Leaving L.E.: Skopje, Macedonia, at New Year

The last days of 2018, I spent in Skopje, Macedonia, thanks to my Miles & More free flight. Macedonia is a small country in the south of the Balkan and borders with Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Serbia.

I took a bus from the airport to the city center - the service does not run very often and I had to wait a bit for it. At the end, there were only two passengers on the way to Skopje. Here are the current timetables from airport to city center and return.

My Hotel Solun was close two the final stop and I just had to cross a shopping mall and the Macedonian Square to reach it. On the square is a big statue "Warrior on a Horse". If you explore further you will find an endless numbers of statues around - small, big and gigantic: lions, horses, persons. There are two bridges nearby that showcase different figures of Macedonian importance throughout the millennia.

Warrior on a Horse, Macedonian Square

bottom of the Philip II of Macedon Monument

St Cyril and St Methodius

The Bridge of Civilizations in Macedonia 🇲🇰

The Stonebridge leads across the Vardar river to the old part of the town with the Kale (fortress), newly built museums and memorials and the Old Turkish Bazaar.

Kameni Most/ Stonebridge

in daylight

The fortress looks monumental from outside. Unfortunately, on the inside the best thing is the walkway of the defensive wall. It has a dead-end, so you have to return the same way. If you want you can join a guided tour that will tell you more about the archeological aspects - guides offer their services at the entrance.

fortress from the end of the bridge

from fortress to Mount Vodno

fortress wall

From the fortress you can walk down to the Mustafa Pasa mosque and further to the Old Turkish Bazaar. Here you can buy wedding and party gowns, shoes, jewelry and souvenirs housed in one and two storey buildings. In between are a bunch of restaurants shops. At the end, there is a more modern market with everyday items like socks, belts and smartphone covers.

Mustafa Pasa Moque (1492)

Old Bazaar

Back to the river front is church St. Demetrius and the Museum of the Macedonian struggle. A guided tour leads you through the events from the mid 19th century till the independence in 1991. The museum and the paintings look much older than they are - both were commissioned only in the last 10 years and the museum opened its doors in 2011.

St. Demetrius Church

Museum of the Macedonian Struggle

ceiling of the museum

Venturing down one of the pedestrian streets from Macedonia Square will lead you to the memorial house of Mother Theresa. The nun was born in Skopje in 1910 and the house was built 10 years ago on the site of a former church in which Mother Theresa was baptized.

Memorial House of Mother Theresa

Most Macedonians are orthodox Christians, so their Christmas celebrations were still to come in January and so everyday Christmas markets, photo sessions with Santa Claus and concerts on the square were running its course. On New Year’s Eve the buildings along the riverbank were lit up in the Macedonian colors (red and yellow) and I celebrated with friends from Italy on a prime spot - restaurant and hotel ship Senigallia. Luckily we booked a table the night before and had a good view from there of the midnight fireworks.