It has been awhile; okay, a long time; since I have sat down and shared my adventures in the Balkans. I moved to Skopje, Macedonia in March 2013 to begin a new assignment. The above picture is the view from my second floor balcony (trees and the back of the Polish Ambassador's residence); I am in a more "upscale neighborhood" and they still park on the sidewalk! I have a very nice apartment in area called Vodno (the mountain directly behind is Mt. Vodno and it has a gigantic lighted cross on top of it) Skopje; close to the office and a very pleasant drive each morning past the Serbian, Turkish, American, and British Ambassadors' residences; so far these guys are behaving and keeping the noise and parties to a minimum.
This a view of the American Embassy, which is located across (basically North from my residence) the Vardar River; directly South of the Embassy is the French Cemetery from WWI. The cemetery is beautiful and it is small; the French take great care and pride in tending the graves and surrounding grounds.
The hill is occupied by the Embassy; the French Cemetery; a modern art museum and the historic fort that protected old Skopje. "Old" is relative to medieval times; as Skopje and the existence of the town next to the Vardar River goes back to Roman times with the "Axis Road" connecting a city not far from Skopje to the Via Egnatia (started in Durres, Albania, winding past principle towns in Macedonia and then South to Thessaloniki and eventually all the way to Constantinople). This was the main road in the Roman Empire connecting Rome, Italy via Barre, sailing over the Adriatic to Durres disembarking and taking the Via Egnatia North, East and finally South.
The fort is currently partially closed off due to a significant archaeological discovery several years ago. The weather was really like Portland in the spring, so I did not get inside to get a look at the "dig" and the structures inside the fort; will do that on a warmer, drier day. The fort dominated the hill on the North side of the Vardar facing South; looking ominously down on the old Axis Road. It pre-dates the Ottoman invasion; however was used right up into the last century. The history of the city is like that of most major cities in the Balkans; ancient, even mentioned by Homer in the Iliad is the House of Macedon; the Roman wars ending in the defeat of Macedonian armies ; the Byzantine Empire; followed by the Huns, Goths, Slavic tribes, Bulgarians, and the Ottoman Empire, the "Balkan Wars" leading up to WWI and finally WWII; this was truly a tough neighborhood (I mean, this was the 'hood) in which to live; on top of the continuous conflicts and invasions, earthquakes took a massive toll on Skopje with the last major quake in 1963 destroying much of the historical/classical character of Skopje.
The ultra modern "football" stadium is located below the US Embassy on the South side of the Vardar River. You gotta love a place that builds such a stadium for football; even though they do not really "hit" anyone! There is a nice waterfront pathway that crosses in front of the stadium; the path and park area resulted from a design to mitigate annual flooding issues with the Vardar River (although when you look at the Vardar, it really isn't very deep and is not navigable around Skopje; oh, the Vardar empties into the Aegean Sea, West of Thessaloniki.
Skopje is a somewhat planned city; with wide boulevards, planted with trees , annuals and the city will be planting 10's of thousands of white rose bushes throughout the urban area. Skopje has embarked on "Skopje 2014"; an exercise in constructing modern office buildings for government offices; many lining the North bank of the Vardar River. I am not an architect, nor am I an authority on design; however, left me comment that this is just a bit over the top. There does not appear to be any continuity of design; rather more of an "abstract approach", maybe even eclectic would be a better description.
Do not get me wrong, this is a "cool" town; not too big; a little congested; great infrastructure inside the city limits; great Internet and people who drive in their lanes; obey the traffic lights and "actually" stop at crosswalks to let pedestrians pass.
However, the city fathers must have hired every unemployed statue carver/foundry worker in Europe; the downtown along the waterfront is like a giant "chessboard"; there are status everywhere; not old, brand new ones, bronze and marble. Alexander III of Macedon/Great above and his father Philip II face off across a new pedestrian bridge linking the government buildings; museums (Archaeological and Holocaust) on the North banks of the Vardar River with the main plaza and the restaurant district that follows the South side of the Vardar.
Speaking of food; the restaurants I have visited have been wonderful; the offering varied, from traditional to a restaurant called the "Equestrian", where last week I had the best curry chicken dish (outside of my friend Mark B's Indian curry dinners) since I have been in the Balkans. Service is excellent; the local beer is outstanding (I am qualified to make this statement) and there is a baking/pastry influence from Northern Europe reflected in the chocolate cake I have had the pleasure to enjoy.
The city of Skopje has McDonald's, Burger King and Domino's Pizza. Now some of you may know that the founder of Domino's is a Macedonian immigrant to the USA; making his fortune and is now on the Forbes list; and he owns professional sports teams in Detroit. Anyway, the locals love this guy and the Domino's delivery is catching on around town; me, I prefer the local thin crust, can't be beat.
The above is the new Holocaust Museum dedicated to the Jews of Macedonia; it was not open due to some construction issues.
And to complete my journey into the world of food and drink; well folks; all I can say is that Macedonian wine is highly underrated in our world and may be one of the best kept secrets of the Balkans (I will write a story shortly about my first sojourn into the wine country of Macedonian...it was a "priceless" moment!). Yes, I did get lost, but once, maybe twice; oh heck, maps suck anyway!
I am not sure why I stopped writing my blog; however, sometimes you just need to do something different and maybe just travel for the "hell of it"; and just enjoy the moment with someone you love. I am in a new environment and eager to explore; so standby, I will share my adventures as best I can.
No comments:
Post a Comment