HORTIATIS GREECE
13-17/10/2025

ARRIVALS 12/10/2025

The first guests arrived from Spain at 9:00 on Sunday morning. The host families had been waiting since early in the morning, and after the group’s departure for Hortiatis, the teachers enjoyed a coffee in Panorama.
At noon, the team from Portugal arrived, in the afternoon the team from Italy, and very late at night the team from France.

Monday 13/10/2025

The first day of this Erasmus exchange, regarding the Mediterranean Diet, started off with a welcoming ceremony at our school's event room. All students, foreigners and their host, attended a very nice event in which everybody was welcomed.

First, Mrs. Styliani Lalagka welcomed the teachers and students, emphasizing the valuable opportunity provided by this Erasmus+ exchange to learn together, foster friendships, and create lasting memories. Subsequently, the floor was given to the headmaster of our school, Mr. Dimitrios Papadopoulos, who also extended a warm welcome to our guests through his speech. He was followed by Mrs. Dimitra Ntomprou, who focused mainly on offering practical advice, such as taking care when crossing the streets and being aware that certain gestures may carry different meanings from one country to another.

The customary exchange of gifts and group photographs followed.

Afterwards, students and teachers of our school welcomed the guests with a cultural program that included the traditional Greek dance Hasapiko, accompanied by the song “Omorfi Thessaloniki” (“Beautiful Thessaloniki”). The room was filled with smiles, nervous laughs we all have when meeting new people and good energy for this new beginning.

After that, each county's group started presenting the presentation which had been prepared before the beginning of the exchange. The fist presentations were about the guest's schools and cities. A small taste of the places where the next mobilities were going to be held, Palermo Sicily Itlay, Denia Spain, Esponsende Potrtugal and last but not least Pertuis France.

During the next hour, presentations of the three specific products of this mobility (olive, olive oil, and wine) were given by each country's group. The presentations focused on their production, each country's varieties, and the percentage of local consumption and exports. It was really obvious that all students were feeling a bit nervous at first, but as the presentations went on, ice seemed to break, making everyone feel more comfortable and confident.

Once the presentations were done with a lot of success, some very interesting workshops were implemented. Before that, all students were split into eight mixed-nationality groups of five members each.

Firstly, all the students participated in a European Citizenship program, directed by our English teacher, Mrs.Parousi. It contained small challenges, in which each group had to guess the origin of a few dishes and a few songs. It was really fun, and all of us really enjoyed trying to identify the roots of them.

Later on, under the guidance of Mrs. Lalagka, each group created a poster on active citizenship with the topic “Zero Hunger: Maintaining Food Security.” All groups produced remarkably beautiful posters, which were then uploaded to a Padlet.

The school bell, though, rang, signaling to the students that it was time to return home. So, everyone with their guest left from the school and went to their home. There, all foreigners’ students were able to try the traditional Greek food that each family had prepared. It was clearly evident that everyone was satisfied with the new tastes!
Meanwhile, and before their luch in a local restaurant, teachers had the opportunity to visit the historical aqueduct which stands at the entrance of Hortiatis village for almost 1.800 years.

Lastly, Monday’s schedule also included a tour of our martyric village. A few of the Greek students acted as guides and presented our beautiful village to the others. Everyone showed great interest in the story of Hortiatis. We visited the holocaust monument, the Gkouramanis' bakery, the Ntampoudis' house as well as the church of Saint George and the Byzantine Chapel of Tranfiguration of the Saver.

And after we took some group photos in front of some important monuments, all students were dismissed and all of them went for a walk in the nearby areas.

TUESDAY 14/10/2025

Tuesday morning started bright and early at 7:00. After enjoying a delicious breakfast, we got ready for our much-anticipated excursion.

Once we reached the bus, we waited for the other students and teachers to join us before setting off toward our first destination, the Palace of King Philippou.

The next stop was the Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai. Upon arrival, teachers and students were divided into two groups, guests and hosts. The guests were guided by an expert tour guide, who vividly described and explained many important historical events. The other group was informed about the Macedonia's history by Mrs Karatasiou, and the headmaster D. Papadopoukos, both of them are philologists. Greek students learned about the local history, the royal tombs, and the remarkable heritage of the region. There, they admired fascinating and impressive exhibits that brought ancient history to life. Plenty of photos were taken to capture the moment.

Next, the whole group boarded the bus again and headed to the policentric museum of Aigai, which also showcased outstanding ancient artifacts. It was a truly inspiring experience. Students and teachers learned so much from the guide and were amazed by everything they saw.

After the educational and cultural visits, all members aor the group returned to Veria, where they had some free time to relax, enjoy lunch, and wander around the charming city center. In the afternoon, all of them boarded the bus once more and began the journey back, tired but filled with unforgettable images, memories, and experiences from an amazing day.

WEDNSDAY 15/10/2025

On Wednesday the day began early in the morning, at around 8:15 the students met each other once more and boarded the bus to the biomimetic agriculture farm at Asvestochori. When they arrived they were met with the warm welcome from the farmers, and they were immediately separated into 2 groups. Each group passed through 2 phases. Firstly they were informed by a beekeeper expert about the importance of bee products such as honey and the way beekeepers aid the bees and the local ecosystem.

