Macedonia and Croatia

Well, after having had less than two weeks to adjust to my new home, (using that word very loosely) off to two other countries to visit a trade show. Still having a very small clue as to what I am supposed to be doing with my new job, I was tasked with taking one of the two locals that will be working for me(a great Albanian man at least 20 years my senior) to found myself jetsetting Zagreb to visit with livestock and agriculture traders from around the region. As it turned out, I was completely useless. Not only did I not speak the language but I was not yet up to speed in knowing enough about the project to clearly identify which vendors we should meet with. Fortunately my colleague compensated for my shortcomings and lead me on an excellent adventure.

So, to accomplish a simple one hour flight to Croatia, one must get in a car and drive two hours to Skopje, Macedonia passing through a number of military (KFOR) checkpoints as well as the border crossing where all the Kosovar refuges we fleeing in droves from the Serbians during the NATO bombing operations. Kind of surreal to be reading very current books on the history of the war (1999) and then driving by the street signs where so many of these massacres took place. Not to mention my business associate survived all the fighting and has written a book on this matter. So he was proving the first hand detailed accounts on getting his family out and himself returning as an interpreter with the first British airborne battalion that went in after the Serbs. Anyway, enough of the brief history lesson. Onto the present.

Skopje is a very unique and intriguing city. Not only does it have a very historic, Albanian occupied old town but across the main river the banks are littered with very sheik outdoor cafe's blaring techno music and many many people dressed in the latest European fashions strolling the plazas and indulging in a gourment icecream or a smoke with 'Makioto' (essentially a Turkish expresso). So we did just that... Checked into our hotel and then my friend Musli showed me all about the city where we did as the locals. Ate, drank, and enjoyed icecream. A great historic fort and a huge hill/mountain commanding a spectacular view of the city scape. Had to call it an early night due to our 4am departure for the airport to fly to Zagreb...

Zagreb is a city still yet to be discovered (well by Americans anyway). As the photos show it is a city right up there with any of those in Europe. Fortunately the Austrian-Hungarian influence was not permanently destroyed during the Balkan war. Some of the most beautiful and flower laden cobbled footpaths, side streets, fountain wielding gardens and statue centric plazas can be found in this city. Although I did spend two days at the trade show and in various (productive) business meetings, I had more than enough time to explore the city. The list of our activities is actually quite long (as most of you know I do not waste time exploring). Our hotel was perfectly situated in the heart of the city with almost everything walkable or tramable. Several of the highlights included taking in a fantastic opera at the Croatian National Theater for about $12.00 (center of the floor seats), visiting some of the spectacular museums, entering several of the many cathedrals (not a Muslim country) and last but not least, spending a day outside the city hiking around the ski resort mountain overlooking Zagreb. A great break to get outside the urban environment.