1st of May

Laugh attack

Not only Germans open the BBQ season on the 01/05 and enjoy the day off, so did we.

Waking up at 10 am and blinking at the sun rays, I directly moved from my bed to the balcony to bronze up and just enjoy the morning peace. At 1pm I actually wanted to take the train to Κορινθος (Korinthos), however when I arrived at the train station I had to realize that they had stopped the trains for 24h because of the holiday... kinda put me behind schedule. The plan was to go with some friends to the Vouliagmeni/Ireon Lake and enjoy seafood right by the lake. Luckily a friend of Giorgos was in the proximity and picked me up.

Yianni is not touching the strawberry - no photoshop either ;)

The way to the lake is rather hilly and goes past the sealine of Λούτρακι (Loutraki), so that from the top you can oversee the whole Corinthian Gulf of our area *BREATHTAKING*. Arriving at the lake it was soooo busy; the fish restaurants were packed with people. It took us a while to order (with about 15 people not a surprising). Our appetizers consisted of fresh french fries, greek salads, a marinated shrimp-feta-dish and octopus (which I never had before and will not become one of my favorite: too chewy). After an hour and the consumption of our fellows Ούζο (Ouzo) and Τσίπουρο (Tschipouro) - two typical Greek spirits - I found another two platters standing on our table with spaghetti and lobster (never had lobster before either, quite nice, a little bit the consistency of chicken meat, but again different taste of course).

Nancy and Maria

Dimitris (a good friend of Giorgos) brought some liquor, called Μαστίχια (Masticha), which is only produced on the island of Χίος (Chios). I did not particular like it, but more or less this my dentist's fault (because the taste reminded me of the stuff he uses for fillings...). Already completely stuffed I did not trust my eyes when another TWO platters arrived with a big fresh fish (which kind, I forgot), but definitely the highlight!! *YUMMY* Another hour passed and we enjoyed ice-cream, lemon cake and strawberries. What a feast again!
 

Together with Nancy (left) - an incredible personality

@ Kalamaki

So after really eating and chatting for at least 4 hours, my watch indicated 6.30pm. We took off to Καλαμακη (Kalamaki) - an area so beautiful and very close to my village here, but I have never been there. We enjoyed coffee and more drinks at a bar right by the sea and watched the sunset.

Special thanks to Dimitris for organizing this and everybody for the great company!!


#Fun facts of today#
1. Greeks almost always share their food. In general they really drink and eat for hours. I love it, because it enhances their eating culture and how much they enjoy the food in combination with good company and away from the rushy attitude to many people have: "I have to eat, because I am hungry, but actually I don´t have any time".
2. Mastic/Masticha, widely known since ancient times for its beneficial and therapeutic properties, is an aromatic resin offered to us by the mastic tree.