July 23, 2012
First stop, Thessaloniki! Just the name of that ancient city with its New Testament connection is enough to stir the imagination. The entirety of this trip from Greece to Macedonia speaks of ancient times and places. All I could remember of Macedonia was that it was the home of Alexander the Great, modern Macedonian history not being a forte of mine. So, I was to fly from Athens to Thessaloniki where I would be met by a driver who would take me on the 2 ½ hour journey to Skopje.
For such a adventurous trip in my life, the flight was remarkably routine, reminding me more of a simple trip for San Francisco to Los Angeles. When I arrived in Thessaloniki, though, I now faced the hurdle of finding my driver. Consistent with my recent travel experiences he was not there when I arrived. I circled the terminal a few times looking to find where he might be and then planted myself in front of the most obvious entrance. After another 20 minutes, my driver arrived clearly identified by my name on his sign and we quickly returned to his car for the long ride to Macedonia. Fortunately, he spoke some English but was not overly conversant so after a polite conversation I was able to contemplate the scenery.
Oddly, the area around Thessaloniki reminded me a lot of South San Francisco. The gentle rolling hills, turned brown by the summer abutting a shipping port brought back memories of home. The drive to Skopje would consistently have that affect. We started to climb into the mountains, ones I know that Hannibal and his elephants probably crossed, and I pictured the passes in Colorado. When we completed the border crossing I saw vineyards stretching before me in Macedonia, reminiscent of the hills of Sonoma. I dozed for awhile and when I awoke we were within an hour of our destination and I was very interested in seeing what charms the capital of Macedonia had to offer. My driver and I talked for awhile and I found, much to my surprise, that driving business and holiday visitors around was the entirety of his occupation. In high season he was often making the long trek into Greece. In low season there was a lot of free time. Soon we arrived in Skopje. The city had an older southeastern Europe vibe to it, but I could see a lot of construction going on. There was an earthquake 50 years ago, and they were continuing to slowly renovate and rebuild their city.
My host, Zoran, met us on the outskirts of the city and we followed his car to the hotel where I would stay for the next two days. Zoran is a very impressive man. He is not only kind and very hospitable, but seems to have business connections with everyone he sees. One of two mobile phones is constantly raised to his ear. He runs the company who is our hiring agent in this area, but also has several other divisions in his company which show his strong entrepreneurial bent. He quickly got me settled in a very nice, small business hotel in the center of the city and offered me some time to rest before we joined my Celebrity shore side co-worker Ante for dinner and to plan the days ahead. Before he left he told me that if I felt the urge to walk around and explore to feel completely safe to do so, as Skopje had one of the lowest crime rates in Europe! And if for no other reason, I was liking Skopje already.
But there were plenty of reasons to like Skopje still to come!
And the adventure continues . . .
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