Second Class with Cats

　There I was in the train station in Thessaloniki, Greece. I had time before the train and so I wandered the station. Lots of cafes, and a couple other shops. None of them had anything to write home about...except.....down on the lower level.....near the WC (restrooms)....was the finest small Orthodox Chapel that I have ever seen. To be honest, I have seen very few Orthodox chapels, but this was a sight to behold. Icons and paintings and intricate art work all over the walls and ceilings.

I lit a candle and went on my way.

Ah, the Mediterranean and there is no doubt sun and sea and they mingle. Indeed they do, but this is still winter for his part of the world. Yes, I know it is not like current winter weather in the States. No ice. No snow at sea level, but we did come through snow in the mountains today. It was more like wet, March snow in the States. But there are advantages to being here at this time of the year. Few tourists. When I phoned a hotel in Athens and did not have a reservation, they replied, “Give us your name, the room will be ready.” Try that in August around here. Lots of rain though. Lots.

The train was no problem either. It’s for certain that the number of Americans is minimal on this train. There is an American woman in the seat in front of us, but she lives in Greece and has a mysterious air when she tells us that she travels the country “giving readings.” Not sure what that means, but it enables her to make a living and I suppose she is doing New Age or holistic or some sort of spiritual readings. She appears to be prosperous and frankly she looks like someone who would be at the Whole Foods store in Dublin and own a Volvo. After that, it’s Greeks…including the young stylish woman next to me with rabbit in a cat carrier. She too looks like she would be right at home at Whole Foods but can’t quite fathom the rabbit-thing.

I recall on the trains in India there were no pets, but there were a lot of cows wandering on the platforms in the train stations. Very strange to step off a train in India and literally, run into a cow. Come to think of it…haven’t even seen a cow in Greece and we’ve covered a lot of countryside on the trains. I’ve seen more rabbits here than cows…. but I digress.

This was an all day trip to Athens. I have a large itinerary set out for us to visit. If it is like our other stops, we will not achieve a third of the list, but at least we have it. Sometimes the best of the day can come from sitting in a café and watching the locals. It is for certain that in the summer, everyone dines and drinks in cafes out of doors. The streets in Turkey and Greece are crammed with stacked chairs and tables just waiting for a sunny day so that they can be set on the sidewalks for diners. That would be wonderful but I have to ponder…just where will the pedestrians walk when the sidewalks are full of diners and the streets are certainly not made for walkers. But, it is winter around here and I will never know the answer to that question.

We have settled into a some sort of pace over the past couple weeks. At first it was difficult to read a book, the concentration level wasn’t there. Didn’t feel like using the Ipod either. I think it was a bit of jet lag, and just overload of too much new stuff. There was nothing familiar and an attention span which was limited due to the prodigious amounts of new experiences coming at us.

One of my favorite authors is Paul Theroux, He is a novelist and travel writer. On his lengthy journeys, as he describes what he sees and who he meets, he is always reading great literature: classics. I packed a few classics with me on this trip just to try and emulate him. Alas, one of them which I brought along in paperback is The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Have you ever read The Heart of Darkness? Goodness, it’s depressing.

I have read lots of history, travel writing and novels about the Congo, where this novel is set. I even spent some time trying to avoid actually traveling there due to its unsettled nature, but every single novel and travel writing about the Congo mentions The Heart of Darkness. It is the Holy Grail of Congo books; the touchstone by which every writer about the Congo bases his or her work. So, I am trying to read it, and it is pretty good. I have enough background on the country to due it justice, but my, it’s depressing. Not the sort of light reading one should have while skimming the northern reaches of the Mediterranean Sea. Perhaps some Pat Conroy or Anne Lamot or Maya Angelou or Chaucer or Twain; I loaded them all on my Kindle, and if I don’t loose my recharging cord for the e-book I will pursue them. If I do lose the cord….it’s right back to Conrad whom I have in paperback.

Serves me right. Athens awaits…so does the rain.

Peace, Bob