Travelog for: Haris

14.09.2009-18.09.2009

Hmmm, i cant believe it how quickly the week had passed...even though i didnt do much since ana was busy most of the time, still somehow time flew!
We spent our week in Vinica, which is a small town in the eastern part of Macedonia...ok, actually our hotel was like 2 km before the city, but it belongs to it.



it was an older hotel, but a nice one.

Our room was nice as well, and i have to say the bed was comfy
And i could sleep as much as i wanted to, while Ana had to get up early, he he he he....*yaaaaawnnnn* 



So the first day i woke up, i was wondering how to fill in my time...and took a look from my terrace



not much could be seen from there, a rather vast empty space and I ha......uhmm, wait wait wait....didnt Ana mention something like in the middle of nowhere when we were leaving??!! whoops....she was serious! *gulp*  ....ok ok, i will be nice i promise, and i will listen to Ana and wont bother her and will try to entertain myself as much as possible, but i really dont feel like being left alone in the middle of here! 

So i took off to look around the hotel, and BINGO!!! I found a solution to my problems right away! I mean, they are having a swimming pool!!! Wohooohooo!!! Could i ask for anything more??!



and since the weather was nice, this is how i spent most of my time here, either swimming in the pool: 



or idling beside it and getting a tan.....i only needed a cocktail to have it all for a complete enjoyment! but they didnt serve those...



there is also a small so-called garden in the hotel..with lots of nice flowers...and uhmm, small frogs....so i didnt really like it here and decided to stick to the pool



One day, Ana and the others decided to go for some visits and we headed off to a monastery which is like an hour drive from where we were...but before we reached the monastery, we stopped at one place which i must say was extremely beautiful!! it offered an amazing view and i think that we could see half of Macedonia from there!! 







and there was a nice breeze to, so you can just imagine how lovely it felt!!

in the nearest vicinity there were also some caves



and we even got inside this one where we had to kneel down in order to go inside!



but it was too dark on the inside for us to take pictures

after the "caving" adventures we headed towards the monastery which was also a lovely place!





its called Lesnovo Monastery and is said to have been built sometime in the 11th century!

just outside the monastery, there is a small forest, with lots of benches and places to sit down and rest and have something to eat! booy, this is sooooo relaxing!!



but it was getting late, so we couldnt stay there and we had to go back to the hotel for dinner, since we still had an entire hour to drive back.

then the other day, we again took a short trip, but this time in Vinica itself. first we visited a musem and then we climbed on to the so-called Vinica's Kale, where there is a fortress dating back from the early Christianity period and where people had excavated some Terracotta Icons which are said to be unique in the entire world....but they are still just at the beginning of exploring this whole place..and its another beautiful place from where you can see the town of Vinica



I hope you can spot the walls and ruins







well, the next day we already had to leave, so we didnt have time to go anywhere, just have lunch and some coffee at the hotel, and a chance for some final pictures on the terrace



but the weather was getting bad and there were clouds coming and the wind was blowing, and .....whops whops whops....this thing almost got me covered at one blow of the wind!!! 



ok....time to go home...i still cant believe how fast time flew! 

They say that the best things happen when you dont plan them, and they are definitely right about it!
Ana had to finish some errands in the morning, and took me with her to make her company...and since we ended up near the Old Bazaar, we decided to take a look around...and it was such a nice place! dating back from the Ottoman Empire you can indeed see the entire architecture reflected in it...the atmosphere as well...and i must say that unlike the urban part of Skopje, this Old City here was full of some charm! Just lovely! Too bad all those political turmoils prevent people from coming here as they used to some 15 years ago....

the entire Old Bazaar is full of little streets like this:









and all sorts of different shops, mainly with old crafts that are slowly dying out...

so we have this small shop which sells this special kind of shoes, that are worn like traditional clothes or in folklore related events...they are kind of sandals, but unfortunately we couldnt find a translation into English   



then there were some shops that sold carpets and tapestries...





wow!! soooo many bags!



a shop which sold this kind of vessels and other stuff made from sheet metal or of the similar sorts



a specialized hat shop!! It might be nice if i get one...but im just tooo picky and i need to check if they have some my size



an entire street with jewelery shops



shops for fur or skin products.....uhmm, for some reason i had the urge to run away from here...you never know 





shoeeesssss!! a bunch of shops for shoes only!!!



there are also a lots of cafe's to take a rest and enjoy yourself...and since there is no traffic, i think it would feel really nice to sit here



or in this Turkish restaurant!! yammie



but its when we came to this point that i started to droll!!
candies, lollipops, sweets, chocolates, peanuts, pistachios, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts...i wanted to rob this shop!



