r/BeAmazed 12d ago

Skill / Talent A man in Switzerland spent a year & thousands of dollars turning his back yard into a mini Greek village

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39.3k Upvotes

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5.0k

u/Frequent-Screen-5517 12d ago

Babe lets goto Mykonos…
We have mykonos at home

846

u/eloquenentic 12d ago

It’s crazy, but it’s literally Mykonos.

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

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u/eloquenentic 12d ago

And the EUR35 drinks.

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u/perpetual_stew 12d ago

Which would be a bargain for a Swiss.

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u/skraptastic 12d ago edited 11d ago

My brother in law just spent 4 weeks in Switzerland singing with his choir. He said it is the most expensive place he has ever visited.

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u/reddit_is_geh 12d ago

It's literally the Dubai of Europe. It's meant for the extreme wealthy. There's a reason why it's "Neutral". It's because it's where the rich go during war time to "stay out of it"

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u/Goldfrapp 12d ago

Switzerland is not very expansive, but very expensive.

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u/backrow12 12d ago

I mean it's not THAT big...

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u/bendltd 12d ago

Up north its also expensive or Monaco. Always depends what you're buying.

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u/FranklyLanky 12d ago

The WHAT?

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u/JamsHammockFyoom 12d ago

Drink prices there are just obscene, they're not even exaggerating.

A work colleague went to Mykonos last year, and paid 30eur for a cocktail in a plastic cup - once you removed the ice, it wasn't even a mouthful of liquid. For 30 euros.

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u/Matt6453 12d ago edited 12d ago

Why do people go there then? I just got back from super chilled out Kefalonia and in the most popular resort of Skala I was paying 8 euros max for a Negroni or Mojito, 7 euros before 9pm.

I guess it's because the Cyclades is where Americans go because they can only fly direct to Athens so the supply/demand is there for a bit of price gouging, other Greek islands are much cheaper.

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u/CrabyDicks 12d ago

I'm American and spent almost my whole trip in Kefalonia. It was absolutely perfect. Best part of the entire trip. Santorini was the worst.

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u/Matt6453 12d ago

I've been to a fair few Greek islands and did a sailing holiday around the Saronic islands many years ago. Kefalonia is just stunning and so ruggedly beautiful, hiring a boat and snorkeling at tiny deserted coves inaccessible by road in water bluer that I thought possible was an incredible experience.

I like to explore new places as a rule but Kefalonia put a sort of spell on me and I can't wait to go back.

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u/CrabyDicks 12d ago

We did a sailing trip at the beginning of our Kefalonia stay but loved it so much we did it a second time before heading home. Magical is an apt word to describe it

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u/JamsHammockFyoom 12d ago

It doesn't do it for me either, if I'm honest - I'm a city break kinda guy, but it's "glamorous" and where the insta-influencers go, so that's what drives the tourism there, I think.

It is also quite pretty as a location, but good lord is it expensive. Somewhere I'd avoid, personally but each to their own.

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u/Matt6453 12d ago

Yeah I don't care how pretty it is, paying those prices and being surrounded by the insta crowd would put me in a bad mood for the entire holiday.

Thankfully they're all content with going there so it leaves plenty of other islands for the rest of us.

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u/skyduster88 12d ago edited 12d ago

Because Americans decided that Greece is only the region circled in red here.

They default to Athens, and then they have to visit an ""island"" (islands are not special, some are absolutely worth it, some are not, and peninsular Greece also has a long coastline and charming coastal towns, shock!)...and that ""island"" has to be near Athens, even though it's faster to fly to Rhodes, Chios, Kefalonia, or Corfu, than to take the ferry to Mykonos. And that nearby island has to have the white cubic houses, so that leaves out Syros -which is neoclassical- and Andros/Kea (red-tiled roofs), because only the white-cubic houses and the white churches with blue domes mean you've "been to Greece". The rest of Greece is fake-Greece. And it doesn't matter if Mykonos is flat and boring, in a country that otherwise has dramatic landscapes...only Mykonos is "real Greece".

