It Happened In July

[lupestripe]

I arrived in Skopje safely, although I was a little disappointed not to receive a stamp in my passport as I went through customs. Still it was all effortless and I managed to secure Macedonian denars quite easily too, one of the world's most elusive currencies.

The guesthouse in which I'm staying is pleasant enough. It's modest but clean, the only downside being the toilet's inability to take toilet paper, necessitating its disposal in a bin adjacent to it. I forgot first time as throwing it in the toilet is second nature. It's a vestige of the old Communist days when the sewage systems couldn't cope with it. I experienced similar in Prague in 2003 but thankfully this practice is fading out now.

The hotel is above a pizza restaurant on the banks of the Vardar River, right in the centre of town. You can't get more central than this. The pizza proprietor owns this place too and he gave me two complimentary beers while I was waiting for them to finalise things. Complimentary beer is always going to endear me to a place ^^

The Cyrillic alphabet, in which the local language is written, has become second nature to me now aside from the need to learn seven new funky letters. Most people here speak fluent English so getting by hasn't been difficult at all. The hotel people all speak English which is a blessing.

The people here are friendly but politics is divided along ethnic and social lines. Macedonia escaped the worst of the Yugoslavian breakup but it borders Kosovo and many refugees came here during the Serb bombings in 1999. There is a high Albanian minority in the north-west of the country which causes tension. Meanwhile, the Greeks to the south object to the name of Macedonia as there is a similarly named region there while the Bulgarians still think Macedonia is their territory. This mix means many people here have quite strong views based on experience and history so being diplomatic in discussions is advised.

Last night I met up with three local furs who showed me around the city after we had had some delicious pizza in the restaurant downstairs. Myth is a huge coin collector so I gave him some UK money while we talked about a range of things, the vast majority being high-brow. It was odd but topics like euthanasia and the EU were actively debated, which was great but a little strange for a first meeting. We also got pestered by a little boy selling moist towelettes, which seems to be a common theme here. He was nice enough though, apart from thinking I am American.

After Pizza we went to Plostad Makedonija, the very centre of the city, where stands one of the most glorious monuments I have ever seen. It's called Warrior on Horseback so as not to offend the Greeks as actually it's of Alexander the Great, a figure over whom they claim ownership. The statue is a giant water feature guarded by four lions looking outward and a further four spurting water towards the vast central column through their mouths. Every minute or so water bubbles and rises to cover the metallic warrior friezes adorning the column while collies lights go mad. Atop the column is a huge plinth with a giant horse rearing up with Alexander sat atop.

Horses are a huge thing here and there are loads of statues in their dedication. There are also loads of flagpoles with humongous Macedonian flags flying upon. Around the monument their sits lots of smaller statues, a gate not too dissimilar to the Arc de Triomphe (most Eastern European capital cities have something like this) and a large square with one of those big TVs in. The main stone bridge (imaginatively called Stone Bridge) is to one end with a delicious hotel in the Greek style on the right. A statue with a dilapidated caravan underneath sits next to it - a clear metaphor for the last 70 years I feel.

We also walked to the city's main cathedral (Soboren Hram Sveti Kliment Ohridski), a modernist structure which is a little cold, and the old railway station which is now a museum. Here we saw the clock permanently frozen at 5.17, the time on 26 July 1963 when Skopje succumbed to a massive earthquake which killed 8000 people and demolished most of the town.

As my friends are here again I will need to break from my account but later on I will tell you what happened next, including my encounter with the Macedonian version of Deal Or No Deal.

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Comments

[rainbow-lioness.livejournal.com]

Did you happen to get a photo of the Alexander the Great statue?? I have always been fascinated by him.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

Yep I have loads of photos - it's a phenomenal structure.

[rainbow-lioness.livejournal.com]

Oh yay!! Cant wait to see them!

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I'll hopefully upload them towards the end of the week - can't find the upload dongle thingy at present :(

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

I managed to secure Macedonian denars quite easily too

I'd thought that would be the case. I haven't bothered getting currency in advance in years - ATMs are pretty much everywhere now, and you get to bypass the insane exchange rates offered by most such establishments in the UK, which loudly tout "zero commission", only to more than make it up in the rates, especially if you sell back to them!

the toilet's inability to take toilet paper

Not on the actual sewer system, maybe?

he gave me two complimentary beers while I was waiting for them to finalise things

So, what's their address? ^_^

Most people here speak fluent English

Oh, cool beans! Though it sounds like you could probably manage in Russian too, at this point.

It was odd but topics like euthanasia and the EU were actively debated, which was great but a little strange for a first meeting

I'd love to see such topics be discussed more on LJ, especially if people took the trouble to source their facts, and take the time to consider their responses.

clock permanently frozen at 5.17

A chilling memorial, yet entirely apt. Hopefully construction's now of a better standard that we'll not see that repeated again in Europe.

And needless to say, I'll be looking forward to seeing some of those statue shots!

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

It depends where I'm going but I do like to carry a small amount of cash upon arrival, about £50 in each local currency, in case the ATM at the airport is broken and I need to get somewhere. Aside from that, I use ATMs all the time if my bank doesn't freeze my cards for me.

Yep, pretty sure it was the sewage system that was the problem.

The hotel is here - http://www.anjagroup.mk/hotel_en.html

I could possibly discuss more heavyweight topics, it just takes a lot of time to craft a decent argument and finding that time is tricky. I'll see what I can do.

I hope the construction is better but looking at some of the houses, I wouldn't be so sure. I'll upload the pictures towards the end of the week if I can - the horse statue is amazing :)

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

Enjoy your time over there.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

Thanks :)