and then came this one, selling especially Baklava!! which from what i found out is a desert people here are very fond of, and that the Muslims always make loads of it during their holidays, esp. for the one that is being celebrated right now, Eid Moubarak! Oh, Lyan dear...happy Eid Moubarak to you, and please eat some food for me as well! 



another small cafe at the end of this narrow street



they even have a children's theatre...too bad it was closed at the time we passed by



the Murat Pasha Mosque which is situated inside the Old Bazaar



the Čifte Hammam



and the Daut Paša Hammam



the second one is actually situated at the very exit or entrance of the Old Bazaar, depends how you look at it...and Hammam's were actually Turkish baths

well, right after the Old Bazaar there was this St. Dimitrija church, and we had to take a short stop here too 





and this is actually the church where Ana was Christened when she was just a few months old!

well, in order to get to our bus station, we had to cross this Stone Bridge! So finally i saw it...before this, i had only seen it on a postcard!



hmmm, and the water is awful i must say....and probably due to no rain periods, there was lack of water as well



the guarding tower:



and there is the bridge:



and once you step out from the bridge you actually step into the city square...so we had to stop there two for a few more pictures





wow!!! i must admit i had a really really great time! I loved the Old Bazaar, and Ana promised to take me there again since there are still places in and around it, we didnt manage to see! I cant wait!

and we are leaving on a trip again early in the morning...since i had behaved last time, Ana is taking me again with her  Of course, she still doesnt know if she'd be able to take me around, but im thankful to the fact that she is taking me with her in the first place! Its just great to be able to travel and go to different places! So ill see you next weekend I guess and tell you about my adventure and show you pictures if we manage to get some

Stay well!

21.09-25.09

oh yes, im alive...no worries...its just that, you know how it goes when you have a busy and lazy host 

but well, i cant complain, coz even though my pictures havent been put here on time, i must say i have had a great time travelling around...and right now im having some rest from all that and  trying to adjust to this dark gloomy cold Skopje...oh and Ana has been having a cold as well, so ive been trying to stay away from her....*hope she didnt hear me say this*

anyways, ill start with this trip we had almost month ago...we were at this hotel which was a few km away from the city actually...and we called it, the middle of nowhere...and really, you couldnt even THINK of buying a simple chewing gum...you had to go by car to the city to do that, since there were NO shops there...but i must say the nature and the surroundings were lovely and it was great for a rest from the every day street jungle...

mmmmm, my first morning....lovely sunshine and a beautiful view from my terrace...ok, sorry, OUR terrace 



so since as usual in the mornings i had to be totally on my own, and the weather was really nice, i decided to explore a bit just outside the hotel....and there was this nice lake!





extremely quiet and peaceful!

they even had these vessels!!! but i wasnt allowed to go for a ride...they said i wasnt big enough to steer it myself 
are they trying to tell me something between the lines??? eeehhh???




a man fishing....or better said, his fishhooks are trying to do the job for him while he is aside, making coffee...



walking around





a small wooden cottage for making barbecue...unfortunately, it wasnt operational at this time



Ana was too tired the first night and went to sleep early, and since i was bored, i decided to go down to the lake again and see how it looks at night....uhmm, khhm...ok, i dont think ill ever do that again...it was kinda spooky 



well, i must say i was lucky enough, coz during that week, in a town nearby, an interesting festival was held, and we managed to be there on the last night of it...something like a folklore gathering where folklore groups had come from different countries...if i can recall correctly, there were Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania....it was really fun to watch!!









i couldnt get their autographs, but i tried to get a picture with some of the dances in the background...well, ok...i admit, i liked the ladies 



the fountain in the middle of the city square where this event was held



and a short glimpse at the crowd



the other day we took a short trip to another place nearby, a mountain called Ponikva...LOVELY LOVELY LOVELY!! there maybe isnt much to do and see...but the nature and the views were simply amazing and breathtaking!! they say that in winter, when there is snow, people go skiing here...

i think that words are totally unnecessary...just enjoy the views!













that white building is supposed to be a children's resort, but right now it was empty...i guess they will come here for the winter holidays









aaaaahhhh...so lovely 

another beautiful sight i discovered while wandering near the hotel!



Friday...time to go home...but i dont want to go...its really nice here...and its so enjoyable to have your coffee with a view like this outside the window...



well, on our way back we stopped at another town, Veles, for some coffee, and there was this nice park...so of course, i had to commemorate it





*sniff* but i dont want to go back home....