Immediately after they were greeted by a farmer who expertised in regenerative farming methods which are considered modern and eco-friendly. He updated them about the benefits of not only growing local plantations but also supporting the local ecosystem through it.

A break was a necessity before the activities! They gathered all together and have fun by sharing the previous experience.

After the two phases they mixed together once again and the farmers organized horse riding and archery activities which were really exciting for all students. The group stayed there until 11:30 when it returned to the bus.

After some time they arrived at the upper city of Thessaloniki where they had a break to admire the beautiful scenery of the city and the gulf which was breathtaking. They also went inside the medieval triangle tower whose stone corridors were really immersing.

When they arrived at the bus they were excited to move to their final destination, the White tower, in the city center. The tower itself, being famous from the ottoman period, was functioning as a multi-storey museum which was offering great information about the history of Thessaloniki. The view from the top was exhilarating and most of them had multiple group photos up there.

Then, they had free time to explore the city and have something for lunch as well. They sat around at famous street food places and ate some Greek traditional street food like gyros and souvlaki. They were all really glad and joyful hanging around with the foreign students and showing them around our city. They even found the food delicious and full of distinct flavors. Teachers had lunch at the Officers' Club of Thessaloniki Guard.

At around 16:00 they all met at the Arch of Galerius to start the tour around the famous landmarks of our city. They explained to their guests about the importance of the Galerius Arch and the Rotonda temple which were both built in the roman times.

Next they moved through Aristotelous square to the ancient Roman market as well as the ancient ruins inside the Venizeou metro station. Lastly the tour finished at the church of Saint Dimitrios which impressed most of their guests. After some time roaming around the streets of Thessaloniki they headed back home full of great memories, joy and strong friendships.

THURSDAY 16/10/2025

In the morning, they started our day full of excitement. They had breakfast and then gathered at the meeting point with all the Erasmus participants. From the very beginning, it felt like it was going to be a wonderful day! They went to the local open-air market to take photos for their promotion videos. They laughed a lot while looking around at the stalls filled with wine and olives.

After that, they took the bus and headed to the Gerovassiliou Vinery and its Wine Museum. There, they learned many interesting things about wine, varaties of grapes and the production of red and white wine. They saw the amazing collection of bottle opener of allover the world, old tools, and enjoyed the warm hospitality of the people at the museum.

Next, they visited an olive oil factory, "LEMPEROS", where they were shown how olive oil is produced. The smell of fresh olive oil filled the room! A small bottle of olive oil was offered to each of them as a souvenir of their visit and as an opportunity to taste their olive oil.

Their last stop was Peraia. There, they all sat together in a seaside tavern. They ate, laughed, and shared stories and moments. It was a day full of joy, beautiful experiences, and memories that they will surely never forget!

FRIDAY 17/10/2025

Friday was an unforgettable day during our Erasmus experience, filled with excitement, joy, and pride.
The day began at school, where the studenys were first informed by their teacher, Mrs Lalagka, about how to create a successful promotional video. The main products of this exchange week (olive, olive oil, grapes, and wine) were distributed among the colored groups to be promoted through video advertisements. Lots of brainstorming, laughter, and teamwork!

As soon as their product promotion videos were completed, all students participated in experiential activities, cooking olive pies and planting olive trees, a symbolic gesture of growth, unity, and the lasting roots of our experience.
The cooking activity was guided by a former teacher, Mrs Lazaridou, who is now retired. They all wore the aprons that had been offered as welcome gifts on the first day and enjoyed the experience of cooking traditional dishes together, sharing flavors and traditions from our culture.
There was plenty of laughter, joy, and excitement, followed by the delightful confirmation that the olive pies were delicious! Since there were too many, students offered some to the teachers, and the rest were served later at the buffet.

It is worth mentioning that the vegetable scraps were added to the compost box in the schoolyard,

an environmentally friendly touch to the day’s activities.

The planting activity was carried out under the supervision of the Physics teacher, Mr. Tsakiris. One olive tree and a vine were planted outside by participating in the program students. However, since the weather in Hortiatis is quite cold and there were doubts about their survival, another olive tree was planted indoors in a pot as well.

These activities were followed by the presentation of the students’ promotional videos, which were the scheduled final products of the mobility. First, each group’s promo video was shown, and then the members of each group explained how they came up with their ideas. Teachers evaluated each video based on the message conveyed, originality, creativity, simplicity, emotional, visual, and auditory appeal, as well as memorability and overall concept.

While waiting for the results, a surprise was revealed! Emotions ran even higher when the two student photographers surprised everyone with a touching video montage of photos from the entire Erasmus week, bringing back wonderful memories, and even a few tears.

The winner was the blue team!!!

Then came the custom awarding ceremony. But first, the headmaster bid farewell to the guests with a heartfelt speech that captured the bittersweet feeling of the last day.

The Portuguese team

The Italian team

The Greek team

The Spanish team

The French team

All together

The day at school ended with a buffet of delicious traditional handmade Greek foods, shared smiles and stories, and a mini party full of music and energy.

However, Friday wasn’t over yet! A cozy farewell party awaited the participating students, with pizza, laughter, and heartfelt moments as they savored every last minute with their new friends.
It was a day, it was a week overflowing with joy, nostalgia, and gratitude, one that will stay in all's heart forever.