Escape to myself

I arrived in Skopje yesterday evening. The hostel is charming, family run and an enjoyable waik away from the city centre, lying in the hills with tree lined streets and a pleasant garden.

After a good nights sleep I decided on a tour to some of the sights out of town so I took the pleasant walk to town to the centre. Skopje is a modern city in the most part as a result of the devastating earthquake of 1963. Impressive squares with many statues and places to sit near the river.

The trip took in several interesting places. First was the Matka gorge through which the river Treska flows between towering cliffs. A boat ride took us down the river to a famous cave. Butterflies everywhere and clear water made this a great trip.

We then headed for the church of St Pantaleimon built in the twelfth century and containing some beautiful early frescoes. Our guide made some interesting sweeping art historical statements and we had a rather interesting discussion. I find that many of these newly independent nations understandably are proud of their culture and history but sometimes over-egg the significance and are a little nationalistic which makes me somewhat uncomfortable.

Lunch with wine at a local viewpoint followed before we took the cable car to the Millennium Cross which sits atop Mount Vodno. The views of the city and surrounding mountains were pretty spectacular. With friendly fellow travellers and an interesting guide this was a great introduction to the area around Skopje.

A lovely surprise for me occurred as we ended the trip. Our driver asked me to wait and asked if he could cut a silhouette of me so we stood by the road while he did my portrait in a few minutes. He said he used to do them and had started again. How charming.