My Images of SEE – 22:57, Fri 12th August

One of my preparations was to exchange currency. With Euro’s for Ljubljana in tow, I decided to trade those in for Dinars now – as I will need them next week at any rate. So I spoke to the lady on reception to change my notes & to pay for the room. Her, and the guy with her, were both very polite. This proved by their help in calling the train station for me, to see if I needed to reserve a seat for the Nis to Sofia train (luckily we didn’t).

I then changed then packed. Liam went ahead, downstairs, to book a taxi to the train station. Whilst downstairs waiting, we could appreciate the views that the hotel boasted of the west of Nis – terracotta roofs flowing down the hill, to a green plain stretching out towards the airport.

Our taxi collected us, and delivered us to our destination for 200 Dinars. I asked a woman at the desk for the platform for the Sofia train. “1 or 3”. Great. So we waited on the platform. After 10 minutes a short train arrived. I asked a more official looking person. He said it wasn’t this one, but it would arrive in 25 minutes (that was its departure time). Anyway, we waited as the crowds grew for the train. 

When it did arrive, the embarkation was scruffy and there was a distinct lack of seats. So we perched in the gangway, forced to stand. However, we were next to an open window which was pleasant. This proved a plus over the first 2 hours of the journey, as the scenery was spectacular. 

Serbia is very green, hilly & mountainous, and dramatic. Its population is also sparse. We chugged along through wide, open valleys, and deep, narrow gorges. All in splendid sunny weather. The train itself was similar to last nights – 2 carriages of seats and one sleeper. It travelled (when it did) at approx 50 mph.

Before we got to the border, some seats came available so we grabbed them. At least we had comfort, although the water situation was looking tense. Anyway, the border control was quick on the Serbian side (unique?) but on the Bulgarian side it was a rather more sedate affair. I think we settled into the notion that we were always going to be late. 

By the time we left the Bulgarian side of the border, we were an hour late. However, the last leg of the journey went like a breeze. Bulgaria was a lot flatter, but agriculture was still dominant here.

We arrived at 19:00 at the dated, yet platformed, station. I got cash, and some liquid, and then we walked to the straight road that would take us to the hostel. At first, it looked grim but as you got further into town it became pleasant, and akin to Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin. After 20 minutes of back breaking walking, we found our location. Sort of. We went down the wrong way of the road, but returned and found our side door. Tucked behind old Soviet constructed façades, we witnessed a quaint old Inn. It was quiet, as it was off the street, but bustling, as there was a hive of activity. We went in and a woman welcomed us. She took our passports and aid to grab the complimentary pasta and beer whilst she sorted our stuff out. After a welcome refreshment, and catching 10 minutes on the wifi, the girl talked us through our accommodation, house rules & the city map.

A lad called Damien, of Sofian heritage but an English-speaking world upbringing, took us across the street to an apartment, which our room was in. It was lovely and big, but the fuchsia walls were garish. Once he left, we left for beers. However, once purchased, we saw a sign for McDonalds. So we followed our hunger the 500 meters to it, and then returned to fill ourselves and relax. A group of Spanish people returned, and offered us a drink. We politely refused, as we were shattered. We then slept.

My Images of SEE – 08:13, Wed 10th August

We gave up in the park after being approached by a woman asking for 20 cents. So we went to McDonalds. We wished away the last 40 minutes over a Cola and McFlurry. Very Western! We then walked down Egnatia to the hotel, collected out rucksacks then continued down Egnatia to Democracy Square – then on to the Law Courts. As we walked down this street, a bus was coming in the opposite direction. Surprisingly it was ours! So we waited next to it as the queues of people grew from 17:00 to 17:30.

However, during this wait I noticed that our tickets said the 8^th August for travel, not 9^th. So I dashed across the road, half expecting the place to be shut, but alas it wasn’t. A woman checked that I was supposed to be on today’s list and re-wrote the date on our tickets. Phew. So at 17:30 we were loading on to the bus, handing in our tickets to two female Simeonidis staff. We grabbed our seats, and no sooner than we plonked down, than a woman sat in front of me swishing her endless head of hair over the back of her seat, into my private space. I had to take a picture.