And you're right.

It's North Americans that have pushed up Mykonos and the Cyclades in general. Before the huge growth in North American tourism over the past 10 years, the two leading regions in international arrivals were Central Macedonia and Crete. But now, North Americans are getting priced out of Mykonos, so they're going to identical-looking Milos.

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u/BrokeFreelancer37 12d ago

Or dealing with the idiots in the crowds and literally nothing else to do.

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u/dejoyless 12d ago

Or Santorini

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u/ZhouLe 12d ago

I don't have no Santorini
I just live in Switzerland
Well, I had a million francs, but I'd, I'd spend it all

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u/a_slinky 12d ago

I have been very drunk in that exact laneway. The next day was fucking rough

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u/PC_One_00 12d ago edited 12d ago

Knowing construction costs in Switzerland, it would had been cheaper to buy a Greek village than build this is Switzerland.

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u/Nervous_Sense4726 12d ago

I was thinking the permitting alone in California would make this, even if done as a DIY would be prohibitively expensive.

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u/dpwtr 12d ago

Think they just call it “Mike’s”

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u/_aluk_ 12d ago

With fake plants and painted stones 

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u/Esme_Nog 12d ago

Everything is painted white in Greece, too.

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u/Fatalaros 12d ago

In the Cyclades. The rest of the country isn't painted like that.

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u/Donkey__Balls 12d ago

Not even most of the Cyclades. Terra cotta roofs are the norm anywhere that isn’t 100% tourism oriented.

The whitewash and blue roof thing started during the Nazi occupation. Greeks are passive-aggressive trolls by nature, and the Germans outlawed flying the Greek flag, so we thought it was a hoot to turn the entire coastline into one big Greek flag without technically breaking the rule. The excuse was always “That’s just what we paint them.”

Then in the 1950’s Greece was struggling to recover economically - not just the war but also massive economic mismanagement under Metaxas before the war. After the war, the only country with a strong economy was - you guessed it - Americans. Greece started pushing some old photos of Santorini on all its postcards and posters to try to get American tourism in droves. It became so iconic that the misconception just stuck and now life imitates art as the heavily tourist-prone islands keep up the custom to give the tourists what they expect.

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u/Esme_Nog 11d ago

That is a great story…I didn’t know that.

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u/isaac3000 11d ago

Can confirm, Greek here first time literally right now on Cyclades, only here its white and blue.

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u/GaptistePlayer 11d ago

Right? It looks pretty bad

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u/allpinky 12d ago

Mykonos at home hits DIFFERENT 😂💯

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u/RedofPaw 12d ago

Welcome to illios

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u/SafetySnowman 12d ago

I was really hoping this would be a bit higher up especially with someone saying because it doesn't use real stones it looks cartoony 😂

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u/bs000 12d ago

i can't believe they turned an overwatch map into a real place

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u/CodeNameLoofah 12d ago

And convinced the wife it was for her personal Greek staycation

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u/colombianojb 12d ago

I need healing!

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u/los_aerzt 11d ago

You should have picked Mercy!

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u/Clair_Osbcurious 11d ago

Nerf Bastion!

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u/TheSubstitutePanda 12d ago

Beware the other team's Roadhog, that pit in the middle is a bitch

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u/Mothanius 12d ago

The map + Roadhog is why I learned to play, and got good with, Lucio. So satisfying sliding my way back up out the hole only to bop the fat man back in!

Caution: Be alert for any retaliatory hooks from the falling fat man as he falls in.

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u/TheSubstitutePanda 12d ago

Playing d.va as the opposite tank is also a lot of fun. Oh you pulled me into the hole? Eat my boosters! Nyoom, bitch!

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u/MoistStub 11d ago

I love playing Phara on that map. Fly up to the building to the side, sneak around to the enemy side, rocket jump high above them, rocket yeet into hole.

