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My Travels in 2016: From Podgorica, Monte Negro To Skopje, Macedonia

My Travels in 2016: From Podgorica, Monte Negro To Skopje, Macedonia

May 2019 · 14 min read · Municipality of Gjakova / Ðakovica

CRO:

Uvod

Već je 2 mjeseca prošlo otkako sam zadnji put pisao o svojoj avanturi iz 2016. godine. Tada sam pisao o putovanju od Korčule u Hrvatskoj do Podgorice u Crnoj gori, a u ovoj epizodi pisat ću o nastavku moga putovanja od Podgorice do Skopja u Makedoniji... Nadam se da ćete uživati čitajući!

ENG:

Intro

2 months have already passed since I last wrote a text about my 2016 voyage. That time I was writing about the route from Korčula, Croatia to Podgorica, Monte negro & in this episode I'll write about the route from Podgorica to Skopje, Macedonia... I hope you'll enjoy while reading it!

Alexander The Great & Me, Skoplje, Macedonia

IMG_0589.jpg

Unfortunately, I barely stopped once or twice so I didn't take a single shot in this 8 h road trip...

Na cesti

Od Podgorice prema sjeveru vodila me je isto nekakva brza cesta, djelomično uz kanjon rijeke Morače, a onda, činilo mi se da se čitavo vrijeme penjem uzbrdo, ostale su samo stjenovite i šumovite planine svuda oko mene. Predivni pejsaži i jedna od najopasnijih brzih cesta po kojoj sam ikad vozio. Ako volite adrenalin i vožnju, ova cesta bi bila kao stvorena za vas! Čini mi se da sam kroz Crnu goru putovao oko 3 sata - od Podgorice do sjevero-istoka i granice s Kosovom - a tu se stvari mijenjaju naglavačke!

Već na graničnom prijelazu morao sam kupiti posebno automobilsko osiguranje, koje je vjerojatno vrijedilo samo u Kosovu (i možda Albaniji), jer Kosovo je bila tek novonastala država i nisu je još priznavale druge države, a osim toga, ceste i način ponašanja u prometu na Kosovu bilo je sličnije Indiji nego bilo kojoj drugoj europskoj zemlji. Na početku me je to oduševljavalo, ali nakon nekog vremena, jedva sam čekao da dosegnem Makedoniju. Čini mi se sam bio pod blagim kulturološkim šokom. Već u Crnoj gori, što sam se više bližio kosovskoj granici, naziralo se sve više smeća odbačenog postrani uz cestu, po livadama, poljima i šumama. Čak je i na samoj granici bilo smeća, a naravno, i poslije granice - u Kosovu.

U prvim naseljima kroz koja sam prolazio činilo se kao da vlada potpuni kaos, ali to mi se sviđalo: maloljetna djeca vozila su se na neregistriranim motorima raznih tipova, psi lutalice bili su poprilično česta pojava, a ceste su bile krcate rupa i morao sam biti posebno koncentriran i pažljiv dok sam vozio. Osim toga, prometna signalizacija je bila jako loša, a i ulične rasvjete je bilo jako malo. Npr. u Peći je na putokazu pisalo "Prizren 72 km", a poslije tog znaka, tijekom vožnje prema Prizrenu, možda je na čitavih 70 km bio još samo jedan putokaz koji je usmjeravao ka Prizrenu pa sam često morao zastajati ne bi li pitao ljude za smjer, ali tu sam se oduševio! Gotovo ona identična gostoljubivost kao i u Crnoj gori i Dalmaciji - to je to tipično obilježje svih naroda koji žive na Balkanu.

U jednom momentu sam osjetio veliki umor i pospanost jer vozio sam više od 5 h pa sam se zaustavio u omanjem naselju kroz koje sam prolazio, a djelovalo je dosta urbano pa bih se usudio reći da je to bio grad, više nego selo. Ušao sam u neki restoran koji je zbilja izgledao užasno neukusno, baš grozno uređen i podosta prljav, ali nije mi to bilo važno! Samo sam htio popiti kavu. Konobar je bio oduševljen mojim izgledom i jedino što je znao reći na engleskom bilo je "Bob Marley" i stalno je to ponavljao i radosno se smijao. Nakon što mi je servirao kavu, sjeo je za moj stol i pokušavao sa mnom komunicirati. To baš i nije uspjevalo jer on je znao samo albanski, a ja sam na albanskom znao reći samo "falënderim" (=hvala). Svejedno smo se dobro nasmijali, a u međuvremenu je pozvao 7-8 nekih svojih poznanika iz susjednih trgovina i ugostiteljskih objekata da vide tko je sjeo baš u njegov restoran, jer čini mi se da je on bio baš i vlasnik, a mlađi od mene.

