Skopje, North Macedonia

Random as it may seem, North Macedonia was my big game-changer. My first solo trip, this was the one that irrevocably reignited my love and lust for traveling.

The three things that brought me there were

1. A burning need to get the hell outta little ol' Denmark
2. Cheap airplane tickets, and
3. A cheap Airbnb.

While I have no idea about the availability of the two latter ones four years later, Skopje is definitely still worth a visit.

One of the first things you notice about Skopje is the contrast. When getting there from the airport, the surroundings pretty much look like something outta Borat: Small rural cottages made from roofing panels and construction blocks. Car tires in barren, grassless front yards with no fence, and bumpy dirt roads with no name.

And then after 20 minutes, you're in the center of Skopje. Stragegically adorned with pristine marble buildings and statues, liberally sprinkled with billboards, shiny glass and steel façades flanking the architechture of yestercentury.

All that new stuff – all those statues and marble buildings – is all very new. As in, deliberately put there since 2014 as an urban rebranding project to give the city a facelift and draw tourists. I had no idea about all this, but I did meet tourists from several other countries, so you'd have to assume something's working.

The whole rebranding project has met a lot of criticism. Obviously, some local forces are bound to be against it – whether for conservative or financial reasons. Later that year, I even had a chat with a girl from The Netherlands who I met in Spain; she thought all those new installments were, and I quote, "all fake".

Anyway, it is what it is, and it looks nice to me. And the same thing goes for the rest of the city. Up north of the centre is the old fortress ruin Kale (pronounced ['kɑ·lɛ]; not like the vegetable) from where you have a great view of downtown Skopje. Right to the east of it is the old part of town: Winding cobble-stone streets, small old buildings, rustique restaurants, souvenir shops, and bazars.

Down to the south is Vodno; a mountain overlooking the city. You get up there by bus, and then a lift takes you to the top. I'd ordered this as a part of a combined 1-day mini-tour package, but you can do it fairly cheap on your own, as I later realized.

On the top, it has this big-ass cross called the Millennium Cross – built and named to commemorate 1000 years of Christianity in the country. They light it up at night so everyone can see it, which, in my view, seems a bit much like religious totalitarianism. Plus, the cross itself isn't exactly pretty when seen up close. But the trip is definitely worth it, regardless.

A bit outside of town is the Matka canyon and river, which you can't miss if you ever go there. Taxis are cheap, the nature is gorgeous, and the boat rides (also cheap), take you to a small limestone cave.

As for the local metal scene, I just so happened to find a three-band bill featuring local progressive death metal band Harkem supporting two touring Russian folk metal bands, Грай (Graj = "Bird's Cry") and СатанаКозёл (SatanaKozel = "SatanGoat"). Harkem, in spite of sounding a lot like Opeth, are great at what they do for a debut band. The two latter ones both put on a Hell of a show. If you're into folk metal like me, you'd love them.

The venue, Rock Club Shadows, turned out a nice experience as well. The local metalheads are extremely cool and accommodating, and they know how to go to shows. It was a weekday evening, and people left early, but not without the scene turning into a pit at the end. Also, you can get cheap Carlsberg and Tuborg there!