top of page
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Goodbye Europe, hello Asia

  • Foto van schrijver: Cycling4Education
    Cycling4Education
  • 27 jun 2022
  • 3 minuten om te lezen

Travelling further east is meeting a totally unexpected Greece.

At the coastline we enjoy beautiful beaches in pure nature where no living soul is to be found. 3 kilometers from the sea, we discover a few hot (and sulphur-smelling!) springs behind a semi-closed fence, in a ghost town that was a ‘spa’ resort (nature has already taken over again) in previous life.

We travel through the Nestos Delta and for 2 or 3 hours it seems like we are in the Netherlands – very green, flat farmer’s landscapes pass by - with Orthodox churches maybe being the most capturing difference.


It might be the changing weather, summer approaching, or just a geographic difference; but suddenly the mosquitoes are again in full action, eagerly attacking us on the camp sites. We also encounter numerous little frogs and turtles on the road (our in the bush well… having sex?) as well as storks flying over.


After 2 days, Turkey and Bulgarian influences are getting more accentuated. Little beach towns are all of a sudden densely populated by loads of Bulgarian tourists (with equally the first and second language to be found on menus/on camping information boards, …), we finally encounter our cheap Zottis yoghurt again (in Greece all the other yoghurt is SO expensive! – something we hadn’t imagine at all before!) and go to bed with Balkanish music in our ears.


A day later, 60 kilometers further, while looking for a camping spot, the villagers suggest us to sleep in their mosque, an offer we accept with pleasure.

The villagers seem curious and come by for a talk while we are sitting at the square of the mosque. The ones we can speak with are those who have been living some time in Germany! (surprise! – it’s remarkable how the majority of the inhabitants we speak with, have lived some time in Germany!)

Later, we walk through the village and hear that the whole village is Muslim – all woman wear a headscarf, some people speak Turkish, in the supermarket we find many Turkish products: a little introduction already to what’s coming next!

During our walk we meet Adnan again. We already had a chat with him before his prayer in the mosque, and now he invites us for a chat and some drinks later that evening at the local café.

Adnan worked 30 years for DHL in different places in Europe, but mostly in Germany.

We talk about the negative economic spiral that the war in Ukraine created – and how even, long before, products were getting more expensive. But although Adnan is worried about the future, he is glad about him living in this little village where he knows everybody. He proudly shows his grandson – a three-years-old little roguish rascal. Adnan is just happy with the simple things in life. With that advice in a mind and a bag full of cherries plus bread, we return to sleep in the mosque as the sky is lit by the lightning bolts of a thunderstorm passing by.


Today is the day of the Greek hospitality.

It starts with the free coffee and tea in the cafe where we have drunk something the night before with Adnan. Some villagers are already drinking the famous Greek cold ‘café frappé’ and we have a little conversation in minimal English/German – two of them were seaman (marines) in the past on ferries.

As we enter a church square, we ask the man sitting there if the water from the tap in the middle of the square is drinkable. He nods but invites us to his little house next to the church. He reveals to be the calm and thoughtful priest of the orthodox church and offers us 2 cafés frappes, water and 2 slices of cake.




Afterwards, we pass a beautiful but heavy gravel track through the hills and arrive hungry as always at a little village, but everything there is closed (we don’t like Sundays anymore).

While searching for food, we meet a French speaking villager who lived for years in Brussels where he worked for the EU! It’s such a lovely man – and of course he gives us an ample lunch again (Greek salad, bread, cheese, nectarines and watermelon – we don’t manage to eat it all completely but it is delicious!).

As evening is falling, I’m typing this words before a church looking out over the Greek hills on the left. On the right the hills flatten to a plain where we will cross the Turkish border tomorrow.

A strange feeling – finally we are ready to say goodbye to Europe and dive into Asia.



 
 
 

Recente blogposts

Alles weergeven

Comments


© 2023 by Site Name. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page