The Greeks are not sullen all the time, as if they had drunk vinegar. They very clearly understand that a basic part of their tourist livelihood is a friendly attitude. Ivaylo Noizi Tsvetkov on the lessons that Bulgaria can learn:
I really love Sartre and his "hell is the others". I was wondering where to start about life in Northern Greece and this existential observation seemed appropriate to me - for no other reason than because not having many people is increasingly becoming the real new luxury.
And this applies to a large extent to the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, despite the serious Bulgarian presence. If you know how to avoid the summer tourist invasion, life in Northern Greece - just 300 or so kilometers from Sofia - is amazingly good.
The choice of wild beaches continues to be rich
Yes, an important conditionality is necessary here - everything depends on a lot of factors. Average salaries along the Thracian Sea line are about 40% lower than the average in Sofia and at the same time significantly higher than in many regions in Bulgaria. And yes, the region is relatively "poor" compared to Greece to the south, but it still has its advantages.
The first is the slow life. Life in White Sea Thrace flows somehow almost like a local "samsara", i.e. as if it is circular, not linear. We are talking about huge, kilometer-long places with absolutely wild beaches, even wondering where and on which one to sit down to watch the sunset over the Struma Bay. There are at least 14 such wild places between Ofrinio and Kariani alone, and this means, especially out of season, that you simply have to choose where to be alone. In season it's not a drama either - noisy people come, but most visitors are elderly Greeks who happily melt for hours in the shallows. The only problem is that in parts of the Struma Gulf the sea is rocky, so one has to enter with the characteristic "swimming boots" to avoid the sea urchins. Sea urchins, although not that common, are the only underwater "bad" that would disrupt the northern Greek lifestyle.
The buildings are low, the food is delicious
Second, the low-rise construction. Everyone knows that the Greek state does not allow high prices, and one can only imagine our seaside "entrepreneur" whose heart is bleeding because how come entire Lyulin blocks with a kidney-shaped pool between them cannot be built here? Horror and fear, Deimos and Phobos, we are losing millions and millions, let alone washing them.
Third, the taste of the food. It is precisely the taste, not the prices, because they are absolutely comparable to the Bulgarian cartel price list. It is difficult to explain, but outside the "taverns", where it is also not expensive compared to Bulgarian establishments, one is overwhelmed by the fact that everything from the store is really delicious. Mostly the meats, but also sausages, cheese, whatever you can think of. I would like to emphasize the taste of the meat in particular - the Greeks have a regional quality directorate in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, part of the national one, and it really watches like a watchdog.
The result is visible even in the smallest chain: the meat is good and tasty. Why this is so, I cannot explain, this is a question for the Consumer Protection Commission. And most importantly: bread in Greece is not the tastiest when it is made with honest labor, but when it is warm from one of the local bakeries. And this applies to all types of bread.
Cheap water and guaranteed silence
Fourth, bottled water. In Greece, unlike Bulgaria, you don't drink from the tap, but the state has made it so that a 500 milliliter bottle cannot cost more than 60 cents. And as we said "the Greek state": and without "baskets with care" it sat down at the table with over 100 manufacturers and suppliers and agreed to lower prices at least until the New Year by between 5 and 9% on average for over 1,000 types of food products.
Fifth is the services. There are no party members here who live like patricians and "hold" the business - on the contrary, small and medium-sized businesses are free. Yes, they are often lazy like us, there are gaps in quality, but I will give a specific example from experience - if you find the right company of craftsmen, they don't fuss, don't disappear, don't shout "oh, where are you going", but they adhere to the agreed upon exactly. And again - the price is comparable to Sofia. Okay, we are still talking about a rural environment - sometimes they have problems with electricity, for 5G internet you have to go to the neighboring larger village, but all this is compensated by the quiet and secluded life, sometimes incomprehensible in its silence.
By the way, for all those who like to crawl home from the beach bar or disco, there are enough options, but in general after 10 pm there is silence. It is also interesting that if you make noise, not only can you not bribe the police, but it is very likely that you will finish the "coupon" in the district police station on a second call. Compare this with the noise in certain neighborhoods in our country and the Bulgarian police shrug.
They know that they have to behave well with tourists
Sixth, the Greeks are not sullen all the time, as if they had drunk vinegar (to quote Chudomir). On the contrary - they very clearly understand that a main part of their tourist livelihood is a friendly attitude. This applies to restaurants, shops, even to the person who came with a tractor to throw out your garbage. Unlike our widespread and cognitive devolution, they tend to develop. There is no mild or severe panophobia, in which you are maximally anxious about everything in the future and it almost always seems catastrophic. Why? Well, we don't know, we simply don't expect anything good. And there, as Gogol says in "Evenings in a Village near Dikanka", the scumbags live well.
And their sea is as clean as a tear.
Seventh, the so-called farmers' markets. There, people try to sell their goods in every possible way, not to throw them away if they don't get the price they're hoping for. Especially around lunchtime, when they're selling out, they almost literally shove it into your hands for next to nothing. An example from a few days ago: 10 corns, 2 kg of tomatoes, 1 kg of cucumbers, 2 kg of peppers, 2 kg of peaches, almost 2 kg of plums, 2 kg of nectarines, a whole bag of onions for about… 8 euros (the same as a doner kebab in Sofia).
And there's no eighth. However, they have a magnificent autumn, right up until the beginning of November with warm weather, with a deafening scent of jasmine and the taste of the rural seaside "lifestyle".
Yes, there are negatives
Yes, there are negatives - there is no sewage system and there never will be, it is terribly hot, fuel is 30 to 50 cents more per liter, they are tightening the regime for acquiring property. There is also no authentic tripe soup, Smiljan beans and native Bulgarian colored salt, but somehow it is tolerated.
Just kidding: do you know what is the best (apart from fresh grilled octopus)? Very simple - Northern Greece is no longer "foreign".