Day 12 - North Macedonia, Skopje

I was treated to an excellent breakfast at the hotel in Albania and the coffee was perfect, it was a type of breakfast I was going to get used to in the coming days and weeks. I was shaded in the bar area but the sun was bright. It's a shame the workmen building the road at the front of the hotel, with their cacophonous jackhammers and diggers, also had an early start that day.

I was a little sad to be leaving Albania as I hadn’t really had time to get a proper feel for the place but it was time to get on my way and the aircon switched on, it was already too hot to stand still in all my bike gear.

Another treat to a mountainous ride later today but before that I kept noticing tortoises crossing the roads and lots of squashed snakes as well. I then noticed a kitten crossing the road with its paw tapping at something which turned out to be a very alive and good sized snake. It was struggling on the tarmac which gave me the opportunity to film it, the kitten went away (I feared for it’s safety anyway as I wasn’t sure if the snake was venomous or not). Once it had crossed the road it was back in it’s natural habitat and slid off very quickly. What a sight.

It turns out that this is locally called Sheltopusik and is basically a legless lizard, it's also called the European Legless Lizard or Glass Lizard according to a post I read. It's non venomous, which is good for the kitten chasing it and who am I to question the herpetological knowledge of people on the internet anyway?

Crossing high bridges over the glazed stillness of ice cold mountain lakes, powering by the angry, boulder strewn rapids, negotiating the meandering bends on the valley floor flowing like the river itself, Mavrovo National Park was was a joy to ride in.

Then to Skopje, there's a long story attached to Skopje, too long for this installment but needless to say, after following the owner's car to my alternative accomodation my expectations remained about as high as a dropped curb and as uninspired as seeking the planning permission to make it.

My "hotel" - A block of flats circa 70s/80s, the owner said it was safe because the police station was just up the road!

At least there was air conditioning...oh, no there's not...oh well...oh dear...

It was about 7.30pm by this time and I wondered where I could get some food so then I wandered out. The room in the "apartment" couldn't be locked from the inside but could from the outside....phew, that's a relief.

I only passed one eatery place near the closest bankomat but it was too busy so I found my way across a few busy roads in the hope of finding some sustenance soon but then I saw this.

Impressive building, gold reliefs at the front entrance, beautiful

Still no food though. I'd noticed a huge hill fort/castellated defensive wall up a different road on the way to the church. I wanted a photo before it got too dark but in the time I'd walked around the church all the exits had been locked! I had no idea, I panicked a bit but as I was preparing to come to terms with it and find a place in the shrubs to sleep for the night I noticed that there were others still here, then a hearty yell from an old guy fifty metres away had me following him towards the gate that he was about to unlock especially for us.

As I wandered up the roads I couldn't help noticing things...things to make my head turn. Post Office Headquarters. What an amazing piece of architecture.

Possibly guarding gates. There were two of these.

The fortress or defensive wall

The cross on the hill!

And what about this? The plaque under the statue has the date 13-11-1944, more information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Macedonia_(1944)

I was in awe of this amazing city, I found and followed the river as best I could in the dark, there were runners, walkers, friends, lovers, strollers, cyclists, old people, young people and everyone in between all making their way along the riverside, light shows in the distance, a beautiful old bridge and classical looking buildings.

I turned to the right up a small set of steps and found this...

The square was huge, totally smooth marble like walking surface, statues, classical looking street lights mixed with modern floodlights to enhance this amazing place even more, there were buildings lit up and people everywhere! It was a truly beautiful and vibrant city. I walked around for hours completely forgot about dinner and then when my hunger did return I found a small restaurant on the way back to the room. It was about 10pm by this time. I ordered my first and probably my last black burger ever (there was a choice of red, black or standard) with chips and a refreshing bottle of the local lager. It was one of the nicest burgers I've ever had and the lager was pretty good as well.

So much for my preconceptions, the bike was safe and the room dangerous but the end of this day was a real high point of my trip so far. I would love to go back and spend more time in that wonderful place.