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Published: October 28th 2007
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Kisele Voda
I used to live here... Journey and First Night
Met a Czech guy called Vladmir on the train and we travelled north of the border playing chess and drinking beer. Arriving in Skopje was an experience, walked from the train station down a familiar road to Kisele Voda to where the hostel should be, but couldn't find it (in fact, I walked past it 5 or 6 times without ever noticing it was there!)
Thanks to Macedonian good will, I quickly accumulated a troupe of about 5 guides, of whom only 2 spoke English, and between us we hunted it down. The hostel itself was pretty mangy, and no-one there really spoke any English either, so I gave Vesna and Marija a shout. Vesna was (as usual) pretty swift at sorting things out, and after a quick walk to the bank machine I met Kate in Gradski park for a Skopsko. Soon we were at the opening night of Castro where we talked books, music, work and partners. I was quite surprised, I'd completely forgotten how much fun she was to be with, and afterwards we walked as far as Rammstore before parting ways for the night.
28th September
After a rubbish sleep and a satisfying breakfast, I went for a walk to remind myself what there was for a tourist to do in Skopje. Took a wander of the old town where I encountered some sort of Albanian rally, the closest thing to a Nazi rally I've ever seen! Every so often the blaring ethnic music was turned down to allow a speaker on stage to shout some slogan to which the crowd enthusiastically replied while waving flags in the air. As about the only non-Albanian there, I decided it might not be wise to turn this into a photo opportunity, so after looking on for a while I wandered back towards town where I was due to meet Blaze.
All well with Blaze, and during and engrossing game of chess we had some great talk about America, the instability of Macedonia (he was about he only other person who also seemed to see the obvious) and life in general. Some things change for the better over time and Blaze was definitely one of them, he seemed much more at ease with himself on this occasion than I ever remember, although he didn't kick my ass at chess either :D
Quick trip back to the hostel and then up to Pelagonias for an IAESTE party. Met the remaining trainees who were like mirrors of us in the past. Rafao and Ivana kindly invited me to crash their place which I enthusiastically accepted, and I met Iva and a couple of other IAESTE members for a few nice pivos before meeting Vesna and Kate in the park to go for a proper Marakana.
At that point I really was nicely toasted, and we wedged into a packed Marakana where I saw a number of familiar faces, including the band and barmaids who hadn't apparently changed in 2 years. After a lot of Jager and Kamikazes, the music and dancing finally ended, and after Vesna jumped in a taxi, it was just myself and Kate left again. Eventually I made it back to the hostel with the familiar sight of the sun rising over the valley and beaming through the pollution of Skopje.
29th September
Another unsatisfying sleep later and I headed into town for a wander round and then to meet Marija. I barely recognised the baggily clothed girl with the blonde head bobbing towards me, until I saw the familiar signature cheeky smile. We headed down to a bar and chatted to some of Marija's friends over coffee and beer, a mostly friendly bunch, probably depending on their English levels. Catching up on all the news was interesting, hearing about Marija's imminent wedding, and realising that the girl I knew really had grown up, which was reassuring and intimidating in equal measure. After watching some acrobatics and grabbing a train ticket home, we went our separate ways, and I went back to move out of the hostel and into Rafao's room.
Then down to the city centre for dinner with the stunningly dressed Marija R. With her usual hospitality, I was instantly invited to lunch the following day, and having previously tasted Marija's cooking, there was no way I could refuse that offer! Doubly so since our conversation was cut short by my commitments to meet Vesna that evening, but on the way to the taxi, Ana burst out of the crowd and a few minutes later I was going to pre-lunch coffee too!
A short time later I was in an unfamiliar part of Skopje with Vesna for a once in a lifetime experience: A smoke session, Macedonian style! A year out of practice in Imperial left me trailing in the dust and totally helpless as I lounged in unfamiliar surroundings. Fortunately, Vesna was bad as I was, but was better at finding the way to Bravo. That place had changed for sure, and I was quite thrown (in my googly state) to meet Vladmir again. It was definitely a pleasure to re-meet Sandra and Kate again though, both of whom had grown up too since our last encounter. Despite the great fun I had chatting to them again, I only wished our encounter had been a bit more sober, I can remember now why they stuck out clearly in my head when I left Skopje the first time! Ana and Kate also caught up with us, and after a bit of dancing with the Bravo barman we headed down to the park for some white night techno.
Kate and Sandra didn't take to the techno too well, and I started sobering up, which was probably a good thing, as the music ended and (sadly) company parted all too soon. Myself and Kate took an entertaining walk in an more familiar part of town. This time I didn't walk home in the dawn, instead travelling with an entertaining, party taximan, on the familiar morning ride to Pelagonias.
30th September
Still a bit woozy, I woke for a morning coffee with Ana, who had become almost entirely Spanish since our last meeting. Hadn't done her any harm though, she was every bit as entertaining, lively and sympathetic as I remember, and all too soon I was on my way back to Kisele Voda.
Marija R's cooking was every bit as tasty as I remembered and the company of Marija, her sister and brother-in-law was cool, particularly since everyone stuck mostly to English, with only some Macedonian in the gaps in between. Once again, Marija extended hospitality to me, warning that I was likely to be kicked out of Pelagonias for the night.
Her warning proved to be absolutely true, as soon as I had made arrangements on the assumption I would not be evicted, the notice came that we were to move, and I ran down to Marija R's before meeting Marija T for a drink. In a more familiar setting, Marija T was much more relaxed and after an entertaining drink in a biker bar we decided to make a night of it in Legend. After a brief lecture on the history of the Macedonian language, I remembered the meaning of "in vino veritas." It was nice to hear the other side of old memories though, and to hear the new stories that shaped the life of a friend I suddenly realised I only ever half knew.
Sympathetic and affable as ever, after some Irish dancing on the street, Marija accompanied me on the now-standard dawn walk home, and the taxi over to the station where in a motherly way insisted on feeding me anti-hangover breakfast burek. Then up to the train, where in a long goodbye hug I was surprised by my own reactions in a familiar embrace as my mind parted from my body. After 20 seconds on the train, I had collapsed into an unconscious heap in a carriage cabin.
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