Montenegro & Bulgaria - September 29th - October 7th While in Kosovo we found out that due to boarder restrictions we could not leave Kosovo through Serbia if we entered in Montenegro. Just like that, our plans changed and we were off to Skopje, Macedonia instead of going directly to Bulgaria. It's a bit of a cliche but things really do happen for a reason. While in Skopje we stayed at the City Hostel and were greeted by the owner, Bobbie. He was one of the most helpful and friendly hostel owners we have met on the trip so far. He [View Full Entry]

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Hicran Cigdem Yorgancioglu MECODONIA SKOPJE // MAKEDONYA ÜSKÜP OHRİD seyahatinden Gunluklerinden/siirlerinden bir kac kesit Eser Sahibi (H.ÇİĞDEM YORGANCIOĞLU) Bu gezi yazısına dair 5846 sayılı Fikir ve Sanat Eserleri Kanunu’ndan doğan mali ve manevi hakların gerçek sahibidir. All rights reserved Kabhi Alvida ,Elveda deme Rumeli’ye İçimde bir Balkan türküsü döner deliye Vardar Nehri başlar fıkır fıkır kıpırdamaya . Fingirdeyip ,köpürüp oynayacak besbelli , Ben Güneydo&# [View Full Entry]

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According to the Macedonian Weekly News, 330 earthquakes had occurred near the Macedonia-Bulgarian-Greek border only a few days prior to our arrival. Earthquakes are not a laughing matter in Macedonia; a particularly bad one had flattened the capital in 1963. Luckily for us though, according to experts, these recent tremblings would not amount to a major quake. I told Michael we could put off buying hardhats for a little while at least. The border formalities were simple enough, and we were soon on our through the Macedonian countryside. Our driver was a young Albanian man called Elt [View Full Entry]

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While the bus ride to Skopje was pretty uneventful, my quest to find my hostel once I got there was anything but. Gah. One thing I seemed to have forgotten (damn short-term memory, haha) is that taking the bus typically results being dropped off in the middle of nowhere (AKA not exactly in the bus station ^^;;;) at your final destination. I had to take a stab at which stop I was supposed to get off, and once I did, I could only pray that I was in the right city. Haha, such a loser I am! But all is well [View Full Entry]

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We had another slightly stressful trip on our way to Ohrid, Macedonia. Thanks to another inaccurate Lonely Planet map, we were unable to find the tourist agency in Tirana where we were supposed to buy our bus tickets. No one told us that you can just buy them on the bus! We ran around looking for this place while also trying to exchange our money, as Albanian Leke is virtually worthless outstide of the country. In the end, we were reassured by a couple americans waiting for the same bus that tickets were sold on board. We got in to Ohrid [View Full Entry]

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OK, so long story short. Me & two of my Peace Corps buddies went to the TAKSIRAT Festival in Skopje two nights ago. The Roots, Marky Ramone, Neville Staples from The Specials, and Bernays Propaganda (awesome local band) all played. When we arrived, we walked in the wrong way. One of the security guards saw us and assuming one of us was in a band, ushered us backstage to The Roots' green room. (P.S. One of my friends is black as are The Roots.) We kind of just played along and got free beer and got to hang with some of [View Full Entry]

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Here are some pics of Skopje. Haven't traversed every corner of it, but I'm sure I will over the next two years. DOBRO! [View Full Entry]

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Took the 7:30 am bus to Skopje from Ohrid, the bus went through great sceneries, autumn colours abound in the hills and velleys we passed through,according to LP this is the scenic route via Tetovo. @ hours into the trip we got pulled over by a cop, the driver cursing under his breath. We finally made it to Skopje 3 1/2 hours later factoring in the morning traffic in the city. A kind taxi driver showed me where the left luggage is, at the train station! He offered to give me a ride to town but declined him politely. Started walking [View Full Entry]

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The only possible reason there is no direct train from Sofia to Skopje can be to see who is man enough to take the bus. This was the most unrelaxing six-hour trip ever. Our coach wound its way high up the mountainside in the pouring rain along narrow, unlit roads. Of course, as it was through a border point there were plenty of trucks coming the other way, causing our driver to lean ever closer to the precipice above a drop of around 1,000 metres. At some points I really wished he would get off the phone and concentrate. Arriving in [View Full Entry]

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The village of Shopska. [View Full Entry]

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