Weekend of perspective

For my  last weekend in Thessaloniki I invited over a special friend from Athens.

We met on the train platform on the Friday afternoon. After a short rest  my best  friend in town  picked us up for a surprise destination…

We ended up on the third floor of one of the city’s major  hospitals looking up at the thousands of blackbirds that dot the sky above the building complex every  evening with mathematic precision.

They fly around in different cliques and formations with no apparent plan. Not really going anywhere. At a certain time, the feathered little creatures decide to  dive into  the tilting branches of the courtyard pine trees to rest for the day. Flock by flock they settle.

That image somehow projected onto the the following two days.

We fluttered around the city center. Vesper sight-seeing of Agia Sofia and the Mitropoli.  Evening stroll against a backdrop of azure skies over the sea promenade.

We paused at the  rotating cafe of the  telecommunications tower for a bird’s view over Thessaloniki.

Being perched high up over the sepia coloured streetscape was like going back to the time when strawberry granita was an undisputed choice.

We nibbled on seeds, because a  visit to Thessaloniki is never complete without some bites of a sesame-sprinkled koulouri.

We reignited family bonds over a  Sunday lunch with longtime no see old relatives of my guest. We landed in their warm nest and spent a few hours with homely food,  complex Cretan family trees, war stories and cats purring by the hot stove.

After months of being on the receiving end of people’s hospitality it felt genuinely good to redeem some of the kindness  that has been coming my way. Being Eleni’s hostess for the weekend was like giving something back to all of those who have shared their homes with me. I thank her for giving me that opportunity.