Chinese Version / 中文版本
After the gloomy rainy weather of yesterday, the blue sky reappeared today, but the temperature was incredibly low, to the extent that I thought I was back in Michigan again. Despite it was very cold outside, I chose to walk on foot, since Skopje was not a big city at all. I walked along the river banks, where I accidentally came last night. It looked so different during day time, not as scary as I had thought, at least there were no more strangely looking people chasing me from behind.
 |
| Walking along the Vardar river |
 |
| Flamboyant style |
Then I encountered many construction sites, the city is currently undergoing an urban renewal project. Almost all of the (old) buildings are being renovated, therefore it was quite dusty to walk around those heavily constructed areas. Renovation may be a good plan for a city, but I personally think that is a bit too much, it makes the city look absurdly artificial.
 |
| The stone bridge |
 |
| Besides constructions, statues could be seen everywhere in the city |
 |
| Alexander the great and the Macedonia Square |
 |
| One of the communist architectures - the post office |
 |
| Vardar River |
Eventually, I arrived at Macedonia Square, which is the main square in Skopje. I walked across to the other side through the stone bridge, which is also the main access to the old bazaar from Macedonia Square. The old bazaar in Skopje is the largest in the Balkans, which is used as a shopping area. Besides stores, mosques and Turkish baths could be found there. Then I walked straight to the food market next to the old bazaar and bought some fruits, the strawberries smelt so good but they were a trap, they didn't taste as sweet as they smelt.
 |
| Many bridal shops in the old bazaar |
 |
| Mosque in the old bazaar |
 |
| The old bazaar |
 |
| Yellow bananas in the food market |
 |
| Yellow lemons |
 |
| Small garlics |
 |
| My beloved oranges |
 |
| Fruits store |
 |
| The owner of the shoe store |
 |
| Shoe boxes stored in the ice-cream fridge |
 |
| Macedonian puffs |
 |
| Old bazaar |
 |
| Skopje's local beer |
After the crazy fruits shopping, I slowly climbed up to Kale Fortress, which was built on top of the hill. Nonetheless, it was closed for visitors at the moment. As a result, I just indulged myself in the panoramic view of Skopje there instead.
While I was starting to leave the old bazaar, I saw an antique shop and went inside to dig some treasures. The owner "Lucre" is a talkative old man. He introduced me the backgrounds of all the pins I picked up, as well as the city's history. Besides, he shared his thoughts with me on how his life was changed after the collapse of Yugoslavia. It was intriguing, as I had read it on books or watched it on TV, but had not heard from a real person.
In his story, he apparently missed the time of communism, while he found that the relationship with other people was more intimating. Also, he did not need to worry about money,everything was taken care by the government. Unlike today, he has to open this store and struggle with life for every second. However, he can earn a lot more and has better living. So I asked him, which one did he prefer, Yugoslavia or Macedonia? He pondered for a while and said: "Macedonia."
The chat with Lucre was inspiring and thus I bought some pins and some vintage postcards from him, in order to show him some supports. Then I went back to the Macedonia Square and had a freezing lunch there. The whole afternoon, I just spent some time walking back and forth the main streets, I don't even remember how many times I passed by the square.
 |
| The stone bridge and Macedonia Square |
 |
| Archaeological Museum |
 |
| Macedonia flag |
 |
| Double-decker bus in Skopje |
Surprisingly, I saw many Belgian people drinking already in the late afternoon. All of a sudden, I realized that today is the World Cup Qualifier match of Macedonia vs Belgium, and it's going to be held in the Stadium in Skopje, meaning Eden Hazard is also in Skopje at the moment. I had too many questions in my mind, for instance, should I go to the match? What are the chances of me and Eden being in the same city besides Hong Kong and London? Is the ticket sold out already? Will it be too freezing to watch the match in live tonight? Should I abandon watching Spain vs Finland?
Before I came back to the hostel, I had struggled for a long time and still had not come up with any solution. Then I was told by my Korean roommate that the ticket was only sold at 5 Euros. My head was going to explode, as I still couldn't make up my mind. Until the moment I met another 2 girls in the living room, they gave me a very good reason not to watch: it was indeed too cold outside.
In the end, the match of Spain vs Finland was mad boring and the result was a 0-0 tie. I was so regretful that I did not go to watch the live match of Belgium vs Macedonia. Why did I always make the bad decision when it came to something so important? Eden, wish you all the best in the World Cup, be a beast and shine every moment you get, this is YOUR time now!!!
 |
| Train station, it was bombed during WWII |
 |
| Had my lunch there |
 |
| Porta Macedonia |
P.S. Actually the hostel was full tonight, but the staff made a mistake and let me stay for one more night. Eventually, the original owner of my bed, who was a Belgian guy, ended up sleeping on the sofa instead. Poor him~~~
 |
| The stone bridge in the evening |
 |
| Skopje in the evening |
0 comments:
Post a Comment