I had a holiday from school so Saturday we booked a car for Sunday and then decided to spend the day in Tirana. (It was supposed to rain ALL DAY so we chose to leave Sunday morning instead of on Saturday). We packed for our getaway and then headed to a local brewery called Brauhaus which is reminiscent of a huge german beer hall. The brewery has 8 vats for brewing, however many of them were not in use. I was curious so the owner gave Mark and I a tour of the brewing room, after which they let us sample the two beers they currently had on draft. During our tour the owner let us try a beer straight from the nozzle of the vat, pre fermentation. We were told that the beers usually rotate monthly so we plan to head back in about a month or so to try some new ones.
After
having a few we walked to Kripe dhe Piper, a new restaurant in town. We enjoyed a sampler menu with meat and fish appetizers (that were HUGE and delicious!) and then an out of this world chocolate dessert. Eating and drinking our way through the city was a perfect way to spend date night 😋
Sunday we were up and out early so that we could pick up our rental car. Sadly, there were complications with it and we didn't end up getting on the road until three and a half hours later. Woof. To pass the time we enjoyed brunch at Duff and then laid in the sun near the Rogner pool. Leaving so late in the morning shot our Day 1 itinerary so instead of stopping we drove straight to Pogradec (with a few stops to take in the incredible view!), which is a mountain town that borders Lake Ohrid. It's absolutely beautiful!
Our hotel was fantastic- we had a huge room, complete with a balcony and sea view. We watched the sun set over the water while enjoying a fabulous dinner of seafood and grilled vegetables. The town was small, so we'd seen it all on our drive in. We looked up attractions, but didn't find anything that interested us, so instead we bought a bottle of wine to enjoy on our balcony while we looked out at the sea. Our room was floor to ceiling windows so when it got chilly we just moved inside and enjoyed our seaside view from the couch.
Breakfast
the next morning was included and there was fresh peach juice and homemade chocolate croissants- YUM! This hotel was not only beautiful but the staff were friendly and the price was a steal (39 euro for the night). I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to stay in Pogradec (pronounced POH-gru-detz)
Our plan today was to drive to Sheblenik-Janice National Park. The GPS estimated the drive to be about two and a half hours.
Upon reaching the entrance to the park Mark told me that we still had another hour up the mountain. I didn't mind. It was the first time I had driven in quite awhile and I was loving it. The weather was beautiful and so were the mountains.
There wasn't anyone or anything for miles, just nature. As beautiful as it was we decided another 20 minutes of driving through mud leading nowhere wasn't wise (especially since there was a storm brewing) so we turned back and started our descent. We both let out a sigh of relief when our wheels made it back to paved road.
continued into the town surrounding the national park and grabbed a quick lunch, but then had to get back on the road. Sheblenik-Janice was supposed to be where we stopped before arriving in Pogradec, but because of the mix up with the car we weren't able to make it. That meant that we were 4 hours from Skopje instead of 2 like we had initially planned to be. We drove on and on through the mountains but got stopped at the border because we didn't have the EU green card we needed, which meant Mark had to walk back across to the Albanian side to retrieve it. We arrived at Get Inn Skopje Hostel at 8:30. Although free dinner was offered it wasn't anything substantial so Mark and I dropped our bags and headed into town to a famous local brewery for beers and snacks. Yum! I tried an IPA and a weiss beer while Mark tried a lager and a stout. Our veggies and hummus were really fresh and the pretzels (although not really pretzels) and cheese were pretty tasty. We enjoyed sour cherry, fig and strawberry mascarpone ice cream on our way home.
Tuesday morning we had cereal at the hostel and then headed to the main square for a free walking tour. Our guide, Zoran, was fantastic. He shared so many cool stories with us. Our tour began at Mother Theresa's birth home, which isn't actually standing anymore. It was torn down because as it sat empty it became dilapidated because the communists allowed it to rot. Mother Theresa lived in Skopja until age 18 and then moved to Ireland and then to a British province in India to help the poor.
We continued through a large arch built in celebration of Macedonia's independence.
In the park,
a statue of Prometheus, who stole from the gods to give to the poor, stands tall. There is controversy over this statue because he was originally erected naked, however, the townspeople protested his nudeness so the sculptor was recommissioned to cover the statue. The sculptor was incredibly displeased by this so on the side of Prometheus' hip he made a small frowning face. Behind Prometheus stands a memorial honoring "all of the people who have worked to make Macedonia the country it is today", and finally, an angel, symbolizing a greater place, and hope, for all of the souls who've died.
Across
the street stands the parliament building. Throughout Skopja's history there have been many corrupt politicians. In 2016 the people of Skopja decided to protest the corruption by hurling balloons filled with paint at the political buildings and monuments, including the parliament. They even carried paint filled water guns.
Macedonia
created a flag in 1991 (the year their independence was gained), however, in 1995 the greeks complained that their use of the sun symbolized Alexander the Great, a greek man. The Greeks did not want Macedonia representing Alexander the Great's likeness on their flag so insisted they change it. Although Macedonia is represented by a new flag, during all sporting events versus the greeks, the old flag is flown 😛 Our guide went on to tell us many stories of the Greeks complaining about the Macedonians. For example, the change of name from Macedonia to North Macedonia occurred because the Greeks complained to Brussels, and other governing bodies of the EU, who eventually "suggested" that Macedonia change its name to appease the Greeks. Why don't Macedonians tell the Greeks to go jump and get on with their lives? Because Macedonia wants to join the EU. dun. dun. dun. Zoran then took us to one of his favorite byrek joints and let us sample some. He told us that byrek, plus a salty yogurt drink is a typical macedonian breakfast (and late night drunk treat).
