The bad

6: that’s the number of days on our journey before our first car crash. I’d have hoped it would have a taken longer, but here we are, with two damaged rear doors and a strongly tainted memory of our stay in Thessaloniki. It’s a shame, because we really enjoyed the city, but somehow the city didn’t like us staying there.

After a relaxing day at the lake near Serres, we arrive in Thessaloniki in the afternoon of day 6. While I’m in our booked apartment with Apollo, Svenja is looking for a parking space when she’s hit from behind by a car that’s driving too fast. Luckily neither Svenja nor the other driver are hurt and the damage is manageable.We get away with a black eye, or rather two dented rear doors, a slightly bent rear sill, a misplaced kitchen and a shocked Svenja.

The next day, after some Google searches, some driving and a bit of luck, we are lucky enough to meet George, who has lived in Germany for 28 years and is now back in Greece restoring vintage cars. Although our campervan is not an oldtimer, he is kind enough to take the time to help us repair the most serious damage and get it back to working order. The rear doors are still ruined, of course, but at least we can use the rear pull-out that got stuck in the crash.

The good

After spending half of day 7 repairing the car, we still want to see something of Thessaloniki, so we walk north with Apollo along the harbour promenade into the city centre. We reach the centre late in the evening, walk past the White Tower, on to Platia Aristotelous and then turn into the heart of the old town with its wide main streets, narrow side alleys and countless churches, bars and cafés.

We would have loved to stay another day. However, we are informed that a large demonstration has been called here tomorrow to mark a train accident three years ago (in fact, we will see hundreds of people walking towards the city centre tomorrow). So we have to end our much too short visit to this exciting metropolis after just half a day of sightseeing.

Thessaloniki looked very different on this visit from the last time I was here alone, five years ago. It’s crowded, teeming with rickety taxis. Mopeds and delivery drivers weave their way through the crowds, past cars parked in the second or third row. There is the smell of the harbour and the Mediterranean, but also of open rubbish bins, dogs, cats and pigeons. People scurry through the streets and stroll or jog along the promenade. And amidst all the noise, you can often see a smiling face and receive a warm greeting. A great city, I hope we come back soon, preferably without a car accident.