The abandoned Hotel was one of the "XENIA" hotels which belonged to the Greek state. There were many of them all over Greece at the best places and beaches, because they were builded at the time, when there were no tourists in Greece and all these privileged nowadays places, nobody was interested before 75 years and it was free to build. All these buildings were designed from the best modern architect of Greece (Aris Konstadinidis) and he was one of the first in the world who built bioclimatic buildings in such a scale, with very strong influences from the Bauhaus. It may seem like ruins today, but we have to consider that these buildings were designed and built from the mid '50 till the '70. We have to think what was mainstream at the time. I've lived in two different XENIA in my life. One in Perea Thessaloniki as a Student in the Tourist College of Thessaloniki for 2 years from October till May, and 4 months in XENIA Paliouri in Chalkidiki (Designed 1960 builded 1962) as a trainee employee in my second season practice in the summer of 1990. I can assure you that this bioclimatic "shit" that Konstandinidis made to these buildings worked 100%. We never needed an air conditioning in Paliouri in the summer. With temperatures sometimes over 35-40 C, the buildings were made so, that even when there were days with no wind, the rooms in the buildings and the open spaces around and in them, sucked a breeze from the sea because of the positioning, orientation, surrounding vegetation and the shapes of the buildings and roofs. The temperature was always 4 to 7 degrees lower. Some of these XENIA buildings are really gems, and they should be saved as modern architectural history to be studied for the future architects. Unfortunately the majority of them are abandoned from the Greek state, looking for new investors to take actually only the land of it, and build new "modern" hotels with no consideration for the energy efficiency in that manner.
Thank you for taking the time to educate this thread about the Xenia hotels. They were wonderful hotels built with public money at a time when there were not many accommodations throughout the country.
Tavernas charge you only for bottled water. You can always ask for tap water instead, which is free, and refuse the bread. I live in the US, and restaurants here also charge for bottled water.
It's called" couvert" in Greece ( it's a French term) technically is illegal to charge it without letting the costumers know - so they can deny it if they want but seems most Greeks have no problem with it - at least when it's not overcharged most waiters are taking it for granted and don't ask, for Greeks adding like one or two euros to a 40€ sitting is not a thing worth argue for
Rhode Island, USA. I married into a Greek family and my wife's family is from Corfu. I fell in love with the island life my first time visiting family. Thank you for the inspiration showing the possibility of living a life there. Would love to make the change one day!
I believe that thing with the A/C is not really a thing anymore. For the toilet seat, I believe that after the original seat is broken, in public places, they just don't replace it anymore
I'm from Holland and try to visit Greece at least once a year and always fly-drive. I do get a bit nervous driving around Athens because traffic can be really crazy there, but the rest of Greece is okay, I think. Greek drivers aren't really obnoxious imo. They just think that a 2-lane road can just as easily be a 3-lane road. And sometimes they're right! 😄
Born and raised in Athens, and you are right! Some lanes are bigger than others, so sometimes we are right. But sometimes we are really wrong.. In general we don't respect anything that comes from the government, meaning road signs too xD
Actually, you have to be more careful when driving outside of Athens .. local drivers drive as if they own the road - no respect for traffic signs, the. law or even .. common sence!😂😂
The first derelict building in Arvanitia Beach was alive and kicking in the 80's we have many fond memories there and photos of good times. The second building was the original Xenia hotel which was amazing and had the most futuristic architecture for those days. It was functioning throught my childhood in the 70 and it was a sight to behold. Sadly the economic crisis and the crippling interests imposed by the loan-shark-like German banks & the IMF ,have taken their toll. Not to mention the second wave of poverty that came with covid. You should come to the UK even central London and count the number of boarded up businesses. The banks are having a field day in Greece, confiscating buildings. This is what bankruptcy looks like. If you look back to when the crisis begin, you will see an upward trend of male suicide as many dads lost their businesses and homes to the banks. Happy father's day!
I am a Greek living in Spain, I love your videos and I admire your lack of prejudice in your descriptions. Yes, I agree to everything you said, we are loud, we don't know the meaning of queuing, and we drive like crazy!
Greek that grew up abroad. Belgium . The Netherlands and now 10 years in the UK. Watching from the UK. Nice videos. Makes you want to move. Maybe in the future😊
Greetings from Chicago area in US. I was born in Greece and moved here when I was young. My sister lives in Argos and frequently visits Nafplion. You are correct about a lot of those things. We are loud, not patient about driving waiting in lines, but their Greek hospitality is unmatched. Like your videos.
