Tag: North Macedonia

Pristina, Kosovo to Skopje, North Macedonia

We can’t get from Pristina directly into Bulgaria so today we took a bus from Pristina back to Skopje. Tomorrow we will take a bus from Skopje to our first stop in Bulgaria.

The taxi to the bus station took us by the Bill Clinton statue again
The drive was only a couple of hours long. It was very pretty.

In Skopje we walked to our hotel.

Walking to the hotel

We recently got an email saying they had canceled our flight home from Barcelona to San Francisco. After spending a lot of time on the phone Duke finally got a new flight two days earlier. He spent much of the afternoon changing hotel and travel reservations

For dinner we went to a great restaurant, (Pelister) near our hotel.

We started with a salad of potatoes, cucumbers, feta and pomegranate seeds.
Main dishes

Skopje, North Macedonia to Prizren, Kosovo

Today our bus to Prizren was scheduled to leave at 4pm. So we spent a good part of the day walking around Skopje and enjoying the sites. Skopje has a lot of statues both gigantic and lifesize.

You can see me, dwarfed by these two enormous statues
It almost looks like Duke and me
I like the way the strings disappear.
It’s fun to sit on a bench and people watch.
Mother Theresa was born in Skopje
The Mother Theresa Center
Hmmm!
I suggested that Duke climb on his back for a picture
We stopped for coffee and croissants

We walked to the bus station and our bus left promptly at 4. Soon after leaving Skopje we crossed the border into Kosovo.

Crossing the border

The bus ride took about three hours. In Prizren we walked to our hotel and then had a great dinner at the restaurant next door to the hotel.

Part of our dinner

Skopje, North Macedonia – day 2

Our hotel in Skopje was built in the river. It was built to look like a ship. We had breakfast this morning on the top floor.

Breakfast
The breakfast buffet.

Then we went out for a walk and explored a bit of central Skopje. It is very beautiful.

That’s our hotel
The Art Bridge
Alexander the Great and the Macedonian flag
Duke and Philip II
The Vardar River
We walked up river a ways.

For dinner we went to Restaurant Old House. It is in a house that was built in 1836 and is supposed to be the oldest traditional house in Macedonia.

Inside the Old House Restaurant
Casserole and garlic bread.

Demir Kapija to Skopje, North Macedonia

Our train to Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia left today at 5:30 pm. This morning we went for a walk to check out the train station and the town.

Out for a walk with the dogs and the goats

This afternoon we read and relaxed in the tower of the hotel. About 4:30 we walked back to the train station.

Waiting for our train

By the time we got to Skopje it was dark. We took a taxi to our hotel and then had dinner at the restaurant.

On the train
Checking in to our hotel.

Tomorrow I’m looking forward to exploring Skopje.

Demir Kapija, North Macedonia- day 2

We are staying at Popova Kula Winery just outside of Demir Kapija. Last night we had a fascinating conversation with the owner of the winery. He came by our table as we were eating dinner and introduced himself. He has an MBA from an American university. We can’t remember which one.

Even though there is almost no one staying here right now he said that in the summer they are very busy. E75 a major European highway that runs from Gdańsk, Poland to Athens is visible from the winery windows. Poles and Serbians who want to vacation in Greece with their families will often spend the night here on their way south.

We had a great breakfast this morning and then did a winery tour.

Something like a Macedonian donut
Omelette
One of the local varietals is Vranec
Wine is aged in French, Hungarian, Macedonian and American oak barrels
Inside the winery with our guide

A bit later we went for a walk to explore the area around the winery. The owner’s dogs led the way on our walk. They were out front until we met a group of other dogs. Then our companions kept us between them and the pack.

Out for a walk with our companions
A vineyard we passed

The tower in the winery is as great place to sit and enjoy the view

Inside the tower
The tower is on the right

We had another great dinner in the restaurant. Our waiter knew the U.S. well. He had worked on cruise ships and visited a lot of American ports. we were the only people in the restaurant for most of dinner.

Beef with mushrooms, onions and potatoes
Ravenija , a traditional Macedonian desert