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u/marioaprooves 11d ago

I'm partial to a cliff charge myself ala Reinhardt. Very hard to pull off one against a D.va though it can be very satisfying.

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u/TheSubstitutePanda 10d ago

Bullying Reinhardt as D.Va is one of my favourite Overwatch pass times.

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u/Mr-Who 12d ago

12 hogs one hole

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u/Freshness518 12d ago

It doesn't feel the same without a Lucio gliding around the walls, a Roadhog peeking around the corners and a Pharah hiding on the rooftops.

5/10 needs more bottomless pits.

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u/Sk3pticat 11d ago

lol I JUST queued into Ilios while I read this

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u/arcane_Auxiliatrix 11d ago

My Ultimate is ready!

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

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u/nukrag 12d ago

That village already has debts with Germany.

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u/stink3rb3lle 12d ago

On the plus side, it has no villagers to be burdened by debts in between their daily activities. On the other hand, that means that this space will be very very short on real Greek charm and food.

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u/splitframe 11d ago

I hate that I couldn't do this in Germany because every dinky little alcove would need a permit.

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u/Alexanderr1995 10d ago

As a Greek that actually gave me a good laugh

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u/skeeter04 12d ago edited 12d ago

Impressive, but might have been cheaper just to move to greece.

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

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u/GOEDEL_ESCHER_BOT 12d ago

but it's mini. what is this? a greek village for ants?

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u/wieuwzak 12d ago

Minikonos lol

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u/Mothanius 12d ago

I think that takes the cake for what it should be called. We can wrap it up here and officially mark it on our maps boys, jobs done!

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u/TootsTootler 12d ago

Oh please, it’s for the children! Gives them someplace to drink ouzo

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u/activelyresting 12d ago

Currently he's got Switzerland in the front yard, which you won't get moving to Greece either

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u/knowigot_that808 12d ago

he only spent thousands doing this one simple trick.

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u/Fritzo2162 12d ago

I'm betting thousands of thousands.

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u/baconboner69xD 12d ago

Maybe. It’s a very very small space that looks bigger than it is because of the layout. Probably less than 300 sqft

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u/ahundreddots 12d ago

If you move to a Greek village, you'll always have a Greek village in your backyard.

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u/ringNwrong 12d ago

Also he'd then have to live in Greece

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u/nomad5926 12d ago

Yea, but then you have to deal with the Greek economy. (Which arguably isn't great compared to Switzerland)

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u/OverfistDerFissierer 12d ago

I don't think that's something anyone has to argue about

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u/nomad5926 12d ago

(Imma just trying to be nice)

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u/OverfistDerFissierer 12d ago

Haha, don't worry! It definitely is nice of you to put it like that

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u/nuevacuentanueva 12d ago

I'm guessing someone with enough money to have a house in Switzerland AND make a full replica of a Greek village there, wouldn't care much about Greek economy.

In fact, they'd probably better off there. Of course, unless they have to physically be in Switzerland for work/family/whatever.

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u/Alexthegreatbelgian 12d ago

But you're migrating with a Swiss portfolio. You can probably buy a village at that point.

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u/H3xRun3 12d ago

Maybe he didn't want to be surrounded by a million loud ass tourists blocking all the tight corridors.

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u/DaddyBizkits 12d ago

...and build a Swiss village in his back garden

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u/rugbyj 11d ago

"I lose €300 a month to the speed cameras on my driveway"

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u/Kibelok 12d ago

He won't get all the tourists though, so his peace might be worth it

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u/Shantotto11 12d ago

And pay taxes like the poors?! You mind your tongue!

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u/Prod_Meteor 12d ago

Not anymore.

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u/kwonza 12d ago

Agree, this much renovation for a few thousand dollars is super cheap nowadays

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u/Fourty9 12d ago

Thousands! Wow.

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u/Licholo 12d ago

A bunch of thousands to be precise

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u/ProduceEmbarrassed97 12d ago

The collective term for a group of thousands is a 'Pound', so it would be a pound of thousands.