Watching from Agios Konstantinos, Central Greece. Water and bread WAS always without cost. Now many, mostly dodgy restaurants charge a coperto (κουβέρ), this is illegal in Greece, but they do it anyhow.
2:29 my friend lived in Spain for a while and I visited him during a heatwave. I had a heat stroke because he didn't have air conditioning. The day I was leaving we found an AC unit in a closet.
Point 6: They aren't just loud, they are also usually quite empathetic and sometimes full of pathos when talking. Once I sat in my favourite taverna on the beach road in Tyros and the mayor made an announcement regarding a local holiday. The timbre and the gravitas he used made this announcement sound like the blood, sweat and tears speech from Winston Churchill. All the while just telling the people that the beach road would be closed that evening for the procession.
I'm Greek-Canadian, and we're going back to Greece for a vacation for the first time in over 20 years. Normally, we just visit family up north, but this time, we're going to do Greece as tourists. So your videos are very helpful in letting us know what to expect when we visit more touristy areas!
Αυτό με τις τουαλέτες που αναφέρατε είναι κάπως γενίκευση και δεν νομίζω ότι συμβαίνει στην πλειονότητα των μαγαζιών. Εμείς όμως να δεις σοκ που παθαίνουμε όταν συνειδητοποιούμε ότι υπάρχουν άνθρωποι που δεν έχουν πρόβλημα να καθίσουν σε δημόσια τουαλέτα και σοκάρονται όταν δεν υπάρχει κάθισμα !!! 😅
Lucky to have made your life work in the country of your choice. Seems like a dream: the sea, climate... Interestingly presented. Thanks for being honest about everything. We have a similar mentality, the good and the bad. We feel each others a brother-nation, due to historical bonds. Greetings from the neighbouring Serbia.
Ωραίο video, μπράβο! Προτείνω επίσης να κάνεις ένα video για την θάλασσα και το μπάνιο στην ελλάδα, από όσο ξέρω και από την δικιά μου εμπειρία, ελάχιστα μέρη στον κόσμο έχουν την ελληνική κουλτούρα του μπάνιου στην παραλία, ιδίως κάποιοι που είμαστε λίγο μεγαλύτεροι θυμόμαστε τις 3μηνες διακοπές το καλοκαίρι με μπάνιο πρωί απόγευμα κάθε μέρα. επίσης δεν νομίζω να υπάρχουν πολλά μέρη στον κόσμο με τόσες πολλές καλές παραλίες.
I'm from Sardinia, the beautiful island located on the left of Italy. What you said really resonated with me. It's interesting to see similarities even across the Mediterranean
presently watching our village of Kiveri in back of you across the bay.....from Atlanta, Georgia Amerikee.....nice video plus your explanations are right on. To your left, the old Xenia Hotel, now closed, was designed by my professor Ike Saporta, Architect, in 1968. In the distance looking past the Palamedo Castle is the little Island of Plati, which I designed a Hotel in 1972, but unfortunately, the island was deemed not buildable by the government, mainly due to no water (like Spetses).
Regading point 3: as someone whose family had a summer house in Greece for 25 years, we got told that it has also tax reasons because as long as the house isn't finished you don't have to pay taxes or at the very least not full taxes. That's apparently a main reason why it take so long for so many houses to be finished.
Nein mein Freund, daran liegt es nicht. Den Unterschied macht es, ob du legal oder illegal baust. Das weißt du aber, oder? Als Grieche 😉 mit Sicherheit!
@@irinigago the truth is somewhere in the middle. Many home extentions are illegal (without any permit - that cost a lot of money to issue), but also an unfinished house is not a house, so it can't be taxed
I love your channel. I’m Brazilian been in the Uk for the last 20 years and would Love one day to move to Greece, good to see a Latino doing well in Greece!
My Greek family lived in an unfinished home they were building for years and years. They said it was for tax reasons. If the house was not yet finished, they didn’t have to pay as much property tax as they would if it were done. I’m not sure if that’s really true, but that’s what they said.
My wife and I watch you from Toronto Canada, we are both Greek! we will be in Kiveri end of July for a few days. We visit Nafplio yearly. Love your videos and information.
Love your videos the best we have seen. My wife and I have found a house near Ermioni and hope to have the deposit paid later this month. We love Nafpilo and plan to spend a lot of time there. We are in East Sussex near Eastbourne
Watching from South Africa. Planning to live in Crete very, very soon so your videos are so interesting and contain such gems of information. Thank you and please keep them coming 👍
The fact that Τάκης nade it in this video, instantly adds immense culture value and insight 😂 Also if you ever do a Part 2, you might want to mebtion the whole toilet paper situation with the bins, and how important is not to dispose the paper in the bowl. 😊
Daniel, I just watched your video on how you make a living in Greece. You inspire me as an aspiring entrepreneur. You mentioned that you took an inventory of all of your skills after the Kafenio didn't workout. Can you elaborate (maybe a future video?) on how should we go about taking stock on our skills and how to translate them to an online business? That would be awesome coming form you. Thank you, Daniel. Saludos!!
Hello, may you maybe do a video about the using of plastic and the lot of trash that we see on our holidays? I am not telling to do an offensive video, but I would like to know how the locals think about it? Older people or young as well? How do they process the tons of plastic bags just from the toilet bins? Do they think to find a more ecological solution? I am not sure if this can be a topic to talk about, but it is something that many foreigners shocks as well. Thx
I’ve read that from this year it is forbidden to charge for κουβέρ (couvert), meaning use of cutlery, plates, tablecloth etc. It is also not permitted to bring water and bread without previous consent of the customer.
Bread and bottled water are indeed charged in Greek restaurants. Since 2013, however, there has been a Greek law that provides that bread and bottled water must come to the table only if the customer orders it. Drinking bottled water that you have brought with you is prohibited. In many Greek areas the tap water is not drinkable,
sun beds and umbrellas are pretty cheap in most parts of Greece except at the hot spots like Santorini and Mykonos. For 2 persons 10€. Often the rent is paid with the drinks/meals you order like in Chalkidiki. By the way they have the best cosy beaches: Sinthonia. The enterprises have to pay to use the beach: 3000 € and more for a season.
I am Greek decent and go to the island of Karpathos every summer and own a home there. Everything you say is true plus but I I keep going for two months every summer. Am I crazy?
Another great video, thank you. Just to mention that there are a lot of drivers in the UK who do not respect queues at all. They will sneak in front of you in a roundabout if it happens they have an electric or fast car in general that can accelerate more than yours 😂
So cool and true video! Btw about the Bread and Water in taverns. In Taverns(at least 10+ years ago don't know if they still doing it), If there was no water and bread the meal was free, aiming for the homeless who couldn't afford food. Same goes for the Vasilopita, each household will cut a piece for the less fortunate to give if ever someone knocked your door.
Just a comparison to what regards water and bread; As a greek who lives in Austria since many years, I find at least awful the fact that the Austrians offer just a small glass of tap water with any order, and sometimes nothing at all. There is no chance to have a normal glass of tap water without being charged for it! As far as the bread is concerned, no comment! :)
Very true about the language I am from Scotland and some people can’t understand me in England when I speak and I am not broad spoken I suppose it’s all down to dialects in different parts of the country you come from
My experience as a Greek who studied English for 12 consecutive years was mind boggling when I met my first Scot :D. To this day I have no idea what he tried to communicate to me. I begged him to slow down to a point we both gave up trying 🤣🤣 No school can prepare you for the Scottish accent
Driving Tip: If you are staying in a city, especially Athens, avoid renting a car... use a taxi. If you are travelling on a national road you can rent a car, but be careful on mountain roads. For pedestrians: Be extremely careful when crossing the road, many cars do not stop.
We live in Bulgaria, 2 hours drive from Greece. We are the same as the Greek, same mentality, same shouting(mostly friendly, but it sounds aggressive) and we love Greece. We know how to approach and talk to them. One of the friendliest and complex people in the world, but then so are we. Ola Kala
Regarding Greek driving, it markedly improved after the economic crisis. Probably because fuel got so much more expensive, or maybe the younger generations, as in most places in Europe, are actually safer drivers than their parents and grandparents were in their teens, twenties and thrities. Well, I say most places, but I can only vouch for Austria (my homecountry), Germany, Italy and Greece. Anyway, when you came to Greece driving had already markedly improved compared to the 90s and 2000s (at least in my perception). Therefore let's hope that this development continues.
Love your videos. Watching from Cronulla Sydney. Have been to Greece a couple of time and can relate. Was shocked when in Athens and we were charged for table water and bread which we didn't even ask for. We had just arrived from Thessakoniki and they did not do that. In Thessaloniki they even had complimentry desert after a meal in some places... By the way we loved Naphplion.
It's not exactly crazy driving, like for example in some southern Asia countries, it's more like driving in a dense traffic which never stops. Someone has to achieve higher driving skills in order to participate in this. Of-course there are some drivers as well who drive like morons in this organized chaos (or they are literally morons), but that's another story in parallels which is too long to tell here.
I am a Brit on my 3rd month long visit to the Peloponnese after falling in love with the area on our first trip which was to Nafplio . Love your video and agree with these points, but feel you left off two things that will shock many tourists much more than paying for bread and water. 1 The state and /or lack of Pavements. (i broke my wrist on my first visit tripping on a half buried pipe on the pavement) 2. The lack of healthy and safety on the old monuments. Here it is normal to have completely unguarded drops down sheer cliff faces etc such as your castle in Nafplio (and the step to it).
Hi, I am watching this from Adelaide in South Australia. We are visiting Greece from September 19.One week in Athens, one week in Naxos and one week in Paros. It was hard to choose where to visit as there are so many options, but we chose popular islands without the craziness of Santorini and Mykonos. However, we are doing a day trip to Mykonos and Delphi.We cannot wait as greece has been a must see destination for many years. Thank you for your channel, I found it just today. :)
That last one about the bread and water, is actually called "cover charge". And the price is negligible, like 0.50 - 1.00 euro per person for the bread (some restaurants/tavernas may offer some olive paste and some extra virgin olive oil as a "condiment" for the bread (sort of like an appetiser). Also, in some places where the water is drinkable (like in some villages of Pelion, where there are natural springs all over) its actually free, regalrdless of the amount. There are places in certain parts of Greece that the service will actually ask you if you want tap water or bottled. (bottled has a charge, usually about 1 euro or 1.50)
There is one more thing you will pay for in most places eating food. It's called kouver, (I think "cover charge"). Its not something you consume but the overall charge for the place, atmosphere, service etc. And the price is not fixed.
And something strange about the abandoned buildings is that you might see it abandoned since you were born, and now you are 23 for example and you decide to go in and see what is inside and suddenly caps or an officer or generally someone is coming and yelling that 'this is private property' (for example of the one who owns a house or a bar or something next to that) and 'you better leave or I call the police and stuff like that..
1) the driving part is very true Always drive " defensively" 2) true but is also very true that most shops, restaurants, tarvens ect are outdoors like so it kinda makes sense 3) there are many reasons why this happens, mostly has to do with Bureaucracy and founding 4) well.. 5) you said it all 6) in Greece when someone is speaking to low people will tell them to say it loudly 😊 7) English is part of the things have to people learn in puplic school but that doesn't means that people can have a full conversation in English 8) well there are Quiet places but one would have to discover them 😉 9) well mykonos is mykonos The prices are more reasonable in other places, often only charging for the coffee or whatever 10) it's called " couver" it's actually illegal but most of the time taverns are getting away with it became the charge so little that people don't get notice of it 😉
The first one hit a little too hard. When I visited for the second time in Rhodes, my boyfriend was ordering me a Gyros, and a man parked his car in the middle of the road and went in line to order himself a gyros. I was astonished how not a single person complained, and instead, they all just drove around the car whose driver side door was left open 😂
@eleniasimop it was a two-way street, so the cars were having to drive into the incoming lane, so I don't know if I'd say enough room, but their patients are immaculate!
I was laughing so hard with number 6! Its so true! lol :) The bottle of water and bread is called kouver here on Greece and its been that way for a long time. I can understand that it must be weird for a tourist but dont get to worried cuz it only cost a couple of euros. I wanna add that most of the time they dont force you to buy the water just the bread. Greetings to everyone from Athens Greece. :)
2:20 - Greece is not like Europe, because much of Europe is in the north. I think Southern Europe accounts for most European AC unit sales. It's more common to find AC in a house than not - that said - some gyms do indeed turn them off as a cost saving measure. For a gym in particular this doesn't make sense, because in my mind it's a safety issue, but I'm not a gym owner.
I put up with no toilet seats at work in Athens for ages and then finally took upon myself to install new ones. No one ever gave me a good reason not to have them and so they stayed on the toilets and were never removed again.
Well, I am Bulgarian and all of these "shockers" are applicable for Bulgaria as well. For the whole Balkan peninsula for that matter. Maybe except for #10. I only need to learn Greeknin order to be able to curse at the other drivers properly!
