Fortress overlooking old Skopje

I can see the Kale fortress from my hotel window in Skopje.  It was built from stone blocks taken from the ruins of the ancient city of Scupi.  It was a Turkish fortress during the Ottoman Empire and was later occupied by the Serbs.  It is now being reconstructed and used as a tourist site.

Day 1 and 2

by John Fisher

My first two days in Macedonia have been busy ones - filled with meetings and meals.

After arriving Thursday, Paul, Goran and I went to Hotel Super 8 in Skopje where I had made my reservations for accommodations.  The hotel is both modern and inexpensive, owned by an American who returned to his native Macedonia to go into business.

Before going to a 5 o'clock meeting with our student leaders we ate at an outside restaurant adjacent to the hotel.  The weather is beautiful in Skopje. Eating outside is the thing to do.  We ate fresh Macedonian salads (like Greek without the olives) and had steak as our main course. The steak was beautifully cooked, very tender and served with a delicious mushroom sauce.  We talked Balkan politics and ate for over two hours.

At 5 we had our meeting.  (I'm still suffering from jet lag and so nod off in most of our meetings.)  Then after the meeting, a new friend took me to dinner in the Albanian section of Skopje.  He is an air force officer working for the Ministry of Defense.  He is working on a PhD, lived for a year in the United States, and has written a book of Albanian-English words.  The meal again started with a fresh salad and the main course was beef sausage links.  Very delicious.

We talked about history, politics, and religion.  He neither drinks nor smokes.  I told him about the Word of Wisdom and how God has shown his love to his children in all ages by giving them health laws through his prophets, like those given in the Old Testament and more recently to the prophets Mohammed and Joseph Smith.

I was exhausted by 11 p.m. and so went to bed only to wake up at 3:30 a.m. (which is 9:30 p.m. in the Midwest United States).  At 4:30 a.m. I heard the call to prayers and at about 5 a.m. I used the Yahoo program on my computer to call my wife and daughter in America.

Today we met with the Macedonian Red Cross and the military nurses and medical team.  Both groups will provide vital instruction and key exercises for our humanitarian training in Krivolak in southern Macedonia next week.  If it was 29 degrees Centigrade in Skopje today, it might have been 39 degrees in Krivolak.  

After our meetings I went with our operations director, his assistant, and Paul to a restaurant where I think I truly had traditional food from the region.  Again it started with fresh salad. Every salad is slightly different.  This one had a tasty herb, possibly parsley. The salad of mainly tomatoes and cucumbers is covered in white cheese.  I asked for extra olives.  So the group accused me of making a southern Macedonia salad.  Southern Macedonia is the part of the country below the Greek border.  

Then we had Macedonian goulash with mashed potatoes covered in the most delicious sauce.  The meal tab for the four of us came to about 20 USD.  This included two soft drinks and two beers for our Macedonian friends.

Arriving in Macedonia

By John Fisher


As I flew into Skopje, I was awed by the snow-capped mountains on either side and the green of the fields below.  The red-tiled roofs of the houses added a special old world charm.


The plane pulled to a stop at Skopje's Alexander the Great airport.  I chuckled at the name.  The Greeks have failed to recognize the Republic of Macedonia, because they claim Macedonia is a province of Greece.  They also claim Alexander the Great as the greatest of Greek warrior kings.  Now the Macedonians, not only have the name, but make claim to Greece's hero.


Read about the name dispute at 
http://wdef.com/news/macedonia_name_dispute/05/2010

Paul and Goran met me at the airport.  Goran drove the military Fiat toward Skopje; then realized he was on the wrong highway.  We were almost to Serbia, he said.  That wouldn't do.  
Macedonia is land-locked, surrounded by Greece in the south, Albania on the west, Bulgaria on the east, and Kosovo and Serbia on the north. 

The latest news from the Associated Press dated May 14, 2010 reads:

SKOPJE, Macedonia - Authorities in Macedonia say they have petitioned neighbouring Kosovo for information on 70 criminal suspects following a shootout this week that left four gunmen dead.

Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska said Friday she had taken the action following the incident and several large weapons seizures near Macedonia's border with Kosovo.

