Skopje

The Hotel London B&B, it turns out, is right on Macedonia Square, the central square and statue repository for the city. We breakfasted in the adjoining restaurant – a strange system whereby you collect a token from reception to get the hotel breakfast menu (which differs from the public one). Suitably refreshed (although the concept of Earl Grey tea is alien to them), we planned our first day.

We walked out the door and straight into the statuary. They’re very keen on statues and fountains, so we snapped a load of them. It may surprise you to know that Alexander the Great came from Macedonia. And don’t they let you know it! We’d landed at Alexander the Great Airport, and today, there he was, atop a column, on his horse, in Macedonia Square. Along with a load of other Macedons, ancient and modern. The weather, a bit iffy at first, warmed up considerably. We crossed the river Vardar and looked around the Archaeological Museum, which condenses 70,000 years of history down into around 20 exhibits: from the Old Stone Age up to the present day.

Man On A Horse

We grabbed a coffee and tea before looking around further (140MKD, NZD4.58).  The Old Town beckoned, but, as that is the subject of tomorrow’s guided walk, we resisted its blandishments and instead investigated a restaurant called DropStop, a little off the tourist track for lunch. I sampled the local brew, Skopsko, and had a burger. A little gentle precipitation accompanied us for the walk (about five mins), but it was over by the time we left. We wandered back to our hotel, and the clouds really opened up – thunder and lightning – so we kept under cover for the remainder of the day.

In the evening we met our Intrepid guide Danijela for the first time, and also our fellow Intrepideers. Tim and Jackie, from the UK; Sue & Prue from New Zealand; Steven and Methya from Canada; Kerry from the US (she apologised) and Maureen from Australia. A group of 10, many of whom have Intrepided before. Danijela gave us a brief rundown on what to expect, a recap of our itinerary, and then we went for dinner in the restaurant.