So here we go again....going back a bit into history since this already happened 3 months ago....but just now Ana managed to get to the update....she started doing it while ago....but when uploading the pictures, some of them were half-blurry and eventually we realized that it was due to the HDD...and we are waiting for a new one....I hope she gets her laptop back soon....I really wanted to take a picture with it before i leave Macedonia.....
well, lets see what do we have here.....At the very end of October Ana took a one day trip to Belgrade to the book fair....and YESSSS she took me with her!! Wohoo!! My first trip to Serbia ever!!! She did hide me in her back pack....just in case...we didnt want to get into trouble if someone asked for my passport and i had none to show....I would have had to stay at the customs and moreover miss Belgrade when this might be like a unique chance to go and see it....

Well, we took off at 4 in the morning either way, and I wanted to sleep, so i didnt mind much staying inside...

On our bus...eventually, I had a seat for me only 



just that for some reason at our part of the bus was toooo hot....



so i transferred to a better place 



by the window of course...not only it was cooler, but i also had an excellent view....though there wasnt much to see on the highway

the first thing we did when we arrived was to have some coffee....and eat a cake along



both Ana and I agreed that the cake sucked...it was half frozen and just tasteless....lesson learnt...next time DONT stop there for a snack....there are sooo much more places in Belgrade....you just need to have enough time and to know where you are going

so after our refreshment, we headed off to the fair...

here is a glance at the Belgrade's Main Railway Station from the outside



on our way to the bus stop and check which one we need....not quite familiar with the lines, so I hoped Ana wont get us lost



on the local bus to the fair...






phewww...we did take the right bus, coz here is the fair



way too many people waiting, but luckily, it didnt take us long before we got our ticket...wohoo!!



soooo many people going in front of us....I feared it was gonna be too crowded on the inside



and i was right 





but I must admit its a great place...on two floors, with sooo many stands and booksellers....its just that it was too hot inside, and it was too tiring to walk all the time among so many people, so I preferred to stay inside the rucksack....

this was probably my favourite stand....it was like the only Asian one and the one closest to Malaysia...reminded me of my dear Lyan straightway!



so easy to get lost among all these...



funny thing is, Ana decided to get certain books....but in order not to carry all that weight, she wanted to buy them before we leave...BUT...she couldnt possibly remember where she saw them the first time, so we were going round in circles for like an hour till we actually found the place 

well, eventually we finally left, and had to face an incredible crowd and chaos in the local transport....one bus driver even closed the door right in front of our nose! 

and finally here we are in the city centre, on the so very famous street of Knez Mihajlova....



and while we were waiting for someone, we did a small photo session with some stuff we found around







and that someone finally came and we went to a nearby cafe...aandd yummie yummie, had this delicious coffee and even more delicious cheese cake!!




the only downside of all this was that we DIDNT take a picture with that someone    We had such a great time, that time passed sooo fast and eventually it just slipped our mind....if its any comfort, Ana didnt take a picture of her with this person as well, and she so much regrets it...and it was another postcrosser, Ana from Serbia, known as BraveJ    Maybe next time....hopefully....they both were such a lovely company to spend time with


Well....we had to go back to the train station a bit earlier since we werent quite sure when the train leaves and we couldnt miss it...




and thats our train!




and I must say that this travel was great! Ana got us a ticket for the sleeping car, and we were all alone inside...and it felt soooo great to finally lay down after such a long day






and its more than comfortable and cosy to travel by train at night.....you feel this nice swaying while sleeping, and then the sound of the train's wheels against the rails....its just so lovely!!



too bad we had to go back to Skopje....this was such a nice day for me 

Soooooooo......as talented as Ana could be, she lost track of one of her memory cards where she had some of my pictures....so hence the lack of updates here (among other stuff). But well, we both agreed that we dont really have to go in a chronological order with the updates, as long as we actually do report we are both alive...so we will start with our latest adventure, and then, eventually, juggle with the other stuff we have.....and right now, it is SNOOOOOOWWW TIMEEEEEEE



YESSSSSSSSSS!!! After hearing and watching on tv and in the papers and in the forums and on facebook, how entire Europe is covered in snow, FINALLY we got to have it here!! To our immense delight, yesterday we woke up to see everything covered in white! Amazing!! Ive never seen snow before, and after all that exciting talk they've been having about it, i was more than curious to see whats all the fuss about...and, uhmm...i can say that i fell in love with it at first sight...its one of the most tranquil phenomena ive ever witnessed! So of course, even though it was really cold, we had to go out for a short walk.....





