Friday the 18th my friend Elizabeth from FSU came over to Greece. She is studying abroad in Valencia, Spain and for spring break decided she would come over for a few days. What she did not realize at the time was that she would end up seeing and learning about what I have lovingly named "Balkan-land."
Balkan-land is the peninsula of Southeastern Europe. These countries include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, FYROM, and Montenegro. Balkan-land is smaller than the south east region of the United States but has more history than was ever alluded when studying it in school. There is evidence that people lived in this region during the Neolithic period (9500 BC) and definitely through the Roman Empire. All of these countries have similar histories and traditions but each are unique and bear their own dislike for the others. Bulgarians and Greeks traditionally dislike FYROM. No one traditionally likes Albania except Kosovo. Kosovo is not recognized by most countries but Albania and gained their independence from Serbia after the collapse of Yugoslavia. Like everywhere on this side of the pond, they have a lengthy history.
I had decided before I knew Elizabeth was coming that I would be going to Skopje FYROM's capital, with Kate and Carrie (the other female Americans here). After Elizabeth flew in we had planned to take a direct bus from Thessaloniki to Skopje. Due to Greece's economic position they have recently suspended all international trains. Long story short we didn't catch a bus out of Thess but we made a friend from Prague. He too was just trying to get out of the country. Kate and Carrie decided instead they would be going to Xanthi, a city north of Kavala known for its festivals.
The next day my boss Klearchos lovingly drove Elizabeth and I to Gevgalja. Gevgalja is a city on the border of Greece and FYROM and has buses to Skopje. We found the ticket office for the buses and exchanged euro's into denars. 50 Euro = 3,056 Denar (we felt rich) Next we found a cafe in which no one spoke English in. Elizabeth and I tried in every language we know but it got us nowhere... so we decided to point to the menu and smile. This actually worked in our favor. For only 2 Euro (120 denar) we got really good filling food.
An hour later we climbed onto the bus that took us to Skopje. The bus was filled but we got seats next to each other. On the bus behind me was a screaming gypsy child singing in Macedonian the whole way. No one seemed to mind but I saw the bus driver smile as the child got louder, I imagine singing some nationalistic Balkan nursery song. I was happy that we were able to see so much of the countryside driving up from Gevgaljah. I felt like we got a really good glimpse at the whole country.
My friend Ivan met us at the bus station and drove us to our hostel. My friends in FYROM were so amazing to us. Ivan showed us around his city and explained to us the history and why things were as they were.
Things you need to know about Balkan-land:
1. Nap time is apart of the day... you can't change this nor should you.
2. Coffee time is also apart of the day... if you don't take time for coffee you aren't enjoying your life. Don't you want to enjoy your life?
3. Partying all night... every night. Sleep time shifts to anywhere from 6-9am to 2pm.
4. Never try to out drink a Balkan... their stomachs have been genetically modified to drink whatever their grandfather has fermented in the back yard and they begin drinking around 15.
5. Everything (except in Greece) is crazy cheap.
Through our stay in Skopje we walked around to the old fortress, over the ancient bridge, explored the city center, saw Mother Teresa's building (she was born here), saw ridiculously old church's, saw Matka (a really pretty dam and lake) and some mountains, went up near the cross on top of the mountain to look at the city at night, went to cafana (traditional restaurant), enjoyed amazing traditional food, went shopping in the old bazaar, I bought an antique ring and hand made traditional leather shoes, enjoyed local hot spots and had time for coffee :)
Mother Teresa
In the city center along the sidewalk.
They have statues everywhere for the important people in their past. Without these guys FYROM would not be what it is today.
This is Stone bridge over the Vardar River. They say that it was originally built in 1555 but it has suffered through earthquakes and explosives (from the crazy history remember)
This is at Matka Canyon. We walked around on this path which lead to the lake.
This monastery was built 1389. It isn't very big but inside are beautiful paintings and ancient Macedonian script.
notice the 'made in USSR'
This is Ivana and Ana two of my friends from this country... aren't they precious! This is in the bazaar.
I learned some Macedonian and can read some. When I would buy things I would say thank you in Macedonian and the locals looked tickled pink that I would take time to try to learn their language.
I really enjoyed Skopje. For a country slightly larger than Vermont but with history stretching 4,000 years before Christ I feel really privileged to understand it the way I do, like a local. When telling people that I went up to Skopje and I desire to go to Albania and Bosnia, these other Balkan countries, I get strange looks. People want to try to get out of these countries and into America and I desire to visit their countries. Even though it is strange I have found my experiences in them invaluable. The friends I have made from Balkan-land have changed my perspective on so much and I'm happy to say that I will never be the same.
