Shall we go for coffee?

A suggestion - invitation very favorite to most Greeks, all year round, winter and summer: ‘Shall we go for coffee?’ Greece is the land of light and sun and we Greeks do not miss the opportunity to enjoy the beauty and happiness that the wonderful weather offers us in our homeland. An outing to drink coffee with your friends or your friend, it also means an opportunity to communicate with him / her, to tell your news,  to learn his / her own, to comment, to think, to express your feelings, your fears, your desires, to laugh, to cry, to make decisions. Going out for coffee with a loved person is a kind of psychotherapy, it is a habit that gives you strength, joy and energy to continue your daily life.

But there are times when you want to enjoy your coffee alone, with your thoughts, to give space and time to yourself, to calm down and stop talking, just to stand as an observer of your life and the world around you.

The possible and ideal places for coffee are many and you can, easily and without much effort, visit them. Most people prefer cafes or small cafes near their place of residence, in their neighborhood, in the square of their area, where gather a lot of people. But you can move with your car, your motorbike or better with the metro, in the center of Athens and sit down to drink your coffee in Plaka, in Thiseio, in Monastiraki or in Syntagma.

If you do not like the city center and you are in the mood  and have the means of transportation to move, you can enjoy your coffee, in a beautiful nearby beach of Athens, in Piraeus, in Marina Zeas, in Mikrolimano, in Faliro, in Glyfada, in Vouliagmeni, in Varkiza. The view of the sea and the calm that exudes, compensate you for any inconvenience you went through, until you reach your destination.
It seems that we, the inhabitants of big cities,  have more need to go out, to tell our news, drinking a coffee, and we consider it something expected and normal, compared to those who live in the suburbs, villages and generally in more remote places from the city. People there, do not go out often , perhaps because they are busy with their work or on the other hand, they have become accustomed to the view and the beauty of nature around them, so that they do not need to go out of their house to drink coffee. After all, they can enjoy their coffee with neighbors, relatives or friends, in their yard of their house.

Of course, the best time to go for coffee is the weekend, all hours, from morning to night, without restriction.

Well, what do you say, shall we go for coffee?

Anthoula P. Veziri

 

Winter swimmers

I have loved the sea since I was a child. I prefer it from the mountain, winter and summer. I can not imagine my summer vacation away from the sea. However, I think I could never swim in its cold waters in the winter.

The inhabitants of the areas of coastal highway in Athens, those who live in Alimos, Glyfada, Neo Faliro, Vouliagmeni, are the most winter swimmers. Whenever you go through there in the winter, you will always see some people swimming or sunbathing. For them, as soon as the sun rises, it is summer, even if the temperature outside the water is only five degrees. In general, I have noticed that those who live in these areas of Attica, near the sea, are involved in sports every day, not necessarily, but as a way of life.

Every time I went there with my husband or with our daughter, for a coffee or to ride our daughter a bike, when she was little, I watched them all wear sports clothes and shoes, run with the walkman in the ears or swim in the sea. They looked like they were living in another country, or not having an affair with the rest of us living in the city center. I admired them and wondered where they found the mood to exercise and then I thought that I had a long time to exercise, even for a while.

On the contrary, I have noticed and heard from people living in coastal places, far from Attica, or on the islands, even in the summer, not to go swimming because they say that whenever they want, they can see the sea, they are used to it or they are bored at it.

I still don’t understand this at all and I don’t like to hear it either. Then I think that I am in a much better position, since, while I live in Athens, in the summer I do my vacations and my baths and at the same time I am not bored at sea. Nor do I ever want to get used to it so much that it is enough for me to see it only from a distance.

Those who are winter swimmers, claim that they never get sick, while at the same time they are kept in very good physical condition. They get used to the cold little by little at first, since they never stop bathing and then it doesn’t bother them. I would love this to happen to me, but it can’t be done. Instead, I compromised in the winter with the swimming pool, but with heated and indoor pool. The beauty of the sea, however, is not compared to any pool and they are lucky those who can enjoy it swimming, in winter or in summer or even better, all year round.

Anthoula P. Veziri