Tere tulemast esimesse Makedoonia reisipostitusse! Need 4 päeva, mis ma seal riigis veetsin olid täis nii erinevaid emotsioone, et ma ei oskagi kuskilt alustada... Kõige targem oleks vist ikka algusest ehk siis Skopjest, linnast mille paljud tänavad on räpased ning karjuvad vaesuse järgi, kuid mille kesklinn on tõeline arhitektuuriline Segasummasuvila.
Asukoht:
Skopje, Makedoonia
Reisi kestvus:
4 päeva, millest linnaga tutvusin 2 päeva
Sihtkohta reisimine:
Seekord juhtus nii, et kõigepealt oli mul broneeritud majutus ja alles siis hakkasin pileteid uurima, mis polnud sugugi nii lihtne, sest Eesti asemel oli alustuskohaks Thessaloniki. Kõige odavamad ja lihtsamad variandid Thessalonikist Skopjesse saamiseks on rong või buss, kuna rong läks ja tuli mulle ebasobivatel aegadel (läks u kell 6 õhtul ning tuli u kell 5 hommikul), siis otsustasin raisata 10€ rohkem ning võtta odavaim bussireis, mille maksumus oli edasi-tagasi 30€, selle firma puhul saab edasi-tagasi pileteid osta vaid kontoritest, mina ostsin Thessaloniki rongijaama kontorist. Ühe otsa sõit kestis umbes 3,5 tundi, bussis puudus wifi. Kuigi mul oli kaasas ainult ID-kaart, siis igaksjuhuks soovitan kaasa võtta ka passi, nii on piirikontrollis vähem pingeid. Kohale jõudes soovitan bussijaamast broneerida tagasisõidu pilet, sest tagasituleku pilet on nö lahtine ning seda peab registreerima. Samuti peab Skopje bussijaamast ostma rahvusvahelistele bussidele perroonipääsme, mis maksab 1-2€, pääsme saab tavakassadest.
Kohalik eripära:
Skopje on linn kus kõik on väga elav, seal on hullumeelne liiklus, kus tihtipeale tehakse jalakäijale ülekohut ning kasutatakse Eesti mõistes liiga palju signaali. Samuti on seal kokku saanud inimesed erinevast rahvusest ja religioonist. Veel eelmise sajandi alguses kuulusid Makedoonia ala Ottomanide maadele, seega elab Skopjes ka põhiusu, vana-õigeusku, kuuluvate inimeste kõrval ka palju moslemeid, kohaliku giidi sõnul pidavat nendevaheline kooselu vägagi harmooniline olema ning tudub veider vaid neile, kes pole taolises keskkonnas üles kasvanud. Lisaks erinevast usust ja kultuurist inimestele on linnas ka väga palju kodutuid koeri, kellele pakuvad põnevust eelkõige auto- ning jalgrattad, enamus koertel on kõrva küljes ka kollane silt (nagu meil lehmadel), mis annab tunnustust, et vajalikud vaktsiinide on saadud. Makedoonias kasutakse tähestikuna kirillitsat ning mõnikord on vene keel suuremaks abiks kui inglise. Samuti on neil kasutusel oma raha, denarid, 1€ on 61 denarit, osades kohtades on hinnad lausa naeruväärselt odavad.
Majutus:
Põhjus, miks seekord broneerisin majutuse enne kui piletid oli see hostel SIIN. Kolm ööd koos hommikusöögiga kõigest 25€ eest, kesklinnast 10 minuti kaugusel ja peaaegu otse bussijaama kõrval. Tõsi, tegemist oli 7- kohalise (reklaamitud kui 6-kohalise) segatoaga, kuid see-eest oli sisustus väga kena, narile sai ette tõmmata kardinad, olemas olid kapid koos lukkudega ning kui kogemata jalutada korrus kõrgemale, võib leida sealt väikese rõduga ja mullivanniga vannitoa. Töötajad on väga sõbralikud ning enamus külajastajad oli noored seiklushimulised rändajad, samuti oli seal väga hea wifi, kuid linnakaarte neid anda ei olnud. Hostel ise oli veidi kahtlases piirkonnas, kus enamasti olid räämas eramajad, seega oli minul kui üksikreisijal veidi kõhe õhtuti koju tulla. Hommikusöök serveeriti kõrvaltänava hotellis, kus sai valida nelja roa vahel- hommikuhelbed piimaga, praemuna koos saia ja juurviljadega, singisai (hamburgeri saiaga), viinerisai (hamburgeri saiaga), minule maitses enim praemuna valik, kuid võisaiad täitsid kõige enam kõhtu. Samuti toimus ühel õhtul overbooking, mis tähendas seda, et kuna mina olin üksinda, siis tõsteti mind minu voodikohalt üheks ööks eratuppa kahe naise juurde, kes tegelikult olid selle eratoa eest maksnud, mitte just kõige meeldivam kogemus peale pikka reisipäeva, kuid midagi muud üle ka ei jäänud. Kogu nende seikluste peale hindaksin kohta 10 palli süsteemis tubli 7-ga.
