Skopje, Macedonia

Alexander the Great located on the main plaza.

Lance and I have been in Skopje for 1 week.  During that time we have discovered the fruit and vegetable market located near the old bazaar...

 and found a very nice walking path next to the Vardar River...

that takes us past the City Park.

We took a "free" walking tour one evening with a gentleman who grew up here and witnessed all the changes that have taken place during the past 27 years.

We also discovered our new favorite coffee house...The Public House.  It's not as pretty as our former cafe in Pristina, but the food and drinks are good and the waiters are friendly. The Public House has a more industrial look...and is a popular place for young digital nomads to sit and do their work.       

We weren't sure what to expect when we got here...but we've been pleasantly surprised at what we have seen so far.  The city is different from any others we have visited in the Balkans.  I won't bore you with all the history, but I will share a few interesting facts. 

Skopje has been inhabited since 4000 BC.  In 1991 it became the capital city of an independent Macedonia.  During the 2000's, the Skopje 2014 Project was begun.  The plan was to improve the appearance of the city center with a new plaza, new buildings, and new facades on some existing buildings that were built during the communist era.

In the photo above you can see the facade that is being placed over the top of the existing building. 

They also added numerous statues to the city center.  To be honest, the whole thing looks a bit over the top...and somewhat reminds us of Las Vegas...but it does have a certain amount of charm.  

Our tour guide, Zoran was quick to point out that as a resident, you don't need to like or agree with everything that the government has done when it comes to the city renovation.  Some things he likes and others he doesn't care for.  But, as someone who was born and raised here, he feels that it is a vast improvement compared to what it looked like before.  The renovation has been good for the city because it has increased tourism, and, good for the locals because it gives them a safe and attractive place to hang out.  Before the renovation, no one would dare visit the city center in the evening.  Now the plaza, which is a pedestrian only zone, is filled with locals and tourists alike.

Unfortunately, the Skopje Project has been at a stand still for the past two years.  The former prime minister claimed the project would be completed in four years (2014) for the cost of 8 million dollars.  However, so far the city has spent a staggering 800 million dollars and it still is not done.  People became outraged and began to protest...the prime minister was voted out of office...and now the new administration is trying to decide how to proceed.  That means several large buildings on the plaza that were under construction are at a standstill. It remains to be seen what will happen with them. 

    

You can still find some older, attractive looking buildings that were spared renovation...

but many others...especially those built during the communist era... are not very appealing...at least to me.  However, a few (like the one pictured below,) can be interesting to look at.     

The main post office in Skopje

Below are just few of the many statues that you can be found around the city center.  

The father of Alexander the Great...Philip 11 of Macedon...king of the ancient Greek kingdom.

The Greek God Prometheus...who was given undies after the people of Skopje complained about the naked statue.

We're enjoying our travels through the Balkans.  We always feel safe, love the food, and enjoy learning about the different cultures in the area.  

  

Road Trip...From Kotor...to Kolasin...to Pristina, Kosovo

After a lovely 3 week stay in Kotor, we finally hit the road and headed north to Kolasin, Montenegro.  Kolasin is a lovely little ski town located in the mountains.  It has a small town center, and a national park close to where we were staying.  We had just three days to check out the surrounding area.

The town center is filled with interesting art work created by local artists.  

They had several charming cafe/restaurants that served typical food of the country for a very reasonable price.    

Our AirBnB hosts are artists who have lived in the area for more than 40 years.  We actually ended up renting two apartments from them.  This was due to the fact that we needed an extra night, and the apartment we originally booked was not available for the third night.  

We stayed in the apartment on the right with the porch for two nights and the mushroom shaped apartment on the left for one night.

We enjoyed both places, but the mushroom apartment was definitely more unique.  Below are two pictures of what it looked like inside.  It was very cozy and perfect for a short stay.  These photos were taken from the AirBnB website...and accurately show what it looked like on the inside.    

The view across the street from our apartment.

Our hosts were very friendly.  When we arrived they invited us up to their house for a nice conversation and a shot of homemade brandy.  They had plans to go to the sea the following day...so it was our only opportunity to get to know them.   

On our second day in Kolasin, we arranged for a guided tour of the Moraca Monastery and a hike in Mrtvica Canyon.  Slobodan, our tour guide, was informative and very friendly.  We enjoyed our day with him...despite the fact that it rained toward the end of our tour.

Slobodan and Lance 

The monastery is affiliated with the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Apartments where the monks live are located next to the church.

One of the monks dressed in the typical attire for his profession.

The Moraca Monastery is filled with beautiful fresco's.  Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures inside the church.  The oldest fresco dates back to the 13th century...while others date to the 16th century. 

After leaving the monastery, we headed for Mrtvica Canyon, where we spent several hours hiking.  

Hay stacks located on a local farm that we passed by on our way to the river.

We had a wonderful time in Kolasin.  It was a welcome change to be in cooler temperatures after the hot days spent in Kotor.

When we left, our plan was to take a bus to a small town in Serbia...spend the night, and continue on the next day to Pristina, Kosovo.  Unfortunately, that did not happen.  We had a hard time hooking up with our bus..and after wasting the morning and part of the afternoon, we changed plans and headed for Podgorica, Montenegro...the capitol city of the country.  From there, we took the night bus to Pristina.  

The Republic of Kosovo is one of the newest countries in Southeastern Europe.  It declared independence from Serbia in 2008.  Pristina is the capitol city, and the largest city in Kosovo.  We were booked for three days in the city before continuing on to Skopje, Macedonia.  

As a blogger, I always try to show what's best about a city...but here I was hard pressed to find any buildings that looked attractive.  Sadly, back in the 50's and 60's, most of the historic buildings were torn down and replaced by the communist government with poorly built and very unattractive buildings.  In my opinion, it is not a very pretty city.  That being said, it does have a very active cafe culture, with many new restaurants and coffee houses that are hip looking and bustling with well dressed young people.  There are numerous cafes up and down the street where we live.  Here is a picture of just two of them.     

Our favorite cafe is Soma Book Station.  It is just a short 5 minute walk from our apartment.  This gastro pub is considered to be the most beautiful cafes in the Balkans.  The food is delicious and the atmosphere is great.  Here are a few pictures of the building...

Along with an attractive indoor space...there are also numerous places outside that you can sit and hang out for hours.  There is never any pressure to pay your bill and go.

Lodging, food and drinks are extremely cheap in this city and the quality is good.  The other night, Lance and I went out to eat...ordered soup, beef pot roast with roasted vegetables and bread, wine, and two shots of liquor (at the encouragement of our server) and the entire bill came to 25 Euros for both of us.  This was at the second most popular restaurant in the city, Liburnia.  It was utterly delicious. 

Our AirBnB hosts have also done a great job decorating our apartment.  Below are pictures taken from the AirBnB website.  To be truthful, the apartment does show a little wear and tear now...but it still holds a lot of charm.  

Now take a look at the building on the outside and the stairway going up.  The city is filled with buildings like this.  It goes to show, you can't always judge a book by it's cover.

This is one of the more modern buildings located across the street from our AirBnB apartment. 

There are not a lot of historic sites to see in Pristina, but Lance and I did take some time to visit a small house museum.  The home was built 300 years ago and owned by a wealthy family.  The government is now in the process of renovating another house in the compound where it is located.   

Kitchen/Dining Room

Living Room

On the way home we passed an outdoor fruit and vegetable market.  It's always a treat to visit one of these in Europe.

Tomorrow we move on to Skopje, Macedonia.  It will be nice to settle down for a month and get ourselves back into a daily routine.   

     

   

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