My Short Trip to Thessaloniki - Part 1: Arriving in Thessaloniki at Sunrise

Hi Friends

After a long break, I have decided to post on HIVE again. I already continue reading, commenting, and upvoting posts daily. I am back with a travelogue, one of my favorites to write about here. So many travel memories have accumulated during this time that I expect to find the motivation and time to share them all on HIVE. I hope you enjoy reading it, thank you in advance.

As I have mentioned in my previous travelogues, I don't like the format of ​​a vacation that revolves around hotels, the sea, and food. I would like to discover new places as much as possible, both domestically and internationally. My first international trip of last year was again to Thessaloniki, Greece. The first part of my travelogue series consists of arriving in Thessaloniki at sunrise.

My travel plan was to leave the day before Eid al-Adha, arrive in Thessaloniki on the morning of Eid al-Adha, and spend two days there. I boarded the bus around nine in the evening and arrived the border after about four hours of travel. After passport control on the Turkish side, I spent some time at the Duty-Free shop.

Finishing passport procedures on the Greek side too, the bus continued on its way. After a four or five-hour journey, I arrived at Thessaloniki bus station around 6 am. I could say the sun hadn't risen yet when I arrived in Thessaloniki. The metro hadn't started operating either. Therefore, I started walking towards the center of Thessaloniki along Egnatia Street. After about half an hour's walk, I reached the city center. This morning walk after an eight or nine-hour bus journey made me felt good.

Aristotelous Square

Thessaloniki Promenade

First, I went to Aristotelous Square. I wanted to rest a bit and enjoy the sea air. Despite it being June, the morning in Thessaloniki was quite warm. After resting for a while, I started walking along the Thessaloniki Promenade, Leof Nikis Street. After reaching the White Tower, I rested a little more and watched the sea. The number of people outside was increasing; these were people who went out for walking or running. Since my hotel check-in time was in the afternoon, I had about seven hours. First, I needed to find a place to have breakfast.

White Tower

I started walking uphill from the White Tower. I had breakfast at a pâtisserie that has a high Google Review rating and is particularly known for its Thessaloniki-style Bougatsa. Afterwards, I started exploring the tourist attractions of Thessaloniki, which I also visited two years ago and mentioned in my HIVE posts. I completed the first part of my planned trip before check-in time.

Arch of Galerius

Church of Panagia Dexia

A Part of Palace of Galerius

The Famous Pirate Boat

After going to the hotel, I would rest for a few hours and then go out again in the evening. See you in the next post of my Thessaloniki trip. All the photographs in the post series belong to me. Thank you for reading.