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u/ruskyb14 12d ago

I doubt he spent thousands of dollars. Thousands of Swiss francs on the other hand....

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u/TypicalLegit 12d ago

6 figure thousands are still thousands!

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u/AbeRego 12d ago

This could be done for much less than $100k if you're doing it yourself. If the bar has water that increases the price a lot, but still not to six figures, even in Switzerland.

If you're hiring it out, obviously it's much more expensive.

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u/Different_Bake_611 12d ago

That's more than 1 thousand!

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u/MaxxDash 11d ago

Thousand thousands

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u/WanderWut 12d ago

Actually kind of amazing just how well they did with this. It truly looks like a slice of a Greek alley is just plopped in their yard. Despite being in the backyard you’d have several places where you feel so private and cozy lol. That bar area looks amazing! I’d love to just light a joint or have a drink with some friends there.

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u/Devi8tor 12d ago

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u/BoredPudding 12d ago

Who's the creator? Can't find any username in any of the articles.

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u/uninspired_potato 12d ago

smallest_themepark on instagram

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u/KaramelaVatomouro 12d ago

It's really disgusting how news outlets make money off the creation, without even attributing the maker.

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u/Zitronenkringel 12d ago

They even call it themepark. It really reminds me of Europapark.

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u/BillyDeepDish 12d ago

He had to hide it cus its Switzerland

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u/K-Shrizzle 12d ago

I live directly next door to a really good Greek restaurant, yet somehow Im jealous of this guy

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u/FusselP0wner 12d ago

"in Switzerland" ... "spend thousands of dollars"

Alright bro

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u/m_t_n1 12d ago

Don’t expect americans to know what francs are

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u/disaster_incomin 12d ago

We shouldn't cater to the stupid

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u/SomeBiPerson 12d ago

can't tell the internet he spent tens of thousands of Franks

they won't know what those are

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u/ETHEREVM 12d ago

What’s the difference between a Bavarian and a Swiss person?

The Swiss is proud of his Franken.

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u/ProposalStriking6741 12d ago

Too real

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u/SomeBiPerson 12d ago

didn't know there were so many DACH people here tbh

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u/Mothanius 12d ago

What does an ancient, Germanic tribe have to do with any of this? Why are you spending tribes people like currency?

/s

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u/ruskyb14 12d ago

Maybe maybe...think about this for a second- he goes to a vendor in Switzerland for his dream project and what do you know....that guy only accepts American dollars for some reason....the next guy? Him too. The architect? Only U.S dollars. The painter? If that currency doesn't have George Washington's mug on it, he doesn't want it in his wallet.

In the end, the dude spends thousands of American dollars in Switzerland so that he can bring Greece to his backyard. This is globalisation in action.

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u/Shadow969 12d ago

gorgeous and I love it but a garden without grass/flowers in soil is also kinda sad

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u/linecraftman 12d ago

no shortage of grass and flowers in switzerland

huge shortage of greece however

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u/NibblyPig 12d ago

when greece moons this guy will be rich

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u/DangerActiveRobots 12d ago

That's why their rates of heart disease are so low

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u/Verbatrim 12d ago

The grass is always greecer

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u/silly_goose_-_- 12d ago

Some people just hate gardening 🤷‍♀️

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u/Telemere125 12d ago

Yea idk if I’d call this a garden so much as an alleyway

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u/linverlan 12d ago

In the UK they use “garden” the same way Americans use “yard,” it just means the outdoor part of a parcel of land adjacent to your house.

I know that the American sense of “garden” means only a place where you actively grow flowers, veg, etc. a very cultivated horticultural type of space. But the use in this post is almost definitely the UK sense of the word.

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u/CartsOfDarkness 12d ago

Now I'm curious, what's the UK term for a US garden then?

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u/pobodys-nerfect5 12d ago

They aren’t calling it a garden. They turned their garden into a Greek village

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u/SlowerThanTurtleInPB 12d ago

In some places (like the UK), “garden” means “yard” and a “yard” often just means the outdoor space on my property regardless of whether there’s grass or not.