Vaatamisväärsused:
Nagu ikka soovitan neil, kes tahavad aega kokku hoida, võtta tausta (tipi põhine) tuur. Minu seekordseks valikuks osutus Miha tuur, ausalt, üks parimaid tasuta tuure, kus ma olen olnud, see giid oli lihtalt tõeliselt armas ja siiras inimene! Samuti saab seal tuuri proovida tasuta ka pitsi kohalikku rakit. 1963. aastal tabas Skopjet 6.1 magnituudine maavärin, mille tagajärjel hävines suur osa linnast, seega on pea kõik ehitised, mida seal näha võib, küllaltki uued, osad väga väärikad ehiteised on tegelikult ainult 5 aastat vanad, tänu sellele on linnal ka palju Jugoslaavia hõngu juures. Siiski on kesklinna osa väga kena ning just sinna jäävad ka enamus vaatamisväärsused nagu Makedoonia väljak, Ema Teresa muuseum (sissepääs tasuta), kindlus (sissepääs tasuta) ning erinevad mošeed ja kirikud, samuti uued ja vanad sillad. Minu kõige lemmikum koht oli aga Millenniumi Rist, mis asub linna kohal kõrguva Vodnovi mäe otsas. Sinna pääseb lihtsalt linnaliini bussijaamast (asub kohe suure bussijaama kõval) bussiga nr 25 (neil on punased kahekordsed bussid nagu Londoniski!), millega tuleb sõita lõpp-peatusesse, bussipilet maksab u 1€, koos linnasõidukaardiga 2,5€ (kui osta samal ajal linnasõidukaart), raha kaardile saab laadida juurde bussijaamast (100 denari eest saab 3 sõitu). Edasi tuleb jätkata köisraudteega, mille sõit kestab u 8 minutit. Sõit mäkke maksab õpilastele u 1€ ja täiskavanutele 2€. Sitkematel soovjatel on võimalus ka ise tippu matkata, mõned ratturid kasutavad köisraudteed vaid üles minekuks, et sealt siis rattaga alla tulla. Rist ise on võimas, kuid see vaade mäe otsast on lihtsalt kordades võimsam, nr 1 koht mida Skopjes külastada!
Söögikohad:
Nagu ma juba mainisin siis Skopje on odav linn, eriti odav oli ta aga toidu poolest. Muidugi oleneb kuhu istuma minna, kuid mina einestasin kahel päeval Makedoonia väljaku jõe äärse promenaadi söögikohates. Baar Soul Kitchen, mis pakkus ainult tuntuid maailma toite oli tõesti veidi kallim, õhtusöök koos kokteili ja magustoiduga läksid maksma u 10€, ei kõla ju sugugi pahasti ja see kana karri kastmes oli meeletult hea! Kuid selle kõrval asuv Etno baaris, mis pakub kohaliku köögi toite, oli nii odav, et ma alguses ei uskunud oma silmi (meenutagem, ma einestasin kesklinnas kaunis kohas!), seal maksis praad vaid 3,5€. Etnos valisin endale toiduks kohaliku roa, mis kujutab endast kana-juustu rulli, mille peal on krõbe peekon, jällegi oli väga hea hinna ja kvaliteedi suhe, kindlasti soovitan sinna sööma minna! Wifi on väidetavalt mõlemas kohas, kuid mul töötas see vaid Etnos ja sedagi vaevaliselt. Makedoonia on tuntud ka kui Balkani veiniriigina, kuigi ma ise veini ei armasta, soovitas giid osta perele punast veini nimega Vranec, mis on Tikveši oma, see peaks poes maksma u 5-6€. Samuti oli meil võimalus tausta tuuril mekkida kohaliku rakit, võrreldes seda türkalste omaga on nende oma ilma aniisita ning maitses minu jaoks pigem nagu konjak või viski. Skopjes leidub tänu segunenud kultuurile ka palju türgi toitu, mis kohati on võib-olla isegi sama, mis Makedoonia enda oma, seega jälgige, mis rahava toitu te ikka proovite.