Authorities say ethnic Albanian criminal gangs are using weapons hidden after a 2001 insurgency and may have taken refuge in Kosovo.

Kosovo' interior minister denied that his government tolerated suspected criminals, arguing that members of powerful crime gangs typically have connections with various countries in the region.

For a small country the size of Vermont Macedonia has very interesting politics. About a third of Macedonians are ethnic Albanians.  The Albanians fought a brief insurrection against the government in 2001, but the government was forced to make concessions to its largest minority that have kept centuries old feelings of nationalism at bay.  A few regional boundary changes could easily make the Albanians the majority in a new nation, rather than the minority.

Macedonia is not unlike many other countries - Canada, Belgium - that have had to make concessions to minorities to keep harmony and create national unity.

Overnight in Prague

By John Fisher

My flight from Paris to Skopje on Czech Airlines had me overnight in Prague. I chose this itinerary because I have never been in the Czech Republic.

I got tourist information and picked up Czech money in the airport. I got 1000 Korunas from an ATM. One Koruna was about 5 cents. I knew my hostel stay in downtown Prague would be about 450 Korunas which is about 22 dollars.

The transit from the airport to downtown was 26 Korunas one way. The trip from the airport to downtown was easy. I caught the 119 bus at the airport that took me to the end of the metro line.

It was about 7 p.m. when I checked into the hostel. Since I was out of summer traveling season, I got a dorm room to myself. The Advantage Hostel is old, but the rooms and bathrooms are clean.

Because I wanted to sight see before dark, I postponed dinner. I had had a ham sandwich and water on the airplane - one of the Czech Airline perks.

Four day transit passes are pretty economical, but since I was here one night, I decided to walk. I walked north from my hostel to the museum and Wenceslas Square. It seems a lot like the Champs Elysee of Prague, which chique shops and young people. When I entered the old town, the people were older and more touristy. The old town has all the charm of old Europe - narrow streets and old buildings. Very clean. The beggars lay prone on their faces with their hats out.

I took photos of the old clock tower and then wound my way to the Karluv Most - Charles Bridge - the most famous sight in Prague. It was under repairs. I walked half way across and then back to the old town. I walked south along the Vltava River and then east to my hostel.

I looked for places to eat traditional Cyech food along the way, but ended up following the hostel worker´s advice and eating in the restaurant below the hostel. Prices seemed to be comparable to the less expensive restaurants in Prague - about 145 Korunas for a main dish. When my bill finally came it was 201 Korunas which included two soft drinks, gratuity, and tax - about 10 dollars.

The restaurant, Restaurace Kulovz Blesk at Sokolska 13 had its charm. It wasn´t well publicized from the street, but was very busy at 9 p.m. At the end of a dark passagewaz is an outdoor sitting area - not well lighted. Then through a door and downstairs is the restaurant. The room I sat in had 8 to 10 men in it all talking loudly at once - no music. I liked the noise, although I couldn´t understand.

When I finally ordered, I asked for traditional Czech meals. The only one left was chicken with a wine sauce and dumplings. I really was hoping to get pork and kraut - next time. The meal was hot - chicken and wine sauce delicious. The dumplings made with bacon and brocolli were heavy and bland - not what I would have liked. Combined with chicken and and the wine sauce, the dumplings were okay - just okay. I had two cold tonic drinks - Kinley grapefruit and ginger tonic. I liked the drinks.

It was a close trip up to my room in the hostel. I was exhausted although I had dozed much of the day while waiting in Charles de Gaulle airport and on the plane. It was 11 p.m. - 5 p.m. at home. I hadn´t slept much in 48 hours. I chose an upper bunk, then changed to a lower bunk in the middle of the night. The bed had a lower sheet and a blanket in a white sheet on top. Very cozy. However, Im glad I brought my down pillow from home.

I woke at 3:30 a.m. with a Charley horse that I had to work ouot of my leg. I went downstairs to write on the computer in the dark. The hostel deskman is snoring on a couch behind me. I will eat a complimentary breakfast before I walk to the metro for my trip back to the airport.