Dok smo se tako družili i dok sam bio živi eksponat okupljenim Albancima, ja sam drugim okom promatrao ulicu i građevine. Prometa nije bilo jako puno, zgrade su izgledale kao da su napravljene od kartona i plastike, a zrak je bio ispunjen nekakvom čudnom prašinom jer bila je suša i puhao je neki topao vjetrić. Točno preko puta nalazila se trgovina s vjenčanicama. Možete li to zamisliti?! Na terasama gotovo svih ugostiteljskih objekata, uključujući i restoran u kojem sam sjedio, bile su postavljene plastične stolice i stolovi koji su negdje izgledali prljavo valjda od te prašine, a negdje nisu bili postavljeni ni stolnjaci ni jastučići. Uz kavu samo dobio plastičnu žlićicu, a iako bijele vjenčanice koje stajale na lutkama u izlogu preko puta, nisu se činile uopće bijelima već nekako bež zbog toga što su stakla od izloga bila mutna od te prašine. Čak i ograde od terasa su bile izgrađene od nekakvih čudnih materijala koje nisam mogao uopće sa sigurnošću identificirati - nekakav gips, knauf ili put pjena (umjesto metala ili drva). Sve u svemu - grozan neukus! Ali jako prijatni i ugodni domaćini!

Od umora i svih tih podražaja na koje nisam bio navikao, te mladog Albanca-šefa koji je neumorno ponavljao "Bob Marley, Bob Marley...", osjećao sam veliku zbrku u glavi, a i zbog pritiska koji sam sebi stvarao s rokom i ciljem dolaska u Skopje, umjesto da prepustim sadašnjem trenutku. Ipak, odlučio sam krenuti, a mladi Albanac mi nije dopustio da platim kavu. Počastio me i još s kojim "Bob Marley", a ja sam rekao "falënderim", jedinu riječ koju sam znao na albanskom, i otišao.

Uskoro sam stigao do Prizrena i prošao kroz centar te nastavio dalje prema Makedoniji. Žao mi je što se nisam zaustavio u Prizrenu barem na jednu noć jer je taj grad izgledao svjetski i imao veliku dozu ukusa u kombinaciji starinskih građevina i moderne arhitekture. Nakon Prizrena opet je nastupio "mrak", ali ipak malo blaži, s manje razbacanog smeća i pasa lutalica, ali još uvijek s premalo putokaza koji bi ukazivali u kojem je smjeru Makedonija i Skopje, a već je bilo kasno i rijetko gdje sam uspijevao nalaziti nekog čovjeka da pitam za smjer. Ipak sam nekako osjećao blizinu Makedonije, a što sam se više približavao namjerenoj destinaciji, naselja kroz koja sam prolazio bila su uređenija, čišća i ukusnija zbog mješanog stanovništva koje tamo živjelo i prisutnosti Makedonaca.

I onda, napokon, nakon cca 8 h vožnje, ugledah svoj spas - golemu zastavu, najveću što sam ikad vidio na vrlo visokom i debelom stupu kako se vijori tromo i usporeno, ali monumentalno, valjda zbog svoje mase, blagi vjetar slabo ju je pokretao, pa se u mojim umornim očima činilo kao da gledam usporenu snimku... Nemate pojma koliko mi je laknulo kad sam ugledao tu zastavu na graničnom prijelazu Kosova i Makedonije!

Makedonski pogranični policajci i carinici bili su izuzetno dragi. Nisu me uopće ništa posebno pretraživali ili ispitivali, a bili su i oduševljeni što imam hrvatske, riječke tablice te što sam prevalio toliki put s Twingom. Pitali su kamo idem pa sam im objasnio da se idem naći s prijateljicom u Skopje, ali da još ne znam točno gdