What is solo travel?(31) Greece

(27) Greece

Greece is located in southern Europe and Western Asia, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, which is famous for its romantic equinox, and its capital is Athens (Αθήνα, Athens). In addition, in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, as far as the Aegean Sea, it was besieged by Greece.

The Greeks even said that they were “people who could not live without the sea,” and in fact, ancient texts such as Xenophon’s <Anavasis> said, “If you are a village nestled on the shore of salt water, you can speak Greek.” is used.

 The Aegean Sea, which has many islands, is always a blue sea and is said to be the center of Greek history. In this sea there are beautiful islands such as Santorini, Mykonos, Samos, and Crete, which are famous for their work. It is a maritime country with many islands, so there are many marine animals and plants living there.

 It is home to marine mammals such as dolphins and seals, as well as various other seabirds and fish and shellfish. Currently, the top predator on land is the Eurasian brown bear, and it is said that the king of animals in Europe was not a lion, but a bear.

It is said that this is because bears lived throughout Europe and were worshiped. It is said that Asian lions lived in Europe a long time ago, as they appear in abundance in Aesop’s fables and Greek and Roman mythology, but at some point, lions became extinct and only brown bears remained.

Other carnivores include wolves, red foxes, golden jackals, wild cats, otters, rock martens, and weasels, as well as red deer, deer, European roe deer, wild boars, chamois, and various birds, rodents, amphibians, reptiles, and insects.

The average temperature in summer is 35 degrees Celsius, and in winter it is slightly warm. The administrative divisions of Greece were originally composed of provinces, counties, and dimos, communities, municipalities, and districts, but with the reform of Kalicratis in 2011, it was changed to a decentralized government, provinces, dimos, cities, and units.

As a tourist country, the security is well maintained, but you need to be careful because pickpocketing and theft often occur in tourist spots, but in the case of Greece, compared to major cities in Western Europe such as Rome, Italy, Barcelona, Spain, and Paris, France,

As it can be said that the probability of encountering pickpockets and other miscellaneous criminals is extremely low, it can be said that it provides a comfortable tourist environment in terms of public security. According to the Greek police, Greece is a country with a low crime rate by EU standards, and the security is good.

With the introduction of the euro in 2002, the euro is now the common currency, and it was the only EU member country that used the euro and was not part of the U.S. visa waiver program, but it joined belatedly.

It has been in default since ancient times. It declared default even before independence, and was in a state of national default immediately after independence, and this state occupies nearly 100 years of its 200-year history since independence

During the Greek economic crisis in 2015, it declared default again, but even so, in the poorest country in the Western camp right after the world war, from the 1950s to the early 1970s, it oppressed the people with anti-communism and iron dictatorship.

It was said that the economy continued to grow and became much richer than before, but in the late 1970s and early 1990s, growth slowed down in a situation where major industries declined one after another, starting with the oil shock.

Since the Olympics were held in 2004 and the growth trend continued for a while, many people made money, mainly among the middle-aged and elderly, as the real estate craze blew, but instead, the young people did not benefit much because housing costs soared, and the economic situation seemed to improve after that.

The economic situation is very bad, and the welfare level is not very good by EU standards, so it was in the middle and lower levels, but with the large-scale protests in 2008, the youth unemployment problem became serious and continued to deteriorate, and the youth unemployment rate was the highest in the EU.

Even if they get a job, most of them are low-wage jobs, so it has been a while since the term “500-euro generation” came out. Moreover, I don’t know if it will take one or two years like the IMF foreign exchange crisis, but the problem is that the problem of youth unemployment has been an issue for more than 20 years.

And pensions, which used to be doing well, have been continuously cut since 2009, barely exceeding half of what they were before the economic crisis, and fortunately, the situation is improving as Chinese capital flocks to Greece in the late 2010s.

This is because if you invest in Greek real estate (more than 250,000 euros), you can get citizenship. Although China’s international status has increased, it is still necessary to obtain a separate visa to enter many developed countries, so you must endure various inconveniences. 

Obtaining Greek citizenship allows you to get rid of these restrictions. Because the rich Chinese are investing heavily in Greek real estate for the purpose of acquiring Greek citizenship, the construction market is booming again, and the unemployment rate has improved a lot, such as a lot of reduction.

However, it is difficult to say that the lower unemployment rate is still in the mid-10% range and the youth unemployment rate is still in the 20% range, so it is difficult to say that it is a good situation.

As house prices skyrocket day by day, salaries do not rise much, which is good for building owners, but the situation is bad for ordinary office workers. Moreover, the Greek government is collecting huge tax revenues due to the real estate boom, so this situation is expected to continue.

The city with the most things to see in mainland Greece is Athens, and there are courses that take you on city tours and historical sites on the outskirts. In the Attici region around Athens, the Temple of Poseidon in the Cape of Sounion, where the myth of Theseus and the Black Sailboat has been descended,  

Salamis Island, which is now the commuting area of Athens, Aegina and Hydra Islands, which still have an old atmosphere to this day, Thessaloniki, Crete, Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos, and Rhodes, which are the second largest cities in Greece, and Rhodes Island, which still have traces of the Cyclades and medieval crusades.

There are quite a few places worth visiting, such as Meteora, which is famous for its mysterious rock formations. There are hundreds of other islands, ferry trips around them, or Mediterranean cruises, but the ones worth visiting are the historical sites on some of the islands, the white houses in advertisements,

It’s about the seaside scenery. In fact, except for a few islands that are frequented by tourists, it is just a fishing village. However, vacationers from Europe prefer these fishing villages. It’s because the prices are cheap, and the people are very friendly.

Honeymooners often visit Greece, and you can have a romantic experience of holding a wedding while watching the sunset over the Aegean Sea. There are many marble sites, so there are many tourist spots that prohibit the wearing of high heels.