Sometimes we’re so full with work, studies, the house, all of the daily routine that we just need a quick getaway and we have the perfect solution for you: MACEDONIA!
Macedonia is a small country of eastern Europe and its capital is Skopje! Back in June we escaped there for 3 days, from Tuesday to Thursday, and it was one of the most surprising, relaxing trips we’ve made! Here is our trip (price list at the end):
First day we took an early flight there and went from the airport to the city with shuttle Manora. We recommend you to change just about 10 euro at the airport, as the change is better in the city center.
We got to the city at around 8:00 am and couldn’t do the check-in until later. We stayed in main square apartment (booking.com), a small room, enough for us. Meanwhile we sat in the main square waiting, we managed to catch the Free Walking Tour at around 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. We took off with our backpacks and all. It was an amazing way to get to know the city and to locate ourselves, though that wasn’t really hard to do as the city is really small. After the tour, we went for lunch at Kaj Serdarot. It was the most delicious, fantastic food we tried there. And not only it was GOOD!! it was also cheap! So a really great deal! Plus the personnel were all super nice and friendly!
Enjoying a meal at Kaj Serdarot
After a big lunch, we went to walk around a bit more, and let me tell you something, the city wakes up after 4:00/5:00pm! We couldn't believe the amount of people that crowded all the bars along the riverside. Though we also should mention that it was summer, so the weather was super hot and also it was football season. The world cup was those days, so of course everybody went for a beer and watch the games, which we also did!
The second day, after a good rest, we took the a bus to go to Matka Canyon. It took us directly there, so it's really easy to go. It took about an hour and a half. Once you get there, in the middle of the mountain, it's totally a different world. The views, the walks, the air, everything.
Matka Canyon
You get there and you have to walk a little bit until you there to the tourist part. Once you're there, you have a restaurant and a bar and different activities to choose from: you can do kayaking, a boat ride (one just through the lake or one that includes a visit to the caves), you can take a hiking tour, or simply walk around by yourself.
We first did the boat tour with the cave visit, totally worthy and recommended. It cost 400 denar per person, which is about 7 euro. Then we did half an hour of kayaking, first time for us! It was amazing, and we didn't turn our kayak around, thank God haha this one cost 250 denar for two people, so 4.5 euro.
Kayaking
After that we went for a good walk along the lakeside in a little road they made where you can find some wood tables to sit and enjoy the beautiful view and nature's sounds.
After a very relaxing day and enjoying ourselves in nature, we went back to the city, had lunch at our favorite restaurant and then went back to the AirBnB to have a quick shower and go around the city once again!
If there’s one thing Skopje is famous for is the amount of statues it has! It’s really incredible! No matter where you look, there will be a statue! Back in 2014 there a project called “Skopje 2014” which was a redevelopment project of the government to get the economy back up. And they decided that the way to do would be by building statues, small, medium and really big ones! The most iconic one is the one of Alexander the Great in the middle of the main square.
Statue of Alexander the Great
Third and last day in Macedonia: We go up the mountain! They have one of the tallest Iron Crosses in the world, so we couldn’t miss it of course.
Iron Cross
We took a bus in the city center and then we took a teleferic which cost 100 denar, about 2 euro. When you get up there all there is to do is walk around and enjoy the marvelous view of the whole city. There are some places to sit down and have a picnic if you want, and of course, there’s a cafeteria where you can buy some snacks and drinks.
And just like that our trip was over. We headed back to the city, picked up our backpacks and went to the airport! It’s a trip that we highly recommend if you just want to disconnect for a few days, do something different and get out of the chaos of the big cities!
Price list:
* Flight ticket (Budapest-Skopje-Budapest) with #wizzAir: 24 euro
* Apartment with booking.com at Main Square Apartment: 16 euro
* Bus airport - city center: 3.5 euro (180 slots)
* Meal for 2 at Kaj Serdarot: 11 euro (615 slots)
* Kayak at Matka Canyon half an hour for 2 people: 4.5 euro (250 slots)
* Teleferic to the cross: 1.7 euro (100 slots)
* Beer: 1.7 euro (100 slots)
