road traffic
-------------------------------

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . is very dependent on the region. Anyone who dares to venture into the Athens area needs strong nerves, should be a little deaf if possible and have good insurance. But old diesel womos have no problem at all, they are not allowed to Athens anyway. . . . .

In the more rural areas in which we prefer to stay, everything is so relaxed that in return we suffer a culture shock when we come to hectic Germany, with regulations that too still to be observed. . . .

The traffic rules, one has the impression in Greece, were made at some point by someone who was terribly bored and who just has nothing else to do. Now they exist, but that´s about it.

Traffic lights and signs are in principle understood as a nice, colorful enrichment of the local street scene; they are by no means given any meaning.
No one is surprised if someone comes to meet you in a one-way street. . . . where it is so much shorter than the outside. . .

or the funny white stripes on the street, wherever the tourists stand and look so obediently. . . . what are they waiting for? Another thing that a Greek does not really understand.

As in Italy, we admire to an even greater extent the tolerance with which road users treat one another. It may well depend on the region, but for Epirus, the Ionian Islands (except maybe Corfu, but that´s a different story....) and the Peloponnese we have found the above-described confirmed.



~womo66~fritz14~fritz~, 2007-09-05