Shoes, flags and George Clooney's marbles
A post-elections, post-boat-sleepover edition, with a pinch of summer melancholy
I’ll open this edition by apologizing for not sending out last week’s newsletter. I was away on a trip, I was very tired, and I felt I wouldn’t be doing a great job. Because The Lost Expat Digest isn’t just a pile of links, I need to spice every edition with a little bit of me, and last week, I ran out of extra “me” spices. So instead of serving a bland plate, I decided to skip the meal altogether.
The Romanian elections on May 18 were also pretty intense, and I needed to take a breath after they were over (though, for once, the good guys won—which is rare in these dark times). As always, I wrote an explainer in Inside Story, outlining how this happened (especially given that just two weeks earlier, the far-right candidate had a 20% lead), and what it means for the Romanian people—who took to the streets in celebration, waving EU flags and popping champagne bottles like they’d just escaped from Mordor.
And then, the very next day, I jumped on a 12-hour boat ride to Mytilini for a PhD seminar.
It was my third time on the island and my second time traveling there by boat, without a sleeping cabin. It’s not a trip for the faint of heart, I’ll say that. Or for people with bad backs. Or, in general, for anyone over 35.
Just take the plane. You’ll thank me later.
I used to be able to sleep anywhere: in tents, in the trunk of a car, in the seat of a car, under the stars, you name it. In my 20s, that’s how I saw most of Europe: driving from one end to the other, sleeping whenever, wherever.
I’m sad to say that era is over.
Thankfully, taking the boat meant I could also bring the Ioanamobile with me, and riding it around the island more than made up for both nights of lost sleep.
Spotlight
While I was gone, a giant shoe hovered over the Acropolis during a drone show promoting Adidas. As you can imagine, this didn’t go well with everyone. In fact, it sparked public outrage.
The memes were pretty good, though. And in spite of the fact that everyone seemed to have the proper permits, The Greek Ministry of Culture filed a lawsuit against everyone responsible, for breaking archaeology laws.
Just a few days later, Greek police detained 15 activists for unfurling a Palestinian flag at Acropolis.
Yes to shoes, no to flags. Got it.
News You Can Use
In an attempt to put another patch on the already gushing wound of the housing crisis, Greece considers a penalty tax for owners of vacant properties. However, evasion seems to be the real priority of the government, as they’re considering making e-payments for rents mandatory, but not taking into account any sort of measures that would curb the price hikes. At the same time, a Greek court halted the business fee on short-term rentals in a preliminary ruling.
Meanwhile, Thessaloniki has launched Greece’s first public social housing agency, applying a Belgian-style leasing model to address chronic housing insecurity.
In other news:
One in ten Greek families with at least one child is unable to provide a full daily meal for them.
One in 3 Greeks was unable to pay their electricity bill in 2024.
And talking about electricity, I was in the DEH store when I got a blue screen trying to make this decision quickly (“green or yellow tariff?”), so I’ll just leave this here, in case it helps anyone not end up staring at one of their employees with dead eyes for half an hour: Fixed or floating electricity tariffs?
Fruit prices in Greece’s local markets and grocery stores have surged to unprecedented levels. In many instances, they have doubled from the previous years. The cause? Well, bad weather events caused by climate change.
The National Electronic Health Record Platform was launched, a platform that provides residents access to their comprehensive health records - including diagnoses, prescriptions, test results, and hospitalizations - via the online portal.
Natural disaster insurance becomes mandatory for cars and businesses starting June 1st.
Greek researchers part of the Panhellenic Union of Employees in Research and Tertiary Education were on strike today. So were the taxi drivers, angry at exclusion from government decisions. The “let’s subsidize taxi fares for drunks on weekends” idea from a couple of weeks ago didn’t help that much either.
The Herod Atticus Theater in Athens will close for at least three years for maintenance and restoration work.
How much has the tourist season grown in Attica?
76.2% of citizens support ending permanent job status for public employees, so that workers in the public sector can be let go if they don’t do their jobs well.
May 28, 1979 is the day Greece joined the EEC and here you can read the story of how it happened under PM Karamanlis.
News You Can’t Use
George Clooney INSISTS that the Parthenon marbles be returned to Greece. About time someone put their foot down! “We’re doing everything we can to ensure the Marbles return to Greece,” he adds, promising that “we’ll continue our efforts until it becomes a reality. There’s no doubt about it”, he emphasizes, with the determination of a movie war commander.
Thanks, George. You’re so close to fixing Greece! Clooney has had this obsession for about a decade, ever since Boris Johnson’s days, who, in reply, stated that: “someone should urgently return Clooney’s own marbles”.
The Long Reads
Athens in Film: 7+1 documentaries about how the Greek capital transformed in the last years. And if you’re not subscribed to Greek Visions, I highly recommend it. It’s all about Greek art and culture, in a very non-pretentious way.
Why isn't the hill of Ardittos open to citizens?
The island of Sifnos is a paradise. It’s also a paradise that has been struggling with a water shortage crisis. This story will show you exactly how bad it’s gotten in the last few years:
"No one is talking because everyone depends on tourism. They either work in construction or have rental properties or both. If no tourists come, we will die of hunger, but on the other hand, we don't have enough water, sewage, garbage management, and slums are being built. It's a double-edged sword."
The island of about 2,500 inhabitants has, in the last 3 years, hosted up to 39,000 tourists at the peak of the season.
In fact, all the islands are a sacrifice on the "altar" of large investments.
The Greek health ministry quietly approved a controversial deal granting two private companies access to the full DNA of 100,000 newborns by 2029—without public disclosure or expert consultation.
Does anybody care for the slowly dying parks of Athens?
Donkeys: working animals or victims of abuse?
An interview with Greek musician Pavlos Pavlidis: “Usually my friends, when they want to tease me, say “what is Pavlidis? A girl, a boat, a port, that!”. Look, I don’t know if beauty will ultimately save the world, but I really like this phrase and although I’ve never understood how it will do it, I want to trust it.”
Wanderlust
Basquiat comes to Greece for the first time. Intermission Gallery, in collaboration with Galerie Enrico Navarra, is bringing Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work to Greece for the very first time. Opening May 22, the exhibition is titled Untitled—a nod to a 1983 piece signed only with the artist’s name and the word “Untitled.”
Three cool places for food that you should try out in June.
On May 25, CineFIX returns brings back summer screenings on the EMST rooftop. Park Your Cinema starts again at Stavros Niarchos. And the Full Moon Sleepovers are also back. Man, I love summer.
Epidaurus Festival just kicked off yesterday and will last throughout the summer. There are so many amazing events happening there, I can’t cover all of it, but I’ll make a few recommendations here and there. You’ve got exhibitions, concerts (The Stranglers, Air, Michael Kiwanuka), theater, you name it. Check out the programme and buy your tickets in advance, they’ll disappear quickly. And in case you’re not sold on it yet, here are 13 reasons to go.
This is the soundtrack of a perfect summer road trip: hand out the window, screaming cicadas, the scent of hot grass in the air, and the sea stretched out at your feet as you drive higher, higher, and away from the world.
Talking about the summer, here are 25 unmissable concerts for this hot season.
5 Athenian kafenios that take you on a journey to the Greek islands and 5 historic Athenian souvlaki joints.
And an idea for a potential island holiday that’s a bit off the beaten track: The Near and Far Festival in Kastellorizo, from June 27 to 29.
If you want to go to Metallica, keep your eye on the ball: tickets are selling fast. The only official platform to buy tickets is ticketmaster.gr and the general public presale opens on May 30 at 10:00 AM.
That’s it. Have a great weekend and do write back. Even if it’s just to complain.
Ioana