Skopje, North Macedonia

It’s a bit odd how this trip came about, at least in terms of where we chose to go. When we landed in Athens back in 2019, one of the first things we saw was a protest. After a bit of digging, we discovered it was about the proposed name change from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to North Macedonia. Based on that alone, we thought — why not plan a trip there ourselves?

Our first stop was Skopje, the capital. Having not really travelled for six years, we were quickly reacquainted with our old nemesis: jet lag. To try to dodge the inevitable, we booked daytime flights that left Hong Kong at 10 a.m. and arrived in Skopje at 7 p.m. local time. It worked beautifully — we didn’t need to sleep on the plane and had a wonderful flight. We also decided that sampling the local brew before bed might knock us out for the night. The result? Nope. Jet lag didn’t knock politely — it barged in at 3 a.m. and made itself right at home. Fuck. Luckily, the hotel breakfast started at 6:30, so after we gorged ourselves on spectacular bread, meats, cheeses, and pastries, we set off exploring.

We ended up spending four days in Skopje, many of them wandering the same sites we first stumbled upon that morning. Macedonia Square was impressive and the architecture instantly made us feel like we were back in Europe again. We did find it slightly amusing that the enormous statue which sits proudly in the centre of the square, was called “Warrior on a Horse.” It’s quite obviously Alexander the Great. But perhaps the ambiguous name was to avoid escalating tensions with the neighbours to the south.

Across the old stone bridge, the statue was less cryptic and is actually named after its likeness, Philip II of Macedon. We came to know this spot well, as right next door was a superb restaurant and bar where, on several occasions, we filled up on beer and ajvar while people-watching. The local dress code seemed to be anything fro Sunday best to ‘barely there’ — and often all on the same street. After living in China and being in New Zealand, the huge variety of people, styles, and religions was staggering. It wasn’t just tourists either but locals too. Clothing ranged from suits to elegant dresses to shorts and T-shirts to fully covered, right through to basically displaying as much skin as is legally permitted. The presence and showing off of women’s large rear ends and large twin peaks was especially unexpected and very prominent.

Our hotel was tucked away in the old town, a maze of worn narrow streets selling everything from gold, silver, and jewellery to… wait for it… more gold, silver, and jewellery. But at least the cafés were different, and there was no shortage of places to eat and drink.

The fort above the city provided spectacular views of the surroundings, even if the walk up took quite some effort. This was our third trip to Europe during the summer months, and just like the previous two, a heat wave was in full effect. Temperatures of 42 °C and above struck each afternoon, so plenty of siesta time and long coffee stops were needed to help us cope. If ever there was a city that let you pause for shade, sip a coffee, and just people-watch, Skopje was it. And thank god for that, because 42 degrees is no joke. Fortunately, there was little humidity, so it wasn’t nearly as oppressive as a Chinese summer.

Skopje turned out to be a fascinating place. As with many cities, you’d see tourist hotspots on one street and then, just a block away, be in an entirely local area. These local spots were more interesting for us, with a certain grittiness that probably came from the prominent graffiti and overgrown patches. Nowhere ever felt unsafe, though — Skopje’s got grit, graffiti, and a gorgeous sense of chaos, all without ever feeling threatening. It just added to the charm and spirit of the place. The city park, where we went one morning for some shade and a stroll, captured this perfectly. It was lovely to see people out and about, exercising, relaxing, reading, sunbathing — all the things we don’t see in China. With coffee carts everywhere and even people going around giving out free coffee, we were never far from that much-needed caffeine hit.

We’d read that one of the best things to do here was have long lazy lunches, long lazy coffees, and long lazy beers, so we did our very best research into places offering exactly that. We knew getting back into the travelling groove would take some time, especially after two weeks of catching up with people, and Skopje gave us exactly the space we needed to do just that.

Next stop: Pristina, Kosovo. Why Pristina next? Simple. Why the hell not.