A busy two days in Skopje, Macedonia or otherwise known as Shkup in Albanian. I had no expectations for Macedonia whatsoever, not because of any reason, I just had no idea about Macedonia. First off, it’s a lot more developed than Kosovo, which was to be expected. But everything is epic here. I imagine them saying “we will make a statue to commemorate _______…” And the next guy chiming in with “…and we’ll make it really fucking big!” The bronze cast statues here are like forty feet tall. They would make the Soviets blush.
This guy is probably taller than five people standing on each other’s shoulders.
To go along with my earlier rant about “Guy on horse”, this one is literally “Warrior on Horse,” so really they just opted for generic statue out of the catalog. But it’s really big!
Aside from everything being giant, it is a beautiful city and they people are very friendly. The food is very much influenced by Turkey and the other surrounding countries. So bring a hunger for meat!
A trip here wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the Museum of the Macedonian Stuggle. Which was a hour of struggle, but it was ~$5. There was no photography allowed, so excuse the blurry photography.
It was a combination of “it’s a small world” and Abu Ghraib. You basically learn that the Macedonians tried to declare independence like 600 times, finally getting it, only to have Greece throw a fit about the name Macedonia. So, to quote the tour guide, “the struggle continues today.” But today’s struggle is just for naming rights apparently. The wax people were done really well though and it was worth the time spent.
Tomorrow is a very long 6 or 7 hour bus ride to Bulgaria, the last stop on the trip.
Once awake, it was a quick walk to the Kosovo Museum that details the conflict and all the events of the 90’s. No charge for the museum, because nobody was there. The door opened and the lights were off except for the ones that stay on in the corner. I dont even think there was a lock on the door.
Shoulder fired rocket launcher tubes are surprisingly lighter than you’d think.
NATO was a major focus of the museum.
The most interesting thing I found about the full page New York Times pages were the other crazy articles that made the covers. I encourage you to see what was happening in 1999 and it’s weird to see how much has changed.
There is still a fence where people put pictures of missing people, still not found from the war.
And here’s another horse statue. I want to find the statue of some guy not on a horse one day. It’s like that’s all they ever do was ride horses.
The newborn monument gets redecorated every year.
And Bill Clinton (or Klinton) Boulevard…
…and the guest of honor.
Two doors down from Bill is Hillary.
And finishing the day with the ugly National Library. It’s ugly. I had to take a picture to show how ugly it is. 
Magnetic fields are witchcraft…Jedi witchcraft.
Transformers are awesome
The first radio controlled boat
His ashes, apparently trapped inside a brass cannonball. Just for the record, that’s how I want to be posthumously kept. Seal me in a cannonball.
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