They gave me an opportunity to shape EESTEC international and to try the highlights of Greek coffee culture. Meet EESTEC LC Patras’ hospitality:
I found it unusual that before the event the head organizer contacted me and warned me about the unreliability of Greek public transport. I was still quite optimistic about my travel from Athens international airport to Patras when waiting for my train which was just a few minutes late. After one missed connection, one hour of waiting and sweating in the hot Greek autumn sun and one full bus I could not enter later, I was welcomed in Patras by two lovely EESTECers and given two amazingly tasty Souvlaki for dinner. Life could have been worse.
Patras is a small Greek city squeezed between the mountains and the sea in the north-west of the Peloponnese. And I got to see most of it in one amazing but tiring city rally. Highlights are Roman-era ruins, beautiful stairways leading to the higher parts of the town and the plentiful and cute cats everywhere. Patras is also home to Greece’s oldest winery (which is somehow ~150 and not over 2000 years old) from where you have one exceptional view of the city and where you can relax in a romantic Greek vineyard.
About the event: the other 4 participants and I had highly productive working sessions about pressing topics in EESTEC with the board but also had a lot of fun at LC Patras’ parties. It’s “work hard, play hard” for EESTECers! I will forever remember my first international night when I handed what amounts to two huge packages of Swiss chocolate to grateful EESTECers. And at the Greek night party, I tasted food I never could have imagined before.
Lastly, I want to tell you about the less-known but amazing Greek coffee specialities. In the Greek summer, a warm cup of coffee is just not cutting it. So they have their coffee with ice. It is energizing, refreshing and simply perfect to enjoy while chatting with your new LC Patras friends on the beach.
I hope that you too have one day the opportunity to visit EESTEC LC Patras and enjoy a Greek salad with an espresso freddo 3 meters right at the sea’s edge.
