When we arrived here yesterday, we had made some enquiries about how to get to Tirana in Albania. The only way is by a night bus, so we decided that we would spend the day in Skopje and then take the bus tonight. So first it was back to that cheery bus station to buy some tickets. I counted 32 spotlights in the waiting area, only problem was they only had four turned on, no wonder it seemed so gloomy!! After buying our tickets, we then had to buy another ticket (about a $1.50 each) to get to the departure area - talk about your hidden taxes.
Anyhow we then walked into town. Skopje, population around 700,000 is located on the Vardar river. There are several bridges in town but the most famous is the stone bridge rebuilt in the 15th century. Apparently there has been a bridge here since the 6th century. The stone bridge was the only structure not damaged in the large earthquake in 1963. This earthquake destroyed most of the town, and the old railway station clock is frozen at 5:17 the time of the earthquake.
We walked across the bridge to the old Skopje bazaar. Being Sunday it was pretty quiet but there was still a number of cafes and other places open along the cobblestone paths. It was a pretty relaxing day, wandering around stopping for a coffee or something to eat. We had the most amazing hot chocolate here. We thought if we let the drink cool it would turn to solid chocolate! Amanda, I know you would have loved it.
Late in the afternoon we walked back to our hotel to collect our bags and head to the bus station. Bus is due to leave at 7:00pm. Finding your way around some places is not so easy, check out the photo I took of the departure board and see if you can work out where the buses are going.
 Now, where are we going? |
