A day in Thessaloniki

After the grueling "double day", we were given a day off to rest.  My friends and I boarded a bus with our parents and other members of the USA delegation and drove two hours to the city of Thessaloniki. I have never been to a city quite like this.  It is a very big and crowded city with over 1 million inhabitants.  The city has existed for over two thousand years, and there is evidence of this throughout the city.  Here I'm standing by the city wall that used to encircle the entire city.  Over a century ago, much of the wall was dismantled to allow the city to expand, but remnants of the wall still remain.

 Thessaloniki is the second largest city in all of Greece and an important port city.  We were dropped off by the water to stroll the city on our own, enjoy the sights, do some shopping, and have fun with friends.

The parents seem to enjoy walking around just looking at stuff, but definitely the best part for me is hanging out with my friends.  See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil, and, ummm...pocket no evil? 

They say "it's greek to me", and I understand why.  The Greeks use a different alphabet and it is very hard to read their signs.  Every once in a while, we find a familiar looking place, though.  Here is a Starbucks Coffee (can you say free WiFi?).  Just across the street was a Pizza Hut too.  Some kids were excited by that, but I won't eat at Pizza Hut in the USA, so why start now.

Thessaloniki has a lot of interesting contrasts.  You might find a two thousand year old palace surrounded by modern apartment buildings.  As we strolled along the promenade, you could see several large container ships coming into port, but we also found this small Greek dingy.  My Dad liked the colors, so he took a snapshot.

Modern architecture is mixed in with the old and the ancient.  This "luxury living" apartment building was directly across the street from the promenade and the Aegean Sea beyond.

Thessaloniki is known for its shopping district.  There were many boutiques that you could find in any large city, including those in the United States.  One toy shop caught our eye because they had several unique chess sets displayed in the window, including this Smurf chess set.  I have so many sets already, so we couldn't really justify getting another one, even if they were cool.

Right in the center of the shopping district, we stumbled upon these ruins of the Palace of Galerius.  The palace was built for Roman Emperor Galerius Maximianus early in the fourth century AD.  Nearly two thousand years ago!

There are a lot of stray cats and dogs both in Thessaloniki and at the tournament site in Halkidiki. This one looks a lot like my brother's cat, so we figured his name must be Buddios.

After strolling through the city, we worked up an appetite.  Here a Greek woman prepares my lunch.   

Step 1: pour some batter onto a hot griddle.

Step 2: spread the batter to make a very thin crepe

Step 3: add ham, cheese, and some chicken

Step 4: Eat!

I've never had a crepe before and it was delicious.  My Dad says that they are actually French, and not Greek, but it was still very warm and tasty on this cool, gray day.

In the United States, we don't have cities that are so cramped.  This street was too narrow even for cars.

Thessaloniki is also an important spiritual center in Greece.  The city is filled with churches.  The practice a different form of Christianity than we find in the US.  The churches are Eastern Orthodox.  Allan's father, Harry, was quite interested in seeing the churches with their ornate decorations and interesting architecture.  I'd never really seen people come to worship, so this was new to me.

Churches, ruins, and shopping can get kind of old for a kid, but hanging out with friends is always fun.  Here Kesav and Rayan play blind chess against each other.  They are so goofy.

I think the parents may be more tired than the kids.  While we went to an archaeological museum, some of the parents snuck off for a Greek coffee, a local favorite.  Rayan and Kesav's moms are ready for a caffeine boost.

It was nice to have a break, but the tournament is starting to get really intense.  Next round I will face my second American and third FM, Tommy O He, also from the Dallas chess club.