What do you think about when you hear about the country North Macedonia? Chances are, you don’t actually hear about it too much in the first place! When I was figuring out my Balkan trip, I knew I wanted to include it in my itinerary because of all the things my initial Google search revealed. People were referring it Skopje, the capital city, as the ‘strangest’ city they have ever seen, and given that many European cities tend to look quite similar, I was highly intrigued!
I took a WizzAir flight from Bratislava to Skopje, and went straight to my hotel as I had arrived quite late at night. Immediately, I noticed the hospitality of the people; the receptionist managed to figure out a restaurant that he personally knew was still open, and ordered in some food. Fun fact- Mother Teresa was born in Skopje and there’s a plaque marking the house where she was born.
The following morning, we had decided to go explore the Matka canyon, as it repeatedly came up as a must visit location in my research. A fairly quick taxi ride away from Skopje, the canyon was stunning and serene. We ventured into some of the caves, which is something I love exploring!
After this day trip, we decided to go on the Free Skopje Walking Tour. I would HIGHLY recommend this experience to travelers; they have these tours in many cities around the world. The tours are often 1-3 hours long, and are carried out by an experienced guide who is usually born and raised in that city. This gives them a lot more knowledge about the city than many other tours, and they’re able to let you in on little secrets that most don’t know about the city. Skopje used to be the capital city of Yugoslavia, and the reason behind the ‘North’ in its name is due to the existence of a region in neighboring Greece which is called Macedonia. Both countries argue that Alexander the Great ‘belongs’ to them, but Greece has essentially won that battle. There is a humongous statue of Alexander the Great in the city center in Skopje, but the statue had to be named ‘Man on a Horse’ or ‘The Great Warrior’ due to these political issues between the two countries.
Now, why do people think Skopje is so strange? The city center and surrounding areas are filled with lots of statues. After the local economy crashed in 2008, the government came up with a redevelopment plan to bring more tourism to the country. They spent between €80 and €500 million (our guide said around €250 million) to construct huge statues to make the city more attractive. This annoyed most of the locals, given the high unemployment rates and the demand for spending this amount on improving the infrastructure. When the political party that was in charge of this project changed, the new party had no desire to continue building these statues, so you’ll find a lot of unfinished statues around the city. Did the redevelopment plan work to bring in more tourists? In a way, yes, because it’s so bizarre to see these monolithic statues, although I don’t think that was the aim of the project. It’s interesting to count how many statues you come across in 24 hours in Skopje: I counted around 54!
Now for food- the country has great quality meat, organic vegetables, and dairy products. They also eat a lot of bread, and the traditional drink in this region in Rakija (fruit spirits). Many meals come with a crispy cabbage as an appetiser, which is a nice prelude to the heavier meat and dairy items on the menu. I tried tavče gravče, or pot-baked beans, which is their national food, and it is basically boiled beans seasoned with paprika. Ajvar, which is a paprika spread served on bread, was another yummy item, and also tried some grilled meat platters (similar to those found in other Balkan countries) which were fantastic!
North Macedonia is also quite affordable as a country, and you could easily spend less than €50 a day if you are on a budget. There is a lot of history, great food, amazing hospitality, tolerance, and picturesque landscapes. If you’re traveling around the Balkans, I would definitely recommend spending a few days in this gorgeous country to see something very unique!
