Taking the bus from Prizren to Skopje was smooth sailing, or whatever you say for a bus.
If you’re missing the 90s when everyone could smoke everywhere. Inside, outside, upside- just head to Kosovo and Macedonia.
These Balkan countries are one big ashtray.
I saw the odd sign to not smoke, but I think people took it as encouragement rather than a prohibition.
My route Dec 2024- Jan 2025:
- Fly into Belgrade, Serbia
- [border crossing] Bus to Pristina, Kosovo
- Prizren & Gjakova, Kosovo
- [border crossing] Bus to Skopje, North Macedonia
- (Lake) Ohrid, North Macedonia
- Flight from Skopje to Belgrade, back to Amsterdam
hop, skopje and a jump
The capital, Skopje, is an unfinished art project.
20 years ago, my friend made this unfortunate papier-mache tin picture in 3D art, and it got mouldy somehow.
Skopje reminds me of that.
Brick a brack, hodge podge, kitchy.
My accommodation Hotel „Premium“ was cash only for some reason, so I took out 25 000 MKD at Halkbank by the stone bridge and it cost me 200 denar (MKD) fee.
From now on, I’ll refer to their currency as donar kebab because it only seems appropriate.
Apart from my hotel and the Skopje free walking tour, nearly everything accepted card payments. So you won’t need that much cash for the day to day.
During the free walking tour, the guide said the “pink” ATMs didn’t charge a fee – he pointed one out, and I’m not sure the bank, but around the machine had a pink and white design. It looked like it would charge a fee for that pretty design, so I’m not sure of the situation.
The Archaeological Museum of the Republic of North Macedonia is 150 donar kebabs.
1/4 of the museum is a 1/2-stocked gift shop.
A lot of numbers in those sentences.
Needless to say, if it’s raining and you want to dry off, it’s a good alternative, but if not, it can be skipped.
The Museum of the City of Skopje is another good spot to dry off from the rain for free. The hours were a bit off when I went, so I had to wait outside before it opened. The clock on the outside is “frozen” at the time the 1963 earthquake hit.
The Museum of the Macedonian Struggle for Independence, I didn’t go in, so naturally, I heard that it was the best of the museums in Skopje.
Although you’ll need to turn that frown upside down when you leave because the museum is apparently sad.
Something I completely forgot about was that Mother Teresa was born in Skopje. There is a house museum to prove it and a small plaque.
KAM is a discount supermarket.
I don’t really have a lot of adjectives to describe Skopje. It’s the weirdest mashup of building styles I’ve ever seen.
you can’t spell bus without fuss if you misspell bus
In Macedonia, I bought my bus tickets online (I used Get By Bus, but it seems like it morphed into another company).
The stations do accept cards.
I did get myself into a bit of a pickle, though, not buying a ticket ahead of time online to save the ghastly 0.49 euro cents fee. I arrived at the station 35 minutes early for the 1230 bus to Orhid on a Saturday, the weekend before New Year’s (Dec 28).
The bus was sold out.
The cucumber was fermented because I was remote working and had already arranged my accommodation at Lake Ohrid.
I ended up catching a hella mini bus to Struga that departed at 13:15, only because one of the ticket agents mentioned it.
The timetables I saw online weren’t accurate.
The bus from Skopje to Struga was 800 total (770 for ticket, 30 donars fee).
Here’s where the spice of life gets a dash more.
From Struga to Ohrid, there was a side-of-the-highway, middle-of-nowhere stop that maybe had a connection to a bus to Ohrid. Should I jump out and wait in the dark on this sketchy road for a bus that may not show up, but will save me 25 minutes? Should I stay on the bus to the town of Strudel, where there would be buses or taxis if all else fails?
I enjoy fabricating problems and stressing like they are real problems.
I stayed on the bus.
In Struga, the bus stop to Ohrid was really close by, I had to wait maybe 15 minutes before it arrived. I was in another smaller mini-van situation, costing 70 kebabs, and you pay on the van.
ohrid i keep typing orhid
In my notes, I wrote: “Varnac wine” (I assume it was good or I wouldn’t have written it down?), but then again I also wrote “cut your legs” (about taking raki as a shot) and I have no idea what that means. Raki is potent so maybe someone took it as a shot and that was their reaction? Your guess is as good as mine.
