I made sure that HM had a great time in my great realm!
1. Bad drivers
Errr... If we define "bad driving" by "road traffic accident fatalities per
million inhabitants", we are not the worst drivers :P
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/images/e/ef/Fig_3_Number_of_road_traffic_accident_fatalities_per_million_inhabitants%2C_2014.png
Still, Greece is a bit worse than the EU-28 average (Latvia must be hell...).
If you've never been to Instanbul, you can't comment on bad european driving XD
Road limits
Note that you can actually drive 10km/h faster than the speed limit without
worrying about penalties . The police can stop you but they are just pleading
you to drive a bit slower. If you drive 11 to 20km/h faster, the fine is only
40€. Note however that you should never go more than 130 km/h regardless of the
road limits (e.g. you can't drive 150km/h on roads with a 130 limit). Now that
I think about it, you're probably back so I don't know if this will ever prove
useful :P
Random story. A friend of mine was driving with at least 180km/h on a highway.
After being stopped by the police, he was warned that the penalty would be
something exorbitant. That is until the policeman started haggling BY HIMSELF.
My friend remained silent the whole time the policeman gradually reduced the
penalty until he said to him, "go away and please don't do it again". Go
figure...
2. I think too that there are products with only Greek labels but I wouldn't
call it a major issue. I think I'd survive in a Greek market without proper
knowledge of Greek; maybe.
3. a. They call it greek yoghurt for a reason :P
And "plain" yoghurt isn't supposed to be liquid, just rather watery!
b. The main source of bread is not convenience stores but bakeries. Bakeries
this side of Greece do have a variety. Nothing even close to Germany's, yet
satisfactory!
Note however that the variety (on pretty much everything) in Athens is wider.
4. We (/you) do drink loads of coffee. This doesn't mean that we tend to
reflect upon our choices. Just imagine that one of the most consumed coffee is
frappe. Instant coffee beaten with water and sugar - consumed pretty much raw
-_-
5. Would you like some cheeese with your whine?
Admittedly, you visited the most laid back part of Greece B)
Hope you enjoyed it!
________________________________
Από: eiagreek-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <eiagreek-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> εκ μέρους
του Makis Xiroyannis <makis.xiroyannis@xxxxxxxxx>
Στάλθηκε: Σάββατο, 19 Αυγούστου 2017 8:53:02 μμ
Προς: eiagreek@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Θέμα: [eiagreek] Re: Notes on Greece
Welcome Tiron, hope you have a great time
'
1. What can I say? We are europe's worst drivers. Full stop. There was a
weekend, back when you were still at war in Yugoslavia when even our news
mocked this. It was something like "Casualties of war in Yugoslavia: 32. Dead
in Greece due to road accidents: 34" It wasn't a joke really; on the same 3
days period, we had more deaths due to car accidents than you had casualties in
a war!
2. This is quite strange actually. I see English signs everywhere. In fact,
sometimes I have encountered only English menus (restaurants or cafeterias),
and not one in greek. I don't know about other languages, but English is
everywhere as far as I could see.
3. Liquid yogurt? how the hell you put honey in it? Jes... 😝
3b. cant comment, I dont eat much bread either.
4. We drink less coffee as compared to what, having replaced our blood with
coffee? Mate we drink A LOT of coffee! Personally 2-3 a day minimum. This
cannot be true!
5. Yes we like cheese. Try it with some red wine in the evenings. Relaxes after
a tense day at work
7. Absolutely correct. You are also allowed to swear-beat the shit out of the
person who tried to park in your place 💀
Yugurt put aside, and your limited war casualties, yes we are more alike than
you think !
On Thu, Aug 17, 2017 at 5:25 PM, Tiron
<strategija@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:strategija@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Hi,
Just to report we have reached Nea Moudania in once piece and here are
some notes I picked up:
1. Roads have very strange speed limits.
What I would consider highway (Thessaloniki - Nea Moudania) speed
limit goes from 90 to 110 and changes like that all the time. I was
shocked to see a traffic light on what looks like highway road (3-4
lanes on each side).
Road from Evzoni to Thessaloniki is bad, rally bad. And it doesn't
help it has 2 wide lanes so everyone is overtaking in the middle on both
directions, accident waiting to happen.
We have also seen a large number of accidents in Greece, 4 or 5
while traveling through Serbia 0 (approximately the same number of km)
There is only one speed limit - how fast your car can go on the
road. I was strictly following the limits (due to my lady watching over
my shoulder and I do not wish to pay a fine and ruin the holiday) and
everyone was overtaking me like crazy. Greek license plates especially.
2. Almost all things in the shops are in Greek. In Serbia there will be
always a small text in foreign languages, mostly English, German,
Albanian, sometimes Greek or Bulgarian. Makes it hard to guess what is
inside if there is no picture.
3. What you call yogurt is not the same what we call it. In Serbia
yogurt is liquid and you drink it, it has from 0.5% to 2.8% milk fat.We
also have something called Sour Milk (Kiselo mleko), it is eaten with a
spoon and has a mild sour taste 6-12% milk fat. We also have Cream
Cheese, 12-25% milk fat, has a jelly like consistency and you spread it
on the bread or use it in cooked meals.
3. You do not seam to eat a lot of fresh bread, I have seen only 3 kinds
in a shop. In Serbia you can find up to 10 different kinds of fresh
bread. But you eat a lot of toast bread, I have seen like 20 different
brands/kinds and in Serbia you can find 2 or 3.
4. You also seem to drink less coffee, the part with coffee in a shop is
small.
5. You have so many different kinds of goat cheese - pekorino. We have
like 1 or 2, I have seen here a lot. You also have fresh goat milk you
can buy in a shop, we do not have that.
7. Parking also seem to have only one rule - park wherever you can find
a place.
All in all, it is so close to Serbia (mentality of the people, easy
going attitude, principle "I would rather work less even if I have less
than to work very hard for more") if Serbia had a sea side I know
exactly how it would look like - the same
:-)