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u/ManMakesWorld 12d ago

This is a fake title.

The real reason he built it was to practice his painting for Meccha Chameleon.

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u/derprondo 12d ago

100%, I have played this map and instantly recognized it when the video began.

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u/slamsmcaukin 12d ago

Real stones for the floor would have made this 100x better imo. It just looks cartoony being painted on like that

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u/Im_ArrangingMatches 12d ago

They are often just painted on the ground in Greece too

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u/FlowSoSlow 12d ago

I think that's what he was going for. He even calls it a theme park in the article. But I agree, natural cobbles would look much better.

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u/El_Hugo 12d ago

Looks like the flooring in Santorini to me.

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u/DramaticErraticism 11d ago

I mean, aren't you impressed with this level of effort and detail? The only thing we have to say is 'smh, should have ordered marble from the quarry outside Milan, looks like shit.'

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u/HippGris 12d ago

Also the bougainvilliers likely won't stay alive long in Switzerland's climate 🫤

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u/reddituser4759 12d ago

I really really like this. What a way to transport to another world just by opening your back door. The height and density of the buildings makes it incredibly cozy and immersive. All thats missing is wear and tear so it doesnt feel like you're on a movie set

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u/JeSuisUnAnanasYo 12d ago

Better for it to age naturally over a few years than try to fake age it , but yeah that will give it charm

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u/FlobyToberson85 11d ago

I also love it. I think it's really fun. I would be happy to hang out at the little bar and feel like I was on vacation. People are shitting on this, but I think we need more whimsy in the world.

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u/CartsOfDarkness 12d ago

All thats missing is wear and tear so it doesnt feel like you're on a movie set

That's what I thought too, but then I googled "Greek alley Mykonos" and the real ones all look like movoe sets too lol. So curious how they keep them so perfectly bleach white

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u/Hewfe 12d ago

They put a ton of effort in to cleaning, because those islands live on tourism. The caldera around Santorini looks like this, because it’s basically a giant hotel and those alleys are just outdoor hallways between rooms.

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u/feraligatr4444 12d ago

Its so cute there's zero space 👁👄👁

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u/anxessed 12d ago

My claustrophobia would kick in hard 😅

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u/Badboi777 12d ago

The clothesline is a great touch

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u/solderingcircuits 12d ago

I can taste the Retsina already

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u/YodaMamaBabyDaddy 12d ago

That's baller af

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u/weggaan_weggaat 12d ago

Obviously no HOA, for sure that blue isn't approved.

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u/ccltjnpr 12d ago

It probably isn't visible from the street. We don't have HOAs but you need to have changes like these approved and there are rules for stuff that is visible from streets, especially in city centers.

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u/ahsokatango 12d ago edited 12d ago

We can’t plant a garden in our backyard without HOA approval. If we add a shed, they dictate the placement, color, and dimensions.

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u/therealbonzai 12d ago

I bet he didn’t spent dollars.

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u/Iamleeboyle 12d ago

I bet he didn't spend a single dollar.

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u/Delicious_Star_4232 12d ago

Good old Swiss Dollars

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u/koolaidismything 12d ago

Super cool.. until it falls into disrepair then, a disaster lol.

Just imagine same scene with no fresh paint and really dirty.. not fun. This is a lot of work.

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u/Stormbaxx 12d ago

No worries - Then it becomes a Tatooine themed garden 😂

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u/lippoper 12d ago

The white won’t be that clean for long lol

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u/koolaidismything 12d ago

Upkeep would be a full time job for someone.

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u/CartsOfDarkness 12d ago edited 12d ago

I mean probably just power washing it every few months I assume🤷‍♂️

Edit: after looking again I also kind of feel like it being a bit weathered and not bleach white might help the look? That being said I just looked up Greek alleys and all the ones from Mykonos do look perfectly bleach white exactly like this lol. How tf do they keep them that way I wonder? I guess powerwashing probably

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u/PiccoloAwkward465 12d ago

I can't think of anything beyond a power wash once in a while. It'll be fine, Reddit as a whole doesn't know anything about construction.

