Daughter finished school and had a few days before entering the Army. She spent it in Greece.
15 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Forgive me, but doesn't Greece have similar climate and beaches as Israel? What is the point?
PS this looks nicer than the Baltic. We visited Nida (former German Nidden) and it was FREEZING - at the end of June it felt like the Atlantic in November. I can only imagine what it's like there in the real November. Nida was kept by the Soviet leadership for dachas and it was surprisingly unspoiled and intact. In accordance with Soviet double standards, there was no way Kosygin was going to put a pulp mill near HIS dacha.
Last time I visited Greece it was the hottest place on earth, literally. Hotter than Saudi Arabia that week. It was something like 46C. And our friends, who we were staying with, did not "believe" in air-conditioning - they associated it with the disgusting culture of conspicuous consumption that had made the country they grew up with unrecognizable to themselves. To hell with associations, when it's 46, AC is good, I say!
Luckily, the temperature did drop somewhat at night but during the day it was unbearable. We would wet down the terrace in front of our room with a hose and in maybe 5 minutes the water would completely evaporate.
For Israelis, Greece is a foreign country. You meet British, German etc. boys and girls. Nobody knows you and parents and friends are far away. No phone calls. Freedom, before the two years in uniform.
This is what struck me most about Greece - in the old days you would go sit outside at some shabby taverna and you would have a really cheap meal (in dollar terms). It was all sort of threadbare (sort of a sunnier version of the Ukraine) but it was so cheap and the weather and view was so lovely that you didn't mind. Now you go to the same shabby taverna and the meal costs as many Euros as it would in Paris. And tourism is maybe their only viable economic sector.
Shipping remains an import sector but not a source of employment -nowadays the crews are largely Filipino, Bangladeshi, etc.
To the extent the Greeks have any industry (not much) the production tends to get used domestically and not exported. Among the top ten production items are things like cigarettes, beer and Coca-cola. Even their famous olive oil gets used up in the domestic market and little is exported.
15 comments:
Forgive me, but doesn't Greece have similar climate and beaches as Israel? What is the point?
PS this looks nicer than the Baltic. We visited Nida (former German Nidden) and it was FREEZING - at the end of June it felt like the Atlantic in November. I can only imagine what it's like there in the real November. Nida was kept by the Soviet leadership for dachas and it was surprisingly unspoiled and intact. In accordance with Soviet double standards, there was no way Kosygin was going to put a pulp mill near HIS dacha.
K
The heat can be a bit less miserable in Greece. Also, there is Greek food, Greek culture and ancient Greek ruins.
Last time I visited Greece it was the hottest place on earth, literally. Hotter than Saudi Arabia that week. It was something like 46C. And our friends, who we were staying with, did not "believe" in air-conditioning - they associated it with the disgusting culture of conspicuous consumption that had made the country they grew up with unrecognizable to themselves. To hell with associations, when it's 46, AC is good, I say!
Luckily, the temperature did drop somewhat at night but during the day it was unbearable. We would wet down the terrace in front of our room with a hose and in maybe 5 minutes the water would completely evaporate.
K
For Israelis, Greece is a foreign country. You meet British, German etc. boys and girls. Nobody knows you and parents and friends are far away. No phone calls. Freedom, before the two years in uniform.
What about the modern Greek ruins, like the economy?
Anon.
Greece's economy may be in ruins, but they did not lower the prices. Why should they? Aunt Angela took them under her generous wings.
This is what struck me most about Greece - in the old days you would go sit outside at some shabby taverna and you would have a really cheap meal (in dollar terms). It was all sort of threadbare (sort of a sunnier version of the Ukraine) but it was so cheap and the weather and view was so lovely that you didn't mind. Now you go to the same shabby taverna and the meal costs as many Euros as it would in Paris. And tourism is maybe their only viable economic sector.
K
They have gas and oil too.
And the shipping industry, surely?
Anon.
A long time ago that Greeks lost that business. Onassis is dead.
I saw no oil wells. Their oil production is insignificant and falling, not even close to meeting their own domestic needs (1/2 mil. bbl/day).
http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?country=gr&product=oil&graph=production
I did see a few wind farms which I assume were some kind of EU boondoggle like everything else in Greece.
K
Shipping remains an import sector but not a source of employment -nowadays the crews are largely Filipino, Bangladeshi, etc.
To the extent the Greeks have any industry (not much) the production tends to get used domestically and not exported. Among the top ten production items are things like cigarettes, beer and Coca-cola. Even their famous olive oil gets used up in the domestic market and little is exported.
Cigarettes, beer and coca cola.
The necessities of life.
Anon.
The bare necessities.
The beer necessities.
Anon.
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