Today is a double celebration in Thessaloniki. It's the Feast Day of Agios Dimitrios (he's the patron saint of the city) and liberation day from the Turks in 1912. We were warned earlier this week that we should store up on food since all the stores are closed for three days! Monday is an important national holiday too, and Sunday is... well it's in between the other two days and it's Greece so not as much is open anyways. Grocery shopping was a bit like being in the States before a snowstorm and shelves were getting wiped out last night.
Sam was a dealing with some sinus allergies today so I went out to see some of the festivities by myself. Most of what I saw was (mostly) military teams waiting to perform at Aristotelous Square, a focal point in the city. Eventually, there were several performances--a military drill team twirling, slapping, and tossing rifles, some acrobatics by a girl troupe, and some brass bands. The performances were relatively brief and low-tech, which was refreshing, and the crowd was smallish and polite. But most surprising is that I got to be a few feet from the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as he made his way through the festivities. Kind of amazing how close you can get to him on the street!
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| The Prime Minister and selfie takers |
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| In front of Agios Dimitrios Church |
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| Waiting for action.... |
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| Ok, still waiting; time for the band to take a smoke break |
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| Still waiting! |
