Matka Canyon is easily visited during a day trip from Skopje, North Macedonia using public transportation. It offers miles of hiking along the deep river formed by damming of the Treska River, as well as trails to three historic monasteries. A restaurant and hotel offer additional amenities, including boat trips to Vrelo Cave, purported to … Read more
Some mornings, it takes me a moment to remember where I am. It’s a hazard that comes with full-time travel, where every few days I’m in a different city, a different hostel, sometimes even a different country. But after a few moments, the cobwebs dissipate and I’m clear-headed. In Skopje, Macedonia, however, I had a … Read more
Macedonia Square in Skopje, North Macedonia, is dominated by the “Warrior on a Horse” statue and fountain. Though meant to depict Alexander the Great, the sculpture is not named for him, due to an ongoing dispute with Greece over cultural claims related to the name Macedonia and historical figures that Greeks claim for themselves.
Newborn Monument in Pristina, Kosovo, symbolizes the birth of the new country. Kosovo was an autonomous region within the former country of Yugoslavia. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, leaders of the Kosovo region expressed their desire for independence. Forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (by then consisting of the Republics of Montenegro and Serbia) … Read more
Kosovo hadn’t been on my list of possible destinations when I decided to tour the ex-Yugoslavian countries this summer. I’d been repeatedly advised that Kosovo was dangerous, so when, on a whim, I decided to visit the capital city of Pristina on my way to Macedonia, I admit to being a little anxious. I had … Read more