Vaba aeg:
Nagu ikka linnades on ka Skopjes kõik võimalised avatud peost kuni jalutuskäikudeni. Minu ainukeseks vaba aja tegevuseks võib vast lugeda poodlemist kohalikul basaaril, mis on jäänud sinna Ottomanide ajast ning peaks olema üks suurimad veel eksisteerivaid basaare Istanbuli basaari kõrval. Tegemist on paigaga, kus leidub nii söögikohti kui ka riide- ja ehtepoode, palju kuuleb seal türgi keelt ning pakutakse pigem türgi sööki, tänavaid on palju ning veidi segadustekitavad, seega saab sellest kohast kätte pigem Türgi kultuuri hõngu kui Makedoonia oma.
Nagu ikka linnades on ka Skopjes kõik võimalised avatud peost kuni jalutuskäikudeni. Minu ainukeseks vaba aja tegevuseks võib vast lugeda poodlemist kohalikul basaaril, mis on jäänud sinna Ottomanide ajast ning peaks olema üks suurimad veel eksisteerivaid basaare Istanbuli basaari kõrval. Tegemist on paigaga, kus leidub nii söögikohti kui ka riide- ja ehtepoode, palju kuuleb seal türgi keelt ning pakutakse pigem türgi sööki, tänavaid on palju ning veidi segadustekitavad, seega saab sellest kohast kätte pigem Türgi kultuuri hõngu kui Makedoonia oma.
Ja sellised omamoodi hullumeelsed paar päeva ma Skopjes veetsingi, kuid see on alles pool reisist, teine vähemalt sama seiklusterohke osa ootab alles ees...
Cheers!
PS! Ära unusta vaadata kokkuvõtvat reisivideo!
Welcome to the first travel post of Macedonia! Those 4 days, which I spend in that country were full of different emotions, so I'm not sure from where to begin. Well... let's start from the beginning then, the vist destination: Skopje. For me it's a city which has a lot of dirty streets and poor look, when at the same time the city center is fancy and full of different styles of architecture.
Destination:
Skopje, Macedonia
Duration of Trip:
4 days in which 2 days I met with Skopje
Travelling to Destination:
At this time I had the accommodation booking before than the tickets, it wasn't so easy to find the transportation because at this time instead of travelling from Estonia I did it from Thessaloniki. The cheapest version which I found was the train, but as I didn't liked it's schedule (it went around 6 pm and came around 5 am), then I decided to spend more 10€ and take the cheapest bus, which both way trip was 30€. But the thing is that the both ways tickets is possible to buy only from offices, so I bought them from Thessaloniki train station's one. One way was around 3,5 hours long and there was no wifi in the bus. Although I had only my ID-card, then just in case I recommend to take the passport, too, like this there will be just less pressure waiting in the bus and hoping that they let you to cross the board. While reaching to Skopje bus station it is good idea to book the ticket back, because you will get the ticket Thessaloniki already, but for the date and time you need to book it again in the Skopje office. Also to get to the platform/gate? for international buses, there is a need to have a platform ticket, which costs around 1-2€, it's possible to buy it from the usual ticket office.
About Local Life:
Skopje is a city, which is very lively. There's a crazy traffic, where all the time pedestrians need to fight for their rights and cars are using way too much signal, at least while I am comparing that with Estonia. There's also a lot of people from different culture and religion. In the beginning of last century Macedonia lands were still under Ottoman's power, so next of the orthodox people (which is the main religion), there's also a lot of muslims, but in our guide opinion their life together in one city is very balanced, it's more a problem for the people, who hasn't used with this kind of situation. Besides of different people, there's also a lot of street dogs, who are having fun of chasing the car wheels or bicycles. Most of the dogs has a yellow tag on their ear, which means, that they have had the vaccines. As Macedonians are using Cyrillic letters, then sometimes it's better to know Russian (they don't have the same language) instead of English. They have also their own money, denars, 1€ is 61 denars, so maybe that's why some places are extremely cheap.
