I found myself back to my hometown during the holidays and I could not help but visit downtown. Here is a brief overview of what I saw:
Street musicians
I really like seeing street musicians putting their heart in their art, especially during the cold weather. People were appreciative too, with many of them stopping to admire, toss some coins and even offer a round of applause at the end of the songs.
People
You can’t help but notice how alive the city is during these days. Thessaloniki is a city that has people walking around downtown pretty much every day of the year, but it it these days that the pavement was actually difficult to traverse, due to the massive amounts of passerbys and window-shoppers walking around.
You also cannot help but notice all the rest of the people that do not or cannot participate in the festive mood of these days. Some are employees that have to work excruciating hours, others are homeless and hope they can get an extra coin or two from passerbys (in hopes they get to pass these days in a bit of a brighter mood).
The City Itself
Thessaloniki has a lot to see. It is not a beautiful city the same way other European cities are, but it has its own very special charm, especially in the downtown that cannot be beaten.
The city deserves its own story which I will definitely post some time in the future.