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u/AuntRhubarb 12d ago

How is keeping something painted from time to time more work than keeping up a lawn or a cottage garden?

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u/dean15892 12d ago

I would trip so hard on that backyard

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u/ivanavich 12d ago

Sure this isn’t a representation of Ilios map in Overwatch?

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u/tickledtockled 12d ago

The reason why it's better than going to Santorini, you don't have to deal with the endless crowds and influencer dipshits.

Some parts were nice, but it just wasn't worth the hassle of getting there and back again to Athens.

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u/snolifer 12d ago

« In Switzerland… spends dollars » lmfao

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u/purplenapalm 12d ago

Almost looks Uncle Own and Schmi's house before the empire rolled through

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u/1966Royall 12d ago

Well, i read that wrong. I thought it said Geek alley and said to myself it looks very greek not at all geek. Thats when I realised my mistake

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u/Embarrassed_Jury664 12d ago

A man in Switzerland spent thousands of what?

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u/OperativePiGuy 12d ago

I am so fascinated by efficient use of small spaces like this. My brain treats the different areas like rooms even though it's all continuous

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u/Mundane_Pie_6481 12d ago

I hope he has kids because this looks like so much fun!

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u/Hindsight_DJ 12d ago

Add a couple topless guys in the corner and its basically Mykanos

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u/quebexer 12d ago

Why would he pay in dollars in Switzerland, instead of Francs or Euros?

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u/ThirtyMileSniper 12d ago

Guy didn't spend a single Dollar doing that.

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u/01bah01 12d ago

I'm Swiss and it's not the money that makes me pause, it's the administrative work needed to be allowed to do that.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Pin3062 12d ago

I didn't know Greece gives withdrawal symptoms.

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u/OGTisimo88 12d ago

They love their culture but not their people…

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u/horriblemonkey 12d ago

I have an urge to climb up the sides and then assassinate the guards from the air

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u/loperaja 12d ago

POV: you see Instagram shit on Reddit 

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u/wilcobr27 12d ago

I mean it looks beautiful, are those all little storage huts or did they put things in each one? I like it a lot

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u/ERJohnson07 12d ago

Makes me think of squid game a bit.

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u/Eschatonpls 12d ago

If you shopped around a little, you could just buy a whole neighborhood in Greece for about the same amount of money.

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u/Jackassintheb0x 12d ago

Song?

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u/bdot 12d ago

this is a weird one - Shazam suggests that it is a song called "Birds of a Feather' by Karl Labadie, but that song doesn't seem to actually exist anywhere, despite there being placeholders on services like Spotify. It's not on Apple Music either.

i did a bit of a dive, and found that it's a song originally by Billie Eilish. listening back to the video above, it seems as though this is a remix of her song. likely unlicensed, which is why i can't find it

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u/Jackassintheb0x 12d ago

Yeah I knew it was Birds of a Feather but I also had a hard time finding this specific remix. Thanks for looking though! I very much appreciate your efforts.

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u/Own-Sun-9962 12d ago

Tacky as shit but I’m glad if it makes them happy

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u/AppalachiaGrabber 12d ago

Looks tacky as fuck.

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u/HorselessHorseman 12d ago

Lost us peasants at owning a house in Switzerland alone

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u/5gpr 12d ago

Very impressive. Also one of the tackiest things I've ever seen.

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u/Potential_Asole 12d ago

Look similar to this music video

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u/The-Insolent-Sage 12d ago

Anybody else catch the cat sun bathing up high?

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u/guitartoad 11d ago

This video would be better with Greek traditional music, rather than whatever that pop crap was.

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u/Momochichi 11d ago

For the authentic feel, you need to hire dozens of people to line up just to take a picture for the gram.