After our snack we saw the ruins of the old train station. We learned that a horrific earthquake (6.1 on the Richter scale) shook the area for 20 seconds during the cold war. 70% of the buildings and infrastructure were destroyed. Thousands lost their lives. The clock at the rail station stopped at 5:17, the time of the earthquake, so it's been preserved as a reminder. Although this was a horrible tragedy, there was some good that came from it. Both Russian and US troops came to Macedonia to provide aid. Macedonians joke not only did they survive the quake, but they survived the presence of warring enemy soldiers in their city. Now all building plans must be earthquake approved.
Our
guide told us about the changing of the economy from communist to free market. When Macedonians built their first stock exchange they also erected a statue of a bull to symbolize Wall Street.
only is there a free market in Macedonia, but there is freedom of religion. Currently, a beautiful church is being built in the center. Apparently it's been "in the works" for 7 years though, so Macedonians have begun re-thinking the whole freedom of religion thing 😉
Next to the perpetually under construction church is a fully built, not under construction church that's been dedicated to Mother Teresa. This church has special significance because it's where she was baptized and confirmed. This church is located along the pedestrian walking street.
It's a place where, years ago, everyone could be seen in the evenings. The rules were as follows: couples made the loop always on the left, single girls in the middle and single men in between the couples and the women. A man may see a woman he was interested in, but if he didn't get the signal from her, he wasn't allowed to walk next to her. Order was kept because not too far from a single girl walked her brother, or father, who was ready to take on any man who tried to advance without the proper signal. Not far from the pedestrian walking street is the main square, where many statues, fountains and monuments are located. The construction plan was named "Skopja 2014" (Including the year in the name of the plan ensured it would be finished on time). It's still not done. The politician who recommended the plan is hiding in Budapest because he budgeted for a cost of 80 thousand euro but it's actually cost over 800 thousand. Woops. The aim of the project is to make all macedonians more culturally aware, to provide politicians new office space and to promote tourism. Zoran says one and two are debatable, but that it's definitely delivered on the third.
Of course, the Greeks had something to say about this project, which resulted in the statue of Alexander the Great in the center of the main square to be renamed "warrior riding a horse".
The highway from Skopja to Greece has been named after Alexander the Great as has the Skopja airport. Because of this Zoran joked that the name of the highway will be changed to "warrior riding a car" which will then lead to the airport being named "warrior riding a plane". The EU has suggested the highway be called friendship highway. uh hum. greece. hint. hint. oh the irony.
Mark and I were really excited for our next stop because we had been there the night before. Score for finding a great local spot on our own. While we were there Zoran wrote each of our names in cyrillic, which is the alphabet the Macedonians use.
No sooner had we sat down then we were off again, this time in the direction of the river. It's bordered by an old bridge (built in the 15th century) and a new bridge. There are three boats that sit in the river- one is a hotel, one is a casino and one is abandoned. After crossing the bridge (you can guess which one we took!) we went to the bazaar in Old Skopja.
Years
ago the merchants were separated by street based on the goods they were selling, which really helped consumers. Today it's not organized in this way, except for one street that only sells jewelry. Past the bazaar is a courtyard that's home to a traditional restaurant and a coffee shop. On the porches above stand a girls only muslim school neighbored by a nightclub 😮
We
then walked to a catholic church built behind a wall and underground. Although religion has never been restricted in Macedonia, it used to have to be hidden. "practice what you want but don't let us see it" was the motto.
After we snaked through a few outdoor restaurants to get to the first brewery in Macedonia. Here we learned about the Macedonian food and spirits that we needed to try (more about that soon!) and then ended our tour at the fortress (with beautiful views of the city!)
We
walked back to the hostel so that Mark could get a little work done and I could get a little reading in. Our plan for the evening was to get dinner at the first brewery in Macedonia (and catch a little live music while there!) Unfortunately, the food menu wasn't very appetizing and we ran out of free beer vouchers before the sound check was over. New plan. Walk 20 minutes across town to a bar/restaurant. One word: DE. Li. SHuS. There were over 100 craft beers and tons of food options. Mark and I sat at the bar and got to know the bartender pretty well because the place wasn't overly crowded. We shared nachos and pork sliders. I tried three or four different beers and then the bartender made house shots to share with us. Mark and I were in heaven. We walked home full and happy and slept like babies.
Wednesday morning we checked out of our hostel and searched high and low for a post office box. We found a yellow box on the side of a building where Mark dropped a postcard for his family. The question is, have they received it yet?
We couldn't justify leaving Macedonia without hitting up our favorite restaurant one more time, so we had sandwiches (mine with extra pickles, obviously!) and bought a 6 pack of our favorites to take back home.
To
break up the drive we stopped in a beautiful, beautiful outdoor area where we hiked and took a boat ride through a lagoon to a cave. For the life of me I can't remember what it's called or where it is 😞I do remember it was incredibly crowded because of the holiday. There were tons of families camping and picnic-ing.
We left
just as it started to rain and made it back to Tirana just in time for bed. It was a wonderful way to spend a few days away from work.
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