How I love Thessaloniki! How can you not love a city that you lived in for seven years? Every time I go back, it's like I never left, and yet I can't help but notice how many things have changed.
Of course I didn't go all the way to the north of Greece just t visit a city. I went to visit friends. I used the excuse of a christening to go. And now that I'm back, I have two things to note:
Travelling is good for the soul. You need new sights and experiences every now and then. And the re-visiting of old much loved locations is comforting and comfortable. But more than that, the actual act of travelling, being on the move, riding trains and buses and boats (but not aeroplanes), is strangely freeing and exhilerating. Kerouak knew what he was talking about!
In particular travelling by night in Greece when the weather's hot, induces odd nostalgic and optimistic feelings for me. It makes me feel like everything is possible. It makes me feel like there is nothing but the feeling of here and now, the warm air, the rapidly passing, shadowy landscape, the dark sky. True, it makes me feel maudling. But sometimes maudlin is good.
Most people my age are married with kids. Yup, strange as it seems, I often forget this simple fact. The friends I hang out with in Athens are mostly single - and definitely childless - and the places I go - bars and concerts - are havens for single people like. But this weekend I felt like I walked into enemy territory.
Christenings are the ultimate smug-marrieds gatherings. I was horribly outnumbered. All my friends and aquaintances - plus a large number of strangers - were parading their husbands/wifes, children and baby bumps in front of me. I felt like the token singleton. It was lonely and strange and a little bit depressing.
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