When in Greece do as the Greek do - except for the driving
When I first arrived in Greece, I drove according to the speed limits. When I told people this, they laughed and shook their head, silly foreign girl! Because over here the speed limits are just a suggestion that most people double... My highest speed so far has been 115 and I am still being overtaken at this speed. If the Greeks want some money to pay back their debt then I suggest going out and stopping everyone that speeds and they will be back on track again..
Don't even get me started on the roundabouts in this country! According to the Greeks, when you enter a roundabout you have to stop for anyone coming from the right, ehm, that makes zero sense. Once you are in, you are meant to keep driving until you make it out. Imagine the arch in Paris with these rules! I still hold my breath every time I enter a roundabout and just hope for the best.
When I am driving down to Lefkas, there is a city that is built around mini-roundabouts. Now, this is a whole other story because you just drive straight through them, they serve ZERO purpose. I even saw a car doing a U-turn next in one, without driving around the little roundabout, just treating it as a normal road.
Of course, then we also have the pedestrians that have a special fondness for stopping in the middle of the road, which is just brilliant. The other day I saw a woman in the middle of the road talking to a guy on a motorbike, also in the middle of the road. As I approached thinking, silly people, the woman just turns around without looking my way and starts to take a step out on the road to cross back to pavement, luckily the motorist saw me and stopped her (and of course my foot was on the break in a second). But my favourite has to be the little old men and women that get on their bicycles with all their shopping and cycles along the road, obviously struggling to keep the bicycle in a straight line, going in to the road as you have meeting traffic coming against you.
But the classic road safety issues has to be the scooters and the amount of stuff, animals and people the stack on them when they drive around. It is not uncommon to see people driving with furniture, TV's and even pipes and ladders on their shoulders through the town. I can't blame them because even though I have a very small car, it is near impossible to find parking anywhere.
But when in Greece I still won't do as the Greeks do when it comes to driving! But maybe at the end of the season I will be singing a different tune, though I seriously doubt that.
Don't even get me started on the roundabouts in this country! According to the Greeks, when you enter a roundabout you have to stop for anyone coming from the right, ehm, that makes zero sense. Once you are in, you are meant to keep driving until you make it out. Imagine the arch in Paris with these rules! I still hold my breath every time I enter a roundabout and just hope for the best.When I am driving down to Lefkas, there is a city that is built around mini-roundabouts. Now, this is a whole other story because you just drive straight through them, they serve ZERO purpose. I even saw a car doing a U-turn next in one, without driving around the little roundabout, just treating it as a normal road.
Of course, then we also have the pedestrians that have a special fondness for stopping in the middle of the road, which is just brilliant. The other day I saw a woman in the middle of the road talking to a guy on a motorbike, also in the middle of the road. As I approached thinking, silly people, the woman just turns around without looking my way and starts to take a step out on the road to cross back to pavement, luckily the motorist saw me and stopped her (and of course my foot was on the break in a second). But my favourite has to be the little old men and women that get on their bicycles with all their shopping and cycles along the road, obviously struggling to keep the bicycle in a straight line, going in to the road as you have meeting traffic coming against you.
But the classic road safety issues has to be the scooters and the amount of stuff, animals and people the stack on them when they drive around. It is not uncommon to see people driving with furniture, TV's and even pipes and ladders on their shoulders through the town. I can't blame them because even though I have a very small car, it is near impossible to find parking anywhere.
But when in Greece I still won't do as the Greeks do when it comes to driving! But maybe at the end of the season I will be singing a different tune, though I seriously doubt that.
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