Having only spent a few brief days in Serbia (we will return!) we headed into Macedonia, stopping in the capital Skopje for the night, staying in an apartment for only 28 euros for the four of us! We headed in separate directions at first, Christophe and I headed for the Mother Teresa museum, which was very interesting but made her out as a saint, while Christophe gave me the real goss. It made for an interesting juxtaposition. We met back up in the main square which was overseen by this massive statue, of Alexander the Great I presume.
The city here has history dating back to Neolithic times, however an earthquake in 1963 destroyed an enormous amount of infrastructure - and thus history - as well as many lives.
Many of the buildings in the city are therefore new, though to my untrained eyes it makes for an impressive capital, it is not without controversy (look up the Skopje 2014 project for more info).
We spent some time wandering the streets and exploring this new city, before hunger got the best of us.
We had planned on dining at a Cuban place, but upon arrival decided it looked like it had become a total tourist trap, and improvised by eating at an Italian place which was surprisingly cheap and delicious considering its location on the main square (somewhere I would never bother eating at in Western Europe). Dining on Pizza and watching the statue change colours in the square, we were treated to an expensive wine when the waiter accidentally gave us the wrong bottle (and then allowed us to keep it at no extra charge as it was their mistake) and discussing our travel plans for Greece. A perfect night all round!
We had only planned one night here, so made the most of it, before heading back to our accomodation after dark, full and happy.
22 August
Our next stop was Ohrid, a picturesque medieval town by Lake Ohrid. This city was once famous for having 365 churches (one for every day of the year if you're feeling really pious), as well as being the capital of the Bulgarian empire, once upon a time. By the time we arrived, the town was part of Macedonia, and most of the churches were sadly gone. It's a beautiful town for a wander though, so wander we did. We accidentally crashed someone's wedding photos so moved on.
The amphitheater was also worth checking out, though I couldn't get a good photo. The others wanted to go up the old castles walls (led by Yannick of course, as this is his favourite past-time) I am sure it was lovely, however I did not go for reasons I can't remember (but potentially involved money or sore feet) and sat at the foot of the walls attempting to read a Gentleman in Moscow (which I never did finish, come to think of it). A walk by the lake was another thing not to be missed of course, and I even snapped a photo of the usually elusive cameraman Yannick. Another memorable moment when walking the lakeside were the hopeful skippers trying to convince us to come on a wonderful boat cruise, only five euro, when that didn't work one shouted after us 'hello!? Who's the boss?!" We were very entertained, but still did not cruise.
The amphitheater was also worth checking out, though I couldn't get a good photo. The others wanted to go up the old castles walls (led by Yannick of course, as this is his favourite past-time) I am sure it was lovely, however I did not go for reasons I can't remember (but potentially involved money or sore feet) and sat at the foot of the walls attempting to read a Gentleman in Moscow (which I never did finish, come to think of it). A walk by the lake was another thing not to be missed of course, and I even snapped a photo of the usually elusive cameraman Yannick. Another memorable moment when walking the lakeside were the hopeful skippers trying to convince us to come on a wonderful boat cruise, only five euro, when that didn't work one shouted after us 'hello!? Who's the boss?!" We were very entertained, but still did not cruise.
What stood out to me the most however was the Church of St. John the Theologian, also known as St. John at Kaneo. If you're unsure which John this is, I was too - he's the guy who wrote Revelations. Both the church and the view were stunning.
23rd August
After a night in our super comfy apartment, we left Macedonia behind, heading into Greece at last!
Crossing borders is always a slightly stressful business - and I always feel like I'm somehow potentially smuggling something accidentally (the when and how this could have happened is beside the point!) - but the border was quiet, two guards sitting in chairs asked us about NZ and then waved us on, they were super nice.
Onto Symi!
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