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.
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