Ohrid sunset by Church of St John. YAS
National Workshop For Handmade Paper Ljupcho Panevski. YAS
Robevci Family House. CLOSED.
Silk Road Bank I had marked on my map, but I don’t know if there was a fee or not.
sort of smooth sailing lake ohrid
I saw some signs at the pier for boat tours and chose one that was open on New Years Day, paying 900 doner.
I took a 10:00 boat tour to the Saint Naum Monastery (11:30 arrival), arriving back at 12:50.
The Bay of Bones was closed, so we zoomed past it, but we stopped at 1030 to pick up more people, which was arguably not a substitute.
I feel like there are a few inevitable things that I do:
- Have a plan, then unexplainably panic for absolutely no reason and then not do the plan
- Be beyond stressed that I will be late for a transport and it will leave without me
At the monastery, I don’t think I went in because the line was long and I was worried I’d miss the boat and/or it cost extra to go inside. You are correct, the tour was designed to go to the monastery!
Instead, I walked down to where a lot of touristy stalls, some restaurants, some shacks selling overpriced things were. If you head to the restaurant area, there is a paid toilet, I couldn’t find a toilet in the monastery.
You know this. I know this. You can’t say I don’t know this, but wild guess what I ended up doing?
Purchasing something.
There was a hint of wine in the minus freeze yo ta tas off December air, so I asked a stall if they did hot wine. She said yes as she turned a kettle on. I could have said no. Boiled kettle wine was not something I was going to enjoy. No sir. I could have walked away. She picked up the kettle before it fully boiled and poured the gloop into a styrofoam cup 3/4 full. I asked how much, and it hurts to swallow right now, typing 300. 300 shish kabobs!!!
This is my Sparta.
It tasted as you’d expect boiled kettle wine in a plastic cup to taste.
I’m sick to my stomach, not just because the wine was probably expired.
I got some feeling back in my numb, cold body, more so from rage rather than the hot wine.
Surprise, surprise I was the first one in the line up to get back onto the boat. I sat up top because it was beautiful clear skies that hug the coastline of the lake, but after a bit I had to go inside because my toosh was frozen.
I ate at Fast Food 10 in Ohrid town and it was good.
hop, skopje and a jump again
The morning of my bus back to Skopje, I stopped for a spot of tea at İstanbul cayci caytore. Before I walked in, an elderly gent was riding in front of me on a small, faded green bike holding a serving tray with a handle that had 3 cups of tea precariously resting on it. When I walked in, a couple was sipping their tea. No one else. I waited some time, then got up and walked out. The elderly gent turned out to be the owner of the tea place. He happened to return just as I was about to leave.
Tea was fine.
At the Skopje main bus station (it says it’s permanently closed now, but who knows) you can walk from the town, but it is a bit far. I had to pay the 30 kebabs bus fee there as well in person and it was 10 cents for the toilet. Not certain what currency that is in. But I’m outraged either way.
I arrived 10 minutes before 11:00 and the timetable said 11:15 departure; the 22-seater TAV van was already there.
It’s great when long-haul bus drivers introduce their music to the whole bus.
Back in Skopje, I ate at Kebapcilnica Rio 1990 and I’m pretty sure the bus driver who drove me from Ohrid walked in. I said hello, and he acknowledged me, so maybe? I was about 72% sure. Although the moustache threw me because I couldn’t remember if he had one or not.
Cue the animal interactions. There were SO many running around Skopje!
I freaked myself out thinking I had head lice. My head wasn’t itchy per se, but it could have been.
In my defence, the dogs were all tagged, which meant they were strays, but had been vaccinated.
So, I bet you’re feeling pretty silly now.
ramble on
Getting to the Skopje airport can be done by taking a 30-minute airport shuttle bus with ERAK transporter.
I have beef when you’re staying at any accommodation, and they don’t know how to use public transport. In this case, the shuttle is listed on the Skopje airport website with an updated timetable, so for the front desk person not to know about it is just bizarre. Not only did he not know about the bus, but he tried to deter me from taking it, saying the regular bus takes ages since you have to change so many times. LIES. Or maybe that is true, but the shuttle bus was real.
If I didn’t already research using the hotel wifi, I would have had no choice but to pay the 25 euros for a taxi he was offering. The shuttle bus costs 200 (3.30 euros) paid in cash on the shuttle in denar kebabs.
Tsk. Tsk.
