Skopje, North Macedonia

We left Bulgaria this morning to travel to the North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje. The border crossing in this case was far more routine and didn’t take us three hours like the last crossing. It was another hot day, but that didn’t stop us. It’s a modern city juxtaposed to an ancient bazaar, where Turkish influences persist.

What’s astounding about Skopje is the seemingly endless number of statues in the city. They’re everywhere. Frankly, there are so many it’s kitschy. This article gives an explanation:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/19/world/europe…

Once we were done our tour we checked into our hotel and quickly went out again to explore the bazaar area on our own. We then went back to the hotel to relax before dinner.

Getting to dinner was a bit of an adventure. Seven of us got stuck in the hotel elevator!
None of us had noticed the four people maximum sign before it was too late. It was just like in the movies where the elevator made a peculiar sound and a bit of a lurch. We knew something was quite wrong. Sure enough, Brad, and another of our group, Tony, managed to wedge the door open and determine that we were in fact between floors. After about 15 or 20 minutes, the hotel staff managed to get us out by having us hop down through the opening. Such excitement!Read more