The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.

-Saint Augustine

Picture this: you are riding with your favorite human (or your travel buddy, you companion and etc ) down a road towards a place you have absoluteky no idea what you will see, who you will meet, what situation is going to change the way you think. The anticipation is building up with every mile the car is taking. You are looking out the window where trees, lights, cars and animals pass you by almost as if you’re trying to numb out the nerves.
For some reason, as the sky is turning darker and darker, you find solace in that car ride.

You feel as if the world is slowing down, in a way, to give you a chance to appreciate where you are at that very moment.

When the Corona Virus started becoming a very alarming subject, a pandemic, when people started dying and when governments started voting and deciding on laws to lock you in your house for your own protection, I felt as if I was trapped. I know most of you felt this way.

During the first lockdown we had the opportunity to discover some things about ourselves, but now that we know where we stand as human beings we want to experience every single moment we have.

It wasn’t easy for me to go on that trip to Serres, mostly because everybody was saying that Serres were very close to be on lockdown (now they are), so I was terrified that I would stay stuck there and not be able to come back home. Even so, I took the risk to travel with all the right and appropriate means, such as masks, antiseptic tissues and generaly every single antiseptic product I could find. I wanted to make sure that my hygiene would not suffer at all.

You see, I was traveling to the birthplace of my “favorite human”/ companion, as I so poetically put it before, and so we were going to stay at a family house of my companion. From that end, I must admit I was feeling more at peace. Being in a house with people who are equally cautious about the pandemic is helpful. It was the rest of the world I was kind of worrying about, without obsessing like a crazy middle aged woman that acts like she doesn’t know how to protect herself.

To be honest, I consider myself lucky to be able to view all the beauties I had the honor of seeing up close before coming back home to continue living the restricted life people serving the law have forced upon us. Who would have told us that one day we would be unable to go out for a drink or coffee without a medical mask.

Nevertheless, Serres is an amazing place in Greece, like a small gem that over Thessaloniki, which is one of the biggest and most famouse cities in Greece, is blooming in its own glory. A Macedonian City, rather advanced for its side with shops and college students and the most important thing, very well built streets and highways.

Considering the fact there are many college students there, the city is quite advanced with roads that are controlled by sensible stopping lights, specially designed roads for bike riders, there is a store for any little thing you can think of and it’s filled with flowers and a beautiful fountain at the centair of the Eleutherias square that is creating a very magical and calming atmosphere.

Serres, to me, looked like that high advanced little greek town that has everything like Athens, but without being as crazy with people and multiple cultures as Athens is. The fact that it’s so close to Thessaloniki, the second capital of Greece has a lot to do with its glory and beautiful architecture.

If you ever get the chance, visit Serres it’s worth it.

Now, let’s dive in to my most memorable moments.

ROCKPAVED STREETS

Apparently, Serres has it’s own rock paved market of some sort. It’s a long road where people can walk or ride a bike – no cars allowed technically- and on your right and left store after store is open with its bright lights on every window to gt your attention lighting up the entire street. It was most beautiful at night, where I had the joy of walking the street as if I had all the time in the world.

THE VIEW FROM ABOVE

Let’s be real here, there is not a single saane person in this world that doesn’t appreciate a nice long view from above. I had the pleasure of visiting City Zen which is a coffee shop at a hill a bit over Serres that is overlooking the entire city. The view is worth the car ride up the mountains, the coffee shop is built at what seemed to be the edge of a cliff and from whatever angle you decide to sit you have a clear view of the city.

Tall trees frame the view as if it’s a painted canvas by God himself.

The coffee shop offers delicious coffee, combined with the majestic view it was definetely one of the highlights of my trip.

THE KERKINI LAKE

Artificially made lake on 1932 that is the home of many animals, like protected types of fishes and birds. It has a very impressive barrier and the view from every angle is quite breathtaking. I enjoyed how loud the water slammed its body over the barrier and how peacefully the water ended up on the lake like it hadn’t just go into a terrible battle.

