why we only go there at lunchtime.
Name origin Thessaloniki (WWW)
(Words With a Warning - not funny!)
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We actually jumped over the (luxury, priority, private) shadow we had been training for since 2019 and took part in a guided tour in a coach with 50 participants.
It began after a 1:30 journey with a city tour, which was very informative due to the really good guide. Once when we had to cross a busy street, she stood in the middle of the street with her arms outstretched to stop traffic - RESPECT!!
We visited the Basilica of St. Dimitrios (patron saint of the city) and the city wall on top of the mountain, from where you have an excellent view of the stone desert of Thessaloniki. In contrast to Hamburg, there are no rivers, lakes or extensive parks that could enhance the cityscape.
Thessaloniki is every archaeological site supervisor's wet dream! Because the new city is built on the old one (the city was torn down by Saracens and Normans in the 10th and 12th centuries). And in any construction project where the foundation is being laid, the probability is very high that you come across rubble from the past - and that means first of all: construction stop, as the relics must first be viewed and secured!!
Just one example:
Construction work for the subway began in 2006.
While digging they found... CORRECT: remains of ancient buildings... and... Construction stop!
If everything goes smoothly, it should be finished in 2024... I'm taking bets ;-)
This picture shows the Agora of Thessaloniki, which was on the Via Ignatia, which formed the Roman Empire connected with Constantinople.
The Guidine also reports on the big problem of "parkers in second row" in the city center.
The police are now taking rigorous action against them:
If someone is caught there, the police will take off the license plate,
The driver must hand in his driving license and can pick it up again after 6 months.
Hmmmm... nice story, but truthfulness?!?
But back to the Basilica of Agios Demetrios: Here we got some interesting information, which I put into a WWW:
Basilika Agios Demetrios (WWW)
(Words With a Warning - not funny!)
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The guided tour then ended at the market hall, where the 4-hour free time began.
It was very convenient for us because we are both fans of market halls - but: oh dear!
Only half of the stands were occupied and then also by or with hipster offers!
Nothing for us - hurry up to getting out!
Now it was time to spend some time until we reached the meeting point for the return journey. We then visited the local Agia Sofia - but we didn't find it particularly spectacular.
And then we took a (short) tour on a "pirate ship" through the harbor
- with an interesting concept:
The trip itself is free, but you are "encouraged" to order a drink on board.
You can guess it and we somehow knew it:
a small bottle of local beer costs 9 euros!
Amazingly, all 50 participants of the tour were at the meeting point on time at the specified time - well... could also be because a heavy thunderstorm started at the same time ;-)
Back in Gerakini, after a few days, it actually happened:
The clouds disappeared - it became sunny and warm... it was the day of our departure...
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