2 May - Wow Day

Why wow!  To start with, we visited the battle site of Vevi Pass.  Over the period of 10-12 April a battle was fought between a reinforced 19 Brigade and the German SS 1^st Panzer Division.  The Commonwealth forces gave a good account of themselves, but were eventually forced back.  There are some interesting aspects to the battle and a couple of controversies.

Telling my version...

I had done some research and had a few ideas that needed to be confirmed/denied by seeing and walking the actual ground.  The weather we had was perfect… a mild 22-24, light breeze and great visibility.  The soldiers of ’41 had different weather (even though season-wise we were only 20 days apart… global warming notwithstanding!), for them it was near 0degrees overnight, there were snowstorms, the ground was frozen (which didn’t make much difference because most of the site is rock).

Standing on the same ground... +70!

 I felt especially privileged to be able to provide some advice and perspective to the daughter of an Australian Sergeant who was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (the medal ranked immediately below the Victoria Cross) for leading a successful platoon counter-attack during the battle.  For all who were there… it was special to reach back in time and gain a better understanding of the battle.  And for some it was extra special!

For me, the money for the tour was now justified!

But wait there’s more… and its different!

We drove from Vevi through some  ‘holding action’ positions on our way to Kozani (a major regional city)… and on to the village of Ano Komi (pop. 2000ish).  A relationship has grown up between the Military History folks and some groups within Ano Komi (church reps, cultural group).  So… we were welcomed to the village by the local Bishop (83 years of age, on his sick bed), a delightful gentleman, and then by the families of the cultural group.

Some of the food - Round 1

This was special… we were ushered to some tents, we were offered wine, we were offered a stack of traditional food that the ladies had prepared, we were offered a saffron ouzo (a special local drink – very good for removing tooth enamel and taking away your breath!), we were offered more wine, more food… 

The younger girls

Whilst being wined and dined, we were entertained by some young ladies (12-14 years) in traditional costume performing traditional dances.  The music was played in the tradition way… very, very loud.  The music of central/northern Greece is different… there are strands of middle eastern sounds, other sounds from central Europe and then there were odd similarities to Celtic music (I loved it! Karen didn’t mind it… I much prefer it over some of the more heavy cat-strangling sounds we heard in the south).  To be technically correct the dances and music were from Macedonia.

The older girls

The next group of dancers were a little older (15-17 years).  They wore a slightly different traditional outfit and they performed dances from Thrace (northern Greece).  Both groups of dancers were brilliant!! 

Then… it was time for all to join in!!  Once again, Karen quickly picked up the dance steps and was moving like a cast member from Zorba the Greek!  I on the other hand demonstrated some serious commitment and persistence… for someone who dances like a person with three, crippled left feet, lacking any sense of coordination. One, two, one, two, one two three four!  Couldn’t it be just be left, right, left, right… I can handle that!  Not to worry, we all had fun!

The ‘fun’ continues… the senior ladies of the village then danced and sang (I was humbled by such feats of coordination).  This of course, and almost tragically, required an Australian response… a quick whip around of the group to determine what song we knew the words to! You probably guessed it… Waltzing Matilda!  (I still think we could have got away with the Angels ‘Am I ever Gunna see Your Face Again’).  Well, we cranked out a couple of choruses… and the locals grimaced… maybe smiled but I am pretty sure it was a grimace.  [WARNING: when asking a group of people whether they know the words to a song… be prepared to test what words they actually ‘know’… I have never heard so many different versions of Waltzing Matilda]  If the swaggy hadn’t  jumped in the billabong, I think he would have done so to end our singing of the song!

So all is going well… you now have a group of over-fed, little bit tipsy Australians who haven’t created a diplomatic incident!!

We then received a briefing on the Krokus flower which is a local specialty product – Saffron (the world’s most expensive spice… dearer than some illicit drugs).  Now for some of those following the blog this saffron stuff has great healing power: anti-inflammatory; memory; anti -cancer; and so on!  So google Kozani Krokus if you want to remember to make the swelling go down!

Then it was a quick trip to the hotel… change into party clothes for more…. Food, wine and dancing!!

Karen dancing!

Some of the food - Round 2

Our hosts from Ano Komi had a dinner for us.  More traditional food (universally declared as the best food any of us had had whilst in Greece), more wine (the white was pleasant enough, the red was a bit ‘fruity’ for moi! And fortunately there was no more local Ouzo), and a live band (complete with bazouki player and vocalists: the band was great!).  Of course, this could only lead to one thing… more being over-fed, moving beyond tipsy… and for me, even more uncoordinated humiliation on the dance floor (so what! more white please! Hic).  Sadly, the night came to a close… and for some strange reason (possibly built on the deluded success of our earlier performance) there was a compulsion to sing Waltzing Matilda… again! (by the way, there had been no further agreement on the words).  If that was not enough, one brave soul tried to explain the story of the suicidal sheep thief… which doesn’t even survive translation to some English speaking peoples!

Everybody had a fantastic night!!!  This was a fairly unique experience that we had… Karen and I both felt very fortunate to share the genuine warmth and graciousness of these folks!

So, from the start of the day to the end it was…. Wow!  Just loved it!