A little boat was available at their small wooden built port in order to take you on a small trip around the lake. Now, I didn’t go on that trip but from what I saw by watching the people who went there, the boat just takes you around the edges of the lake while the guide talks about the creation of the lake and stuff like that.

At the hill above Kerkini lake a grand hotel is built. The hotel overlooks not only the lake, but the surrounding fields as well. Little sheep and other animals walking around is a huge plus in the general beauty of the place.

Enjoying a nice hot coffee overlooking the Kerkini lake definetely worths your time there, especially if you are one of those people who appreciate the beauty of nature. The peaceful energy, the hot coffee, the good company in addition to everything made this small 30 minute trip from Serres to Kerkini a valuable time.

THE UMBRELLAS MEET THE WHITE TOWER

You can’t go to Serres without passing by Thessaloniki and I am not only talking from a geological point of view.

Thessaloniki is a must have spot that everyone should visit at least once in their lives. Thessaloniki is basically a small, more approchable version of Athens. It is filled with people of all kinds and ages, a lot of students are also there because of ΑΠΘ which is a big college town with subjects like English, Maths and other relevant subjects.

Thessaloniki has a big port that is called The Beach, but it’s not a beach. It’s almost like a port with no boats whatsoever that Thermaikos has set camp there. Not the cleanest waters, but they blend very well with Thessaloniki’s atmosphere and the combination of a busy city and a near water town.

The Umbrellas along with the White Tower is one of the most importants sights there. Most people tend to photograph themselves by holding one of them while surrounded by the best. I don’t like doing what everybody else so I just took a photo of them.

And my ‘favorite human’/ companion took a photo of me in front of them. That’s how good comunication and knowing the importance of a good Instagram post works.

At the same time, the White Tower is also a significant sight to see. Placed near a central square and a busy road where most people pass by, the White Tower is viewed and portrayed in every post card that is regarding Thessaloniki.

Under the night lights and the shiny glow of the moon, the White Tower is surely a sight to behold.

DOWNWARDS CAMEL

It’s not a title. It’s the name of the small village I also visited when in Serres.
I spend whole days in Serres, so it was only natural we visited other small villages and the big city, Thessaloniki, since the distance was not that big. But, that specific village was the highlight of my trip.

You see, Dowanrds Camel is truly the name of a local community in Serres with probably people being the standard residents of this place. My ‘favorite human’ and I simply drove around it, just so I could see what it was all about, aand it seemed to me like the kind of village you see on movies.

Small, but relatively modern houses, most of them abandonded or occupied by older people, few shops here and there, few people here and there and just a simple small square and a big church. Nothing else.

For some, that might be not important, but it was the look on my companion’s eyes that made it a worthy trip.

The teary eyes of my companion when remaniscing the childhood spent in those streets, in those shops, in that church. The small smile playing on the lips as one story after th other reached my ears.

Human contact, human emotions, nice views and joyful rides, that’s what life is all about.

THE CUTE FAMILY MOMENTS

However, despite every small trip around the city, every view, every place, every little interesting corner, I found that the moments that will be most memorable to me were the moments spent around the new people that I had the pleasure to meet. The people who welcomed me so openly inside their homes, cooked and cared for me like I was one of their own.

It’s true when they say that the human contact is something worth cherishing. In my life, I’ve never noticed or cared for the way people are around strangers, it was when I witnessed true kindness that I started taking notice of people’s behaviour.

Despite not having pictures to accompany this statement, or maybe I do, I just don’t want to upload them yet, trust me when I say that sometimes we all need to be around kind hearted people, so that we’re reminded how important it is to show kindess to one another.

Combining a trip with meeting not only the place, but the people that the specific place ‘raised’, is what makes a trip successful. Every little get away, no matter how small, should be able to teach you something. Every moment should be able to teach you something in your life. That’s the only way you know that the trip was worth it.

Thanks for reading!

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