It's hard to convey just how nervous and excited we were at the prospect of entering Europe. Until now, we had relied on one-way tickets to make our way across the world. This meant always having a ticket to exit the country we were about to enter. While world travel is fun and romantic, this is the kind of detail that can bog down even the most seasoned traveler. After reading an excellent LinkedIn article on the subject of traveling with dual passports, we decided to enter Greece without having our next trip planned, relying on my British passport, which still gives me access to the European Union. For now…

When we arrived at Athens International Airport, the immigration officials barely looked at my passport and waved Jona through. We felt like crying with happiness! For the first time in five months, we had no plans beyond the next few days. We made our way to our Athens Airbnb (which turned out to be one of our favorites) in Gazi, a decaying, yet gentrifying hipster heaven close to the city center. After setting our bags down and unpacking, we strolled about the neighborhood, gazing admiringly at the ancient Acropolis on a hill in the distance, as the sun began to set over Athens.

At the end of 2014, we traveled to Istanbul and stopped in Athens for a couple of days at New Year. Our impressions of the place were fleeting and rose-tinted, as it's hard to explore a city with such a rich history in such a short time, even if it's as small as Athens. We hiked up the Acropolis Hill, had dinner at a taverna in the Plaka neighborhood, walked through markets and visited museums, generally falling in love with the place. This time, we decided to take our time, exploring everything the city has to offer, so we ended up staying nearly ten days in total, first in Gazi and then in the genteel neighborhood of Pangrati.

Before explaining the title of this article, I should really give you a sense of what Athens and Greece more broadly feels like. We arrived in time for spring, with glorious sunny days and cold wet ones in equal measures. Nonetheless, there were oranges growing on trees in most streets, olives on others, cool fresh air blowing in from the sea and people were out, enjoying the nice days as much as possible. Lively cafés were overflowing with young people drinking coffee and smoking like it was still the 1990s. Restaurants were busy, all of the time. Shopping streets were alive with the sound of sales. We felt like we were back home.

As you may be aware, Greece was hard hit by the Great Recession of 2008, perhaps more so than any other European countries. With insurmountable public debts, Greece found itself in the unenviable position of having to ask the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for a financial bailout. This led to an ongoing, public and very humiliating argument with Germany, which required that strict austerity measures be implemented in exchange for financial assistance. This, in turn, caused the collapse of the Greek government and ushered in an era of uncertainty and anxiety, the effects of which can still be seen today. When we last visited, in 2014, there were skirmishes between protesters and the police, stemming from public anger at the government's poor handling of the economy and subsequent meltdown.

While the economy has since started to pick up, the recovery feels somewhat fragile. The country's social fabric is still in tatters, as the old and young struggle to survive. Unemployment is high and austerity measures have cut away at the social safety net. All this is evident below the surface. The Greeks are (thankfully) recovering their zest for life, yet they remain somewhat melancholy. In Athens, the locals are clearly glad for the business of tourism, but they also seem weary of the endless tides of foreign tourists enjoying a cheap vacation while they still struggle. When we traveled north to Thessaloniki, we noticed that people were far friendlier and welcoming, which we really appreciated. Despite this melancholic fatigue, it's really hard not to love Greece. The weather is near-perfect, the heritage is awe-inspiring and the food is among the best in the world.

We spent ten wonderful days in Athens, walking around the whole city center, exploring nooks and crannies, wandering amongst the ruins, and relaxing for the first time in months. After the ten days were up, we headed to Thessaloniki by train, arriving just in time to see it snowing along the coast. While I had some consulting work that kept me busy both in Athens and Thessaloniki, Jona took the time to visit some of the town's excellent museums and we visited markets and restaurants together whenever possible. As in Bangkok months ago, we nested, becoming semi-locals, visiting the same cafés for our daily caffé freddos (iced coffees), street markets for fresh olives and the local store for delicious feta cheese. The people who helped us were charming and kind, becoming part of our story as the Feta Lady or Our Guy at Coffee Island.

Heading to Thessaloniki turned out to be a great decision. It's less hectic than Athens and has an equally rich history, as the former capital of the ancient region of Macedonia, once ruled by Alexander the Great. The city was invaded by Turkey many centuries later, which gave the area a very different feel to other Greek cities, as did the sizeable Jewish population, which was brutally persecuted during the Second World War. This mixture of influences makes Thessaloniki a culturally rich town with many museums dedicated to its Macedonian, Byzantine and Jewish heritage. 

After the snow came the sun and the whole town came out to enjoy the nice weather by the sea. The cafés were overflowing with young people, as families strolled along Nea Paralia, the famous boardwalk. We visited the White Tower, walked along the pier, hiked up the hill to the old citadel and even managed to catch a film (“The Dolphin Man—The story of Jacques Mayol”) at the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival. We tried a few little restaurants, but ended up returning to Thermaikos Garden next to Memorial Park. Not only did we love their fresh anchovies and salads, I accidentally helped myself to a couple of glasses full of what I thought was water from a dispenser, but which turned out to be ouzo, much to the amusement and enjoyment of our waiters who ended up having to drink it. Being a traveler means trying new things and occasionally embarrassing oneself! All in all, we felt lucky to experience this celebration of Spring alongside the locals.

During our stay in Greece, we kept noticing that a lot of young men between the ages of 18 and 40 tend to wear grey sweatpants. Just so we’re clear: not necessarily the trendy, sporty ones. In a country as formal as Greece, it was surprising to say the least. We even scoured the internet to find out if it’s a thing. Apparently it is, but no one seems to know why. It is all the more surprising, as young Greek women tend to be immaculately groomed and elegantly dressed. The contrast between the sexes couldn't be more stark, and we couldn’t make any sense of this lopsided sartorial relationship, so we started joking that Greece is the less-than-biblical land of milk and honey. Greek ladies seem to go to great lengths to attract their male counterparts, some of whom don’t seem to be that bothered with the whole fashion thing. However, Greek women also seem to be strong-willed and no-nonsense, so the balance of power must even out somehow. We enjoyed watching this game play out, from a distance, and savored our time in Greece.

When it finally came to an end, we were reassured by the fact that we were flying on to Rome, another of our favorite places. We headed to Thessaloniki airport, where we boarded the same plane as Nick Warren, one of my favorite DJs, who ended up wedged next to two Greek Orthodox priests on the plane. Sometimes, life is funnier than fiction. While Greece is now a distant memory, we often think back fondly on our time in Athens and Thessaloniki. After traveling throughout Europe for the past couple of months, Jona has decided that Greek food is her favorite of all. We were determined to return to Greece and its islands one more time before heading back to the Americas but, alas, it was not meant to be. Instead, we find ourselves talking about the next time we’ll visit the land of milk and honey.