Skopje, North Macedonia

We are currently in Skopje, Macedonia, and we've been here for one month.This is our first trip since leaving the UK at the end of March, and it's been a really cool country to explore. I took this photo on the first day that Stevie and I had to explore here in the capital city.

Two days after this photo was taken, Skopje went into a semi "lockdown" in preparation for the Orthodox holidays at the end of April. We've spent the last 3 weeks getting to grips with closed restaurants, bars, and the quietness of some of the busiest roads in the country. 

The downside of Covid is that we have to be ready for anything, at any time. For instance, Steven and I planned to be getting a bus to our next country tomorrow. Last week, we decided that we were going to do a big road trip around Albania for a week. Most of what you want to see in Albania are the beaches and countryside, so it'll be much more advantageous for us to rent a car for a week and go wherever we want - whenever we want. Of course, Stevie will be driving the entire time. That was our plan. Get a bus to Albania tomorrow, leave Macedonia behind, and find a place to stay in the country's capital - Tirana. 

Instead of booking a place to stay in Tirana, finding a car to rent, and all the details that surround that kind of plan... we ended up booking two apartments. One - another apartment in Skopje to stay in through the weekend, and two - an apartment in Kosovo's capital. 

The reason for the sudden change was because we found out that, if coming from Macedonia, Albania would not let us through their borders until Monday. This Sunday is Orthodox Easter in the Balkan countries, and the Albanian government want to discourage any travel between countries for the sole purpose of celebrating the Christian holiday. 

We will have to get a COVID test before entering Kosovo, so after about an hour of Stevie sending out emails to testing centers, we found out that we would be able to get a PCR test on Saturday. 

That's the downside. The upside is that we are able to go to cities that are usually stowed with tourists, with streets that we wouldn't be able to fully appreciate because of the crowds, and we are able to stand still for a little bit. We are able to hear the birds chittering and the church bells sounding off. We're able to hear the prayer calls from one of the many local mosques in the area, and walk through the streets without shuffling our way through crowds. 

It's a fine line between appreciating Covid and detesting it. It's a line that I'm still learning to navigate. But, one things for certain... Stevie and I are traveling the world during a time that few other people are - and while sometimes, that fact can be a thorn in our side, it's also a gateway for a perspective that we wouldn't be able to have otherwise.

I'll be posting more photos of our time in Macedonia soon, but for now, here's a picture of Stevie and I having a drink in a bar. We get to have another one of those drinks, in an actual bar tomorrow, because the lockdown is officially lifted! See? There's another perk of a few extra days in a pretty cool, Balkan city. :)