It’s been 7 years since I last visited my grandmother and relatives in Sydentro Grevenwn in Greece ( located in MAKEDONIA ) . You see , sometimes life take control of your actions and people that matter to you , become a phone call with a figure that you remember from the past!
And then , a day came that I just could not stay still and not do nothing! So I called my mom and told her to get ready cause in 2 hours we were going to visit my grandma in Sydentro Grevenwn. I filled my car with gas and started the unexpected trip with a beautiful weather …. The distance from my place , Molos Fthiotidas to Sydentro Grevenwn is about 250 km which is not long but due to weird roads can take many hours especially on Winter.
Our road trip was pretty cool and I had the chance to stop at Venetikos River and take some pics that you see below
After about 3,30 hours I was finally at my first destination which is the city of Grevena where my moms sister and first cousins live. They own a traditional café there that serves coffee ,ouzo and tsipouro with Greek meze!
With my first cousin Maria . We are both called Maria after our grandma :)
The reunion between my mom and her sister was very emotional and we had a great time with the family before we hit the road again to stay with my grandma in Sydentro village which is about 6 km from the city of Grevenwn.
Some random photos of the village :)
I remember when I took the last turn and saw the house that I had so many memories from my childhood , I could feel my heart beat with joy and love! My grandmother , Maria, is a 81 years old woman that lived many years in Munich in Germany with my grandfather Nikos and my mom and returned back to the village after she retired. My grandfather passed many years ago when I was in university but I still remember him dancing the hippie hippie shake :))
My grandmother is such an amazing person , there are no words that can describe what she really means for the whole family! Hard worker , very smart and strong and with an excellent sense of humor, believe it or not :)
My grandmother , Maria , in some photos ...
I forgot to mention that if you ever visit specific location in Makedonia you will probably find trouble to understand everything that they say , especially the old ones, because they speak the Pontiakh dialect which is very interesting but difficult to understand … fortunately I spend all my Summers in Grevena while I was growing so I could still understand almost everything although I couldn’t speak them. After seven years I had the chance to meet with closed and long relatives that I haven’t seen since I was a child and I was really happy to see my moms brother, Giannis , who is an amazing person himself, he doesn’t say much but he is very smart and as the years goes by , he looks more and more like my grandfather ! :)
While I was hanging around with my family and friends I had the chance to take some cool pictures of the areas around the village of Sydentro which took his name because of the amazing trees that is around the village .
On Saturday evening , we went to the cemetery to light a candle for my grandfather , Nikos and the long lost relatives and friends that were in heaven and i even got the chance to visit my great great grandmother , giagia Devronia . She was the first midwife in the village and there is a specific mention for her in National Geographic because it's said that she never lost a baby in birth. Down below are some photos that i took
THE DOCUMENT :)
My aunt Lena with the magazine smiling at me :)
My great great grandmother Devronia
Next day , while the barbeque was happening back to the house, we went for a long walk to the abandoned school that my mom spend her first years . Down below are some photos that I took there…
we kept on enjoying our walk and took many beautiful pics
My loving grandmother made us traditional pontiaka pastries like tyropita , spanakopita and pisia ( a fried dough that is very yummy )
and i had the chance to try tastes that i haven't eaten for years made by the best !
Grandma and me
And after a week of joy and happiness , on Monday I had to pack my car with treats that my grandmother had made and take the road back to reality . But I did a promise to myself that on Easter days I will come back again cause 7 years was a long time to see what really matters!
What I mean, guys , speaking from personal experiences , don’t ever ever do the mistake that I did… Find time to see people that matter, life is unexpected and every day is a beautiful day to do something for yourself and others!
I hope I did not bore you too much… Have a great day steemers and enjoy today!!!
From Greece with love!