Its so funny to see how we leave footsteps wherever we go...



brrrrr, it was so cold, i had to snatch Ana's scarf...



mmmm, it feels so warm now....

and I dont know why was i surprised when i realized that the purpose of our walk in the snow was to get to the post office



i mean, where else can Ana go in such an adverse weather, and i thought she actually really cared for me, and sacrificed herself to go in the cold, in order to take ME in the snow.....but ok ok, ill let her have it her way as long as she takes me with her 

On our way back it started to snow even more heavily...





see how im getting covered with snow???? 

It was also getting dark so we had to hurry home...but before that, i had to just stop at a few more places...



wohooo....where is Haris??? can you see me??? Wohoooo!! No no no, over HEREEEE!!!!! Am i THAT invisible? 





Dog: grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Haris: grrrrrrrrrrrrrr to you too....he, he thought i would get scared 





Yayy!!! It was sooooo goood to feel the snow!! Too bad it already started to melt, but its better something than nothing....la la la la la....and now we can sit on the inside in the warm and have some coffee....

Some of the Christmas/New Year spirit from the streets of Skopje...

I dont know how many of you are familiar with the fact that, in Macedonia, Christmas is celebrated on 7th January, not in December....and its a way too different situation...here people go crazy over New Year's eve, thats when presents are given...at Christmas everything is much calmer, and time to spend with your family.
One of the traditions i liked is that in many families they make a bread or a pie with a coin, and then they divided into several pieces, depending on how many family members there are, plus one piece is reserved for God and one for the house....so then, they check to see where the coin is, and the person who was lucky to have the piece with the coin, is said to have joy and happiness throughout the year....doesnt matter if you believe in this or not, its nice as a tradition.

And also, Ana took me for a walk a bit around the city centre, coz its all nicely decorated and with some nice things going on, so here am  I to share some bits of my adventure:

the street Macedonia, which is a nice pedestrian zone..



the Christmas tree on the city square





they have a bunch of sculptures in the centre, which one OPENLY detests and says they are nothing but quasi-art....and a way the local government to waste money instead using the funds on something smart...well, artistic or no, i had to pose with these two ladies 



there was also a stage, with some guys practicing...something...we had no idea who they were



some stalls where they sold beer and boiled wine



as we were walking around, all of a sudden a honk scared the hell out of me..it almost ran over me....stupid train



there was also this small autodrome for children...and those who feel like children 



Santaaaaa!!! Santa Santa Santa!!! Wohooo!!




wait....who's that other guy? where did he come from? why does he so much look like Santa too? is this some sort of fraud or something? I thought there was only one Santa....what the hell is this??? 





back on the street Macedonia





and we were lucky enough to catch this performance...at least for me, it was fun...sorry for not the greatest quality, but you know how it is with people, elbowing with you just to get in front...though im pretty sure some were crowding just to come closer and take a better look of me...no im not vain 


just click the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XHSAC6viIQ

*Wave*

Hello my dear friends. I hope I havent been forgotten, but you know how life is...

You know, all my life ive been hearing about post offices, postcards, stamps and everything else postal...and i had this opportunity to visit a philatelic meeting regarding the 60 years of the Macedonian Philatelic Society...well, not the amusement-park kind of fun but it was still interesting to attend something new and something i dont get the chance to see every day....plus see whats all this fuss going around stamps and stuff....




well, despite my greatest will and my constant trying to stay focused, i didnt really understand much....



i dont know if elder people speak in some sort of secret language of their own but what they found amusing, i certainly couldnt....and it was 99% of old people there...

but Ana had fun....and she even got something called "booklet of stamps" for her train-stamp collection....and I got NOTHING! *sniff* But Ill have my revenge...one day 

this guy here is something like a head of the philatelic department, or at least thats how i understood it




and here is a little girl reading some sort of an article philately-wise...with some sort of a poetic added tone...well, she did a good job, its obvious she had rehearsed a lot for this, coz there were some such complex words that even an adult would take a second to think before phrasing it right...



Our guess was that she was someone's granddaughter....and you know how connections work....btw, both men on the left and the right are a story of their own...but i wont get into details now...

Here is that guy from the left side



he got some sort of a certification as an appreciation of his contribution to the philatelic society....and he is the guy actually who had designed the commemorative envelope for the 60 years.....and as an artist is famous for his flower-paintings...

and he was soooo "kind" (we are being cynical here) that he did some paintings esp. for the day and handed them around to the visitors....autographed!
We took one of course 



Well, after it all finished, we walked around the room to see whats on the walls..

some pictures representing we-dont-know-whom



some past philatelic exhibition announcements



some.....uhmm, you define it



some maxi-card competition



where there were two second-places and two-third places, but no winner since none of the entries fulfilled all the needed requirements


and some nice photos again...with a cute dogie included



well after this, i even less get it whats all the postal-fuss about...but oh well...