Skopje

Macedonia Square is the largest square in the country, and I was right above it from the balcony of my hotel room. It’s the nexus of the old town in the north, on the other side of the river, and the considerably less attractive new town in the south. Much of the grand buildings here are actually  reconstructions after the earthquake and the war. It’s very lively, there are restaurants, bars, and clubs all over the place here.

To the northwest of the square is the museum of Macedonian struggle. Macedonia was at the crossroads of many powers over the centuries, and they were fighting for independence at the beginning of the 20th centuries and after the three wars until they finally won independence in 1991, and is now a UN and Nato member. The museum is a little too much into hero worship for my taste.