Accommodation:
The reason, why at this time I booked the accommodation before than tickets is in HERE. 3 nights with breakfast costed only 25€ (together), the place is 10 minutes by walking from city center and basically next of main bus station. True, I was in the room, where were 7 people (in booking.com it said that there will be beds only for 6) mixed room, but the room was very nice, there were curtains for the lower part of bunk beds, there were also lockers and if accidentally to walk one floor up, then there's a nice bathroom with tiny balcony and jacuzzi. The staff is very friendly and helpful, most of the visitors are young backpackers, there is super good wifi, but they don't have any city maps. The hostel itself is a bit in creepy area, where are a lot of old and not so nice private houses, so for it was a bit scary to walk there in the evenings. Breakfast was served in hotel which was basically in next street, there's 4 different options: cereals with milk, fried eggs with bread and vegetables, ham sandwich (with burger bread), sausage sandwich (with burger bread). For me the best one was fried eggs, but the sandwiches were the best meals for getting full. Also in one night there was a overbooking, which ment that as I was alone, then they put me to a private room where were 2 other girls who paid for that room, so it wasn't the nicest thing after a long day, but there was no other option. So if I am calculation all those good and bad things I would give to this place 7 points from 10.
Sightseers:
As always, for those who wants to save money and time I recommend to take free tour (based on tip). My choice at this time was Miha's tour, really, one of the best free tours, where I have been, the guide is really warm and nice person! Also in this tour there's a opportunity to taste local raki for free! In 1963 there was a 6.1 magnitude earthquake, which destroyed a big part of the city, so the most of the buildings, which are there in today, are actually new ones, some which looks very old are only 5 years old, so thanks to earthquake there's also a lot of buildings from Yugoslavia times. But still the city center part is very nice and the most of the sightseers are all together or very close to each other. For example there's Macedonia Square, Museum of Mother Teresa (free entrance), fortress (free entrance) and different mosques and churches, also new and old bridges. But my favourite place was the Millennium Cross, which is on top of the Vodnov mountain/hill. The easiest way to get there is to take bus nr 25 (they have red double-deckers like in London!) from the city busses bus station (it's next of the big bus station), with that ride until the last stop, which is somewhere in the middle way to top of Vodnov. Bus ticket costs around 1€, with the transport card around 2,5€ (if you are buying the transport card), there's a kiosk in bus station where to put more money to the card, for 100 denars it's possible to ride 3 times. After the last stop the easiest way to continue the road is to take cable car, which rides around 8 minutes. The both ways together costs for students around 1€ and for adults 2€. There's also a possibility to hike up to the hill, some bikers are going up with cable car and coming down with bicycle. The cross itself is powerful, but the view is 10 times more powerful, for me nr 1 place what to visit in Skopje!
Place to Eat:
As I already told, then Skopje is cheap city, especially the food. Well depends of the place, but in two days I chose the places which were in the city center with a nice view to river. First of them was bar called Soul Kitchen, which offered usual food, dinner with cocktail and desert costed around 10€, sounds pretty good right? And that chicken in curry sauce was amazing! But the bar next to it called Etno offered local food and it was even more cheaper (remember that I was in city center, in pretty place), in there the meal coasted only 3,5€ (without drink)! I chose a chicken roll with cheese and bacon and it was very nice, so for sure go and try some local food in there! The both places said that they have wifi, but for me it worked only in Etno and it wasn't good at all. Macedonia is also known as a Balkans wine county, although I don't like wine, then the guide recommended to buy red wine called Vranec (from Tikveš) as a souvenir for my family, one bottle costs around 5-6€. As I told in tour we also had a chance to try local raki, which comparing with Turkish one is without anise and for me tasted like whiskey. Thanks to the mixed cultures there's also a lot of Turkish food, which I guess in some point is the same as Macedonian one, so be aware, that there's some difference.
Free Time:
As in other cities there's also a lot of entertainment in Skopje, starting from parties and ending with walkings. I guess my only "free time" activity was shopping in old bazaar, which has staied there since Ottomans time and is one of the biggest working one next to Istanbul's one. It's a place, where's everything: food places, clothes and jewelry shops and so on, in there the main langue is Turkish, there's also a lot of Turkish food, so it for sure more a Turkish than Macedonian place, an adventure by it's own.
As in other cities there's also a lot of entertainment in Skopje, starting from parties and ending with walkings. I guess my only "free time" activity was shopping in old bazaar, which has staied there since Ottomans time and is one of the biggest working one next to Istanbul's one. It's a place, where's everything: food places, clothes and jewelry shops and so on, in there the main langue is Turkish, there's also a lot of Turkish food, so it for sure more a Turkish than Macedonian place, an adventure by it's own.
And these were my mad days in Skopje, but the second part of the trip, which is at least as much full of adventures then this one, is still waiting it's time to be told.
Cheers!
Cheers!
PS! Don't forget to check out the travelling video!
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