Macedonian Ruby

 Today was another treasure hunt. 

We left Sofia, early, as we had a long drive. It's interesting that, here in Bulgaria and Macedonia, we have to go through border security leaving and entering both countries and have had my fingers prints taken twice. When we entered back into Macedonia it was through a back road entrance and they had some trouble understanding why are car was registered in Macedonia and yet we were coming from Bulgaria. But all went well.

Our first stop was Prilep - home of the famous Macedonian Ruby. GBT Chat recommended Eva Filigrees. so we headed there. On our way we passed a purse store and I picked up a really cute purse for only $28. There were so many cute purses at such a good price that I wanted to buy the whole store. But I resisted and only bought one.

Then off to Eva's. She couldn't speak any English, but since Deko had told us all about them and where to buy them, we just looked at what was available and bought one for each of the girls, myself and a stone for Rich's shelf. She was surprised, I think. But we had to pay cash so off to the bank. We met a young lady who directed us. Most of the young people speak english and are very helpful and friendly.

Then off to lunch. Again, another delicious meal. They eat lots of meat here and we both had pork. I might just want to stay here for the food.

Then off to our next destination: Panorama Hotel and Spa in Krushevo. Our GPS got us to the town through winding roads up and down. And then up, up, up, not even knowing if we were on a real road and then we popped out on top. The hotel looked deserted and we wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. But we found the entrance and an elevator and once the door opened - WOW. Very nice and elegant. Hard to believe this is only costing $67 per night. We were the only ones there but since have seen one other person. It will be interesting what the dining room looks like tonight. Apparently this is very busy in the summer, fall and winter, but this is the off season.

Do we really want to bring Communism to America?

Today, we relaxed at our hotel until noon as we knew we had a long walking tour in the evening. We took a taxi to downtown and first on our agenda was to find a coffee shop; and we did. Caffe Americo is what I usually order in Europe, but it is still very strong. We had a muffin and breakfast sandwich with fresh squeezed orange juice too. Then headed on our mission to find a Bulgarian Rose oil Store. We found 2 stores and bought from a mother - daughter off main street store. 

We had several hours to kill so we revisited some streets and found the bagel store we had visited yesterday. Then we walked the main shopping street until  3 p.m. we because we were tired and we stopped for a Gelato.

At 4 p.m. we met our Communist Walking Tour guide. He started by explaining that Bulgaria wasn't initially under Russian Communism, but the Socialist system Carl Marx talked about in the Communist Manifesto in the 19th century. At that time most of the people were farming, but after machinery came on the scene, there wasn't enough work for everyone and they started moving to the city and they were working 7 days a weeks but were still poor. So even though there was enough resources to go around, most of it went to the elite. In the Communist Manifesto, Carl Marx promoted that they start unions, they would become political and gradually they would bring in this system: private property would be abolished, everything would belong to the state, money would disappear and everyone would be happy.

In practice, things turned out different. Communism was first tried on a large scale in Russia in 1917 with the revolution. At that time Russia didn't have a working class to bring about this system and after the revolution the working class was substituted with the communist party. This system was copied in other countries like Bulgaria with a goal of achievement by1980, then 2000 and finally it collapsed or radically reformed.

Communist rejected religion so they tried to destroy it by saying religion is the "opium of the people." But they did it subtly with police around the church during services, writing down names to intimidate them. Many priest would be forced to become part of the secret police. And they also built building around the churches so people didn't see them.

In the early 1900's there was communist party, but it didn't have much traction and always unsuccessful.  But WW II changed things. The country didn't want to participate, but in 1944 the Nazi's were going to cross the border and they had to make a choice to either become their friend and join them or their enemy and be occupied. They decided to join them and many people started to oppose that decision. But the communist party that had been so insignificant began to cozy up to the Russians and they sent an army into Bulgaria and they were celebrated as liberators and there was a Koupe and took over the government. 

The first agenda was to deal with the opposition. Historians say 10,000-30,000 were killed in the first three months. Then they established the peoples court where the oppositions were given a choice to convert or go to the labor camps. Then they had a "vote" and the communist party was the only legal party.

The communist were really against the capitalist system. The state would collect all the revenue and were supposed to dole it out equally. But without any incentive the workers didn't want to work and they began to loose money. In 1980 the system collapsed.

The communist party enlisted informants to spy on your friends. Some believed in the party but others were forced. For example our guides mother was told she needed to become an informant or she couldn't finish university . Thankfully, her father was an ambassador and she was able to decline. So people were very careful with what they said, even in a joke. Today the files are in the state archives, but many got destroyed. 

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose

Some may say all Roses are the same, but in Bulgaria, they would say that is not so. Not all roses have a strong scent and not all roses produce oils.

For centuries, the Rose Valley has been a rose-growing area of great importance. The rose oil produced from the special variety Rosa Damascene was used for women's beauty products and perfumes. today, the rose is one of the symbols of Bulgaria and attracts visitors from all over the world, especially from Japan where the rose is also culturally important.

