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Published: August 22nd 2015
zy archiSkopje, the capital of Macedonia is not on many people to go list. Still, it is recognized as one of the cheapest city to live in Europe if you are an expat. I can confirm, having a full meal is not expensive at all!
Macedonia has also some serious problems with their Southern neighbor, I mean Greece. They both seem to not agree about few historical points, and have a huge contentious about the use of names, like the one of Alexander the Great! Oh, and Macedonia couldn't be called Macedonia at the UN, but rather "The former Yugoslav Republic Macedonia". This is thanks to the intervention of Greece at the UN. So you can already understand that nothing is easy, we are in the Balkans!
So Skopje is crazy about Alexander the Great, and Mother Theresa! Mother Theresa was born here, and being the only recipient of a Nobel Prize in Macedonia, she is a national hero, and you will see her pictures everywhere.
I took an early bus from Pristina. It's only 5 euros for the two hours ride, and bring you right in the middle of Skopje. The
plan was to follow the Free Guided Walking Tour I'm getting use to enjoy all over the Balkans. The tour was conducted by a truly nice local, Mika. On his website, the tours are supposed to last 2-3 hours, ours went well over thr 4 hours! That's actually a pretty good sign. Nice people, nice guide!
So Skopje center, this place is insane. Huge new public buildings everywhere, new roads, thousand of statues, it's like if we back in the Communism mass glorification architecture, as you can see pictures from Turkmenistan to North Korea, except that this place is a democracy, ready to join one day the European Union. Skopje has issues with Athens and Belgrade. But how can these people spend so much public money on these kinds of buildings when we know the over spending that have for years in Greece. Nobody is learning anything here? Weird!
So I said it, it was just a crazy four hour walk around downtown Skopje. We also discovered that Mother Theresa is everywhere, at every corner of this city. After such a long visit, it was time for me for some nice terrace time. Food
is so cheap, even if the nicest spot of town, that I got a serious shock once I crossed the border to Thessaloniki. Not a lot of choices here...I could have wake up at 4am for a very slow train, or waking up at 5.30am for the four hour bus drive to Thessaloniki...the bus would do!
Oh yes, and I have to admit, even the nice was pretty nice. As I'm moving at a serious pace, I'm not sure I'm tasting all the right things, but I never knew that so much wine was produce all over the Balkans, wine that doesn't make it way outside of the country that much. Sorry too, not many nightlife pictures...waking up each morning before 6am is a challenge in itself!
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Rebeca
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Amazing Skopje
I just came back from 5 day trip to Macedonia. I'm surprised but at the same time amazed by Skopje. Urban but peaceful city, lots of places to visit, cheap restaurants, great food and tasty wine. I recommend Skopje to everyone. Also I've been to Ohrid Lake, it's a must see!