Once the bus filled, we then departed. We left Thessaloniki westward, then turned north into its rural hinterland. The area was low, arid, and quite devoid of life. It seemed a very agrarian part of Greece, if not representative of the whole of Greece. Mountains were visible in the distance, 30 minutes in; then a man present on the bus began collecting passports. So we just copied and handed them in. 

15 minutes later we were at the border. A massive queue of lorries stretched about a mile to get in. The young man and bus driver went to customs with our passports. 25 minutes later our bus moved on to a duty free shop in what I would describe as ‘no man’s land’, but was still theoretically Greece. After a toilet break we then entered the Republic of Macedonia. At the next gate, a Border Guard got on and collected passports. He took them and spent another 20 minutes checking them. We then continued our journey.

Macedonia was literally a different country. Where we were at present, in the far south, there were vineyards and masses amounts of greenery – not arid at all. There were rolling hills, and mountains in the distance. We crossed the Vardar a couple of times before reaching the valleys. These were superb, akin to the Conwy Valley. Luscious green forest spread to the waters edge on one side of the valley, but on its other bank provided for fertile land. These were being toiled as we drove past. Even in villages where the houses were closer together, people toiled their plots. It then started to get dusky.

We continued through tunnels before reaching the first of two plains, containing the town of Veles one could only presume. We whisked past this, for another 40 minutes, before reaching the plain containing Skopje. It was a large expanse incorporating a settlement near to the airport too, although that was to the east of the motorway. We arrived into the central bus station for 21:15 local time – 5 hours after departing.

We collected our belongings then walked through the bus station to the cash point. We then made the 8 minute journey to the Nice Hostel. It was in a 2 piece apartment block, on the 3^rd floor. Our host was there along with other residents. He showed us our room, which was clean but basic. He took our passports to inform the police of our arrival. He returned, gave us the Wi-Fi password, then we left to walk into town. We walked past the Assembly building to our left, and continued to the old Soviet style shopping mall. Oh how 2 ½ years has changed the city. There is now an ‘Arc de Triomphe’ just off the main square, and on it even more sights to be seen. A massive column some 70 ft high with a rider on horseback. Behind that, a religious figure sitting down. Clockwise 45 degrees from that a pillared dome for something. Then opposite the river, 3 massive new buildings under construction blocking the view of the Kale fort; and one was modeled on a Greco-Roman pillared theme. Ghastly.

We sat down at Pelister on the square and ordered and over-sized meal. Cheeses, hams and pitta. Way too much for us two. We had some beers and relaxed for 1 ½ hours. The square was bustling., and the people seemed a lot happier than when I was here before, a lot more approachable. Also, it seems miles ahead of Thessaloniki on being a modern city, just the way people dressed emitted that. We left at 23:30 for the hostel, then tried to sleep. The fan was giving us its all but it was boiling – so we had a rough sleep, if sleep we did. And I had a rough tummy and headache. Welcome to Macedonia! 

The context of the latter part of the entry above is that I visited Macedonia for my first time in February 2009. My trip, on the weekend of Valentine’s and St. Tryphon (the guardian of vineyards), came about because of my employment with the Labour Party. The Westminster Foundation for Democracy provides money for UK political parties to send staff to their sister parties in emerging democracies. I got chosen to go to Macedonia to present to the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM, or CДСМ in Cyrillic). This party was formerly the League of Communists of Macedonia in the Yugoslav federation. I developed a two day training programme and delivered it to 20 youth members of the SDSM. Being the representative of the Labour Party in a foreign country was humbling, and a task I thoroughly enjoyed doing. This was my first visit to south-east Europe. I have been to Macedonia 3 times since then and am planning to go again this year. Back then, there was just a blank, wide open square at the city’s heart. The blankness ironically seemed to symbolise its grandness. The statues make it cluttered. But more on that later on.