Today we are on a mission to find this famous rose store called The Bulgarian Rose. She explained how special this rose was and why it only grows in Bulgaria. I wish I would have recorded her as it was so interesting.

Needless to say, we bought some rose products to bring home.

Bulgaria:Our first impressions is WOW

Bulgaria became a on independent country in 1908, so it was an established country before they were a part of the Communist Block. So when the Soviet Union broke up in 1989 they were already an established country and had their first multi party elections in 1990. 

Most people would say that by walking through the center city you have the visual history of Bulgaria. Alexander Nevski cathedral reminds you of centuries of Ottoman rule until Russia drove them out. A significant number of statues and building remind you of the communist rule as part of the soviet socialist republic. The Modern buildings and current lifestyle, that are sitting next to communist era buildings, remind of the transformation into a modern European Union country. Today we go on a communist tour that will explain what it was like during that era. I'm sure, after this tour, I will have a lot more information on this subject.

As we walked downtown, we noticed there was a Green and Electric Car Expo going on. The cars were beautiful. Many young families were there enjoying the activities and as allows the food was delicious.

We made it to Bulgaria

We did some laundry on Friday, packed and on Saturday morning left our cozy apartment in Skopje and headed to Bulgaria. We put Sofia, Bulgaria in our GPS and took off. After a short period we were on the Serbia border. The border patrol asked us where we were going an we said Sofia. He replied, "why are you going this way?" and then proceeded to direct us to another route. But at least we can now say we have been in Serbia. We turned around and headed to Sofia without going through Serbia. On the way we found this charming restaurant and had dinner. The food was delicious.

Tonight we are staying at the Metropolitan Hotel by Radisson. We will be here there night.

Last Day in Skopje

This has been an experiment in staying in one place for a full week. We always wondered what we would do every day. But it has felt good to feel at home here in Skopje. Everyday we are here, the more comfortable we feel. We have enjoyed the local people and the food.

Today we went back to the old down. We wanted to find one of the traditional breakfast dishes called Burek. It's fillo dough filled with meat, cheese or spinach. We had to go into the Muslim quarters to find it. It was very good with Turkish tea.

Then back to our apartment to do some laundry, clean up and packing as we are leaving tomorrow to drive to Bulgaria for a few day.

Matka Canyon and Macedonian Village

 Wednesday, September 16

    Today we took a drive to the most famous tourist destination in Skopje, namely, the Matka Canyon. Located only 10 miles from downtown Skopje although it's still a 45 minute drive through the winding local roads. Eventually the road narrows and we strive to park in any spot big enough for our car to fit. We were reminded that N. Macedonia has virtually no laws or rules regarding driving or parking and so far we have not seen any police. Parking in a spot overlooking the canyon below, we began the one kilometer walk to a 95 foot tall dam built in 1938.  After climbing the stairs to the top of the dam, we immediately saw the reason it is a favorite tourist sight. Behind the dam is a narrow lake with towering mountains on either side. Rather than walk the 5-7 kilometer trail up the side of the lake, we opted to take a 15 person boat ride. Crystal clear and deep water and the steep mountain walls diving into the lake made every turn another photo op.    After the boat trip we went to the restaurant having over the water, had some lunch and then made the return trip to our accommodations.  At our evening meal, the waiter suggested we visit a Macedonian Village tomorrow.

We had a delicious meal at the Monastery of Shopska salad and Chicken/Mozzarella. Both were really good. The salad consisted of very little arugula, cucumber and tomatoes. The cheese was very mild.

We also discovered hot chocolate with cream and blueberry juice.

At night we have an amazing dinner at the Italian Restaurant on our lower level of spaghetti and pork medallion. We were able to get to know the waiter as we have eaten there several time. The bread was amazing and he asked the baker to allow me to watch him bake the bread. I'm going to try it when I get home with my pizza oven.

Thursday, September 17

    After entering the Macedonian Village name into our google map, we were off. After 30 minutes of intense city traffic, we were directed up a mountain and the quiet of suburban villages.  After another 15 minutes the GPS said we were "there," however, we seemed to be nowhere.  Parking the car we saw some men under a tree near an old church. We approached them and found out the GPS had sent us to the "modern" church (only 150 years old) for the village.  One of the men took us on a tour of the church and explained how they were restoring the church and its icons.  Then supplied with a new address, we were off again. Five kilometers of winding upward roads brought us to a reconstructed Macedonian Village and the oldest Orthodox church of Macedonia. A cup of coffee and pastry and the conversation of the 16 year old waitress renewed us for a tour of this village. We bought a few items and toured the old church.  Then we retraced our route and returned to our accommodations.  An interesting fact is that our rental car is a 5 speed manual transmission yet almost the entire trip was in 2nd gear.