Macedonia: Skopje

All new statues and an old bridge

Monday 20 May: Handy for the railway station and the city centre I've booked a twin room in tiny Motel Le Village which has just six rooms set around a grassy courtyard garden.
Tuesday 21: Today I take the shuttle bus to the airport to meet one of my old muckers, Tony, who is joining me for a short holiday. First we head along the Vardar River to the city centre then across the old stone bridge to Kale Fortress and the Gallery of Modern Art. This city has more statues than anywhere else I can think of, mostly of Macedonia's famous son, Alexander the Great. We stop for a beer (the first alcohol I've tasted in a month) then for a good messes lunch at Stara Gradska Kuca restaurant before strolling around town for more statue and people watching (well, mostly girl's bottom watching). It's great to see Tony again, I've not enjoyed good English speaking company for a while, even if it does come with a slight Brummy twang.
Monday 27: Returning from a few days in Ohrid we lunch, once again, at the Stara Gradska Kuca. Unfortunately it's fully booked in the evening and we end up drinking far too much Alexander the Great red wine elsewhere. How Tony manages to catch the 3:00am bus to the airport I'll never know.
Tuesday 28: The old copper-domed Ottoman hammam or Turkish baths now houses the National Gallery and I have a quick look around the fantastic interior before, once again, catching the train north.
Slideshow of Skopje.