Macedonia, or better said Ma(k)edonia (I learned pretty quickly that it is actually pronounced with a ‚k‘) was my 11th country to visit on this trip. I wasn‘t really sure what to expect and I knew it would be more or less a drive through. One day in Skopje Macedonia should be enough, shouldn’t it?
Macedonia
Crossing the border into Macedonia (from Bulgaria) was easy. Even though Bulgarian customs searched the boot and looked underneath the car (were they looking for hidden refugees??). Macedonia’s border police seemed easy and friendly. I even got a „hello“ from them.
The roads towards Skopje, or at least until you get to the highway, were pretty bad and damaged. Therefore there is no point trying to avoid the potholes. The country side is simple but nice.
One day in Skopje
How to describe Skopje? And is one day in Skopje enough?
History: The city has been inhabited since 4000 BC with the Kale fortress sitting in the old town centre, overlooking the ‚newish town‘. I find the town divided into two parts, one is the older side with a Muslim influence, across the bridge is the new town.
Furthermore Skopje was hit by an earthquake in 1963 and 80% of the city was destroyed. Once I read that, it made sense. The town still shows some scars from the earthquake. But there is also a modern and new part to the city, with plenty very grand buildings and statues (lots of them). Are they built for the tourists? In addition, the main mall has some groovy restaurants and I had my first vodka martini since Australia! Perfect!
Summary: I liked Skopje in an interesting way. It seems like with time Skopje will reach its full potential and probably become the capital everybody wants to go to. For now it is Skopje, a city in Macedonia and interesting to visit but not necessarily a ‚must see‘. The Kale fortress was quite nice to walk at (although not as stunning as some of the Greece fortresses)
If you do make it to this country, one day in Skopje Macedonia would be certainly enough to see it all.
