Greece has it all - Kastoria
Greece has it all – Kastoria
Before this trip, I, like many in the group, had a strong opinion that Kastoria is the fur coat capital of Greece, and people go there only for fur coats. But our guide Petras in Kastoria completely dispelled this erroneous opinion.
We arrived in Kastoria on the morning of January 6 on a clear sunny day with a slight frost, after spending the night in the mountain hotel "Loggas". This hotel is located 8 km from Kastoria, in the village. Sidirakhori at an altitude of 1100 meters, above Lake Orestiada. We should write about this hotel separately, we saw such beautiful views of the lake and mountains in the morning when we went out onto the terrace of the room.
But our goal today was Kastoria, and after breakfast we descend from our mountain along a steep serpentine down into the city. Already the first impression of the lake and the city was “WOW”!!! .
The city itself is located on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Orestiada. First stop at the lake. From here you can clearly see the city, which descends like an amphitheater to the lake. I begin to search in my memory, but where else could I see such landscapes? Genoa comes to mind, but there is a huge port and the sea, and here, apart from a small pleasure boat on the lake, I have not seen other ships. Therefore, there is nothing to compare with, and I start the photo session.
The number of birds on Lake Orestiada is amazing! Geese, ducks, swans, pelicans, gulls and some other individuals unknown to me. And they are all used to being fed by tourists and begging frankly. Petras explains to us that the lake and the birds are in the communal property of the city, and the birds are well fed here. But apparently there is never a lot of food, and some individuals very persistently demand food for themselves, and run after us : ).
After feeding the birds, we again get on the bus and head to the most famous monastery of Panagia Mavriotissa in these parts. It is located 4 kilometers from the city center, and it is a long walk to get there. Therefore, along a very narrow and shady alley of centuries-old plane trees with the sign "one-way", we move along the lake towards the monastery. But no prohibition signs stop the locals, and a car is driving towards us. Petras gets off the bus and starts to sort things out. The passenger car backs away to a slight widening of the alley, and our bus hardly squeezes past it.
Here we are at the monastery. This monastery was built in the 11th century, but the frescoes from that time are still preserved in the church of this monastery. According to our guide's story, about 80 Byzantine churches have been preserved in Kastoria. We saw some of them, but only from the outside. All of them are closed to the public, and some, the most valuable, are protected by the state.
But we went to the church of the monastery, and I was able to take a few photos there without a flash. Indeed, the frescoes in this church are unique. Such a small and very cozy monastery on the lake. And the lake with centuries-old plane trees gives it a special charm.
After the photo session, we get back on the bus and start the way back. Now our drivers are starting to break the one-way traffic rule, as they learned that a large tree was knocked down further down the alley, and it blocked the road. Now it became clear why a car was driving towards us. Petras went ahead of the bus to warn oncoming traffic at the narrowest point. Already without incident, we return back to the center to the bus stop.
Then we have a walking tour of the city. Today is Sunday, and almost all fur coat shops and workshops were closed. Therefore, the whole group continues the tour without being distracted by shopping. Following the guide, we go up to the central square, where in the evening there should be an evening carnival procession. The area is lightly decorated with balls and ribbons. Along the way we met several groups in carnival costumes.
But I looked at them, and immediately concluded that the scale of the carnival here is an order of magnitude lower than in Venice.
On the square, we part with Petras, and we have free time until 18:00. Together with a friend, we walk along the old streets, look into cozy courtyards, admire the views of the lake, and so gradually we go down to the embankment. They walked long and leisurely. Several times we got into dead ends, but it is impossible to get lost here, the main landmark, the lake, is always in front of your eyes. Kastoria appeared before us as an interesting and original city with a rich history.
When we set off to the embankment, along the way we visited several open fur coat shops. But the prices were very high, and we did not stay there.
Lunch time has come, and we are looking for a small cafe on the lake embankment, we go in there, and our group members are already sitting there. It turns out that this cafe has a menu in Russian, and it was very easy to order lunch. Traditional Greek salad, chicken breast with potatoes, again a carafe of red wine for two. We sit in a cafe for a long time, rest after a long walk. The portions are large, I could not eat everything, I asked the waitress to pack the rest with me. With a sweet smile, my request was granted. Lunch cost 12 euros per person.
We have two more hours of free time. Again we walk around the city, gradually approaching the parking lot of our bus. At 18:00 our bus departs for the night in Sidirakhori. My friend and I wanted to take another walk, but most of the group is already on the bus, and our leader gives the command to recover to the hotel.
We arrived at the hotel early, but it gets dark too early, so we stay in the room. There is free Wi-Fi in the room, so I turn on Skype and spend the evening chatting with my family.
Departure is scheduled for 9:00 in the morning. After breakfast, there is time to look around the hotel and take photos. The surroundings are incredibly beautiful. The mountains and the lake, and the windows of the hotel overlook the lake. In summer it will be even more beautiful.
But keep in mind that you have to go to the hotel along a long and very steep serpentine. In one place, the road reminded me of the famous "Hairpin" in Monaco on the Formula -1 track. Our leader joked that he goes to this hotel with a cotton swab with ammonia in his nose : ). My friend had almost the same condition, but we didn’t have ammonia, we dripped brandy on her : ). But the serpentine is over, and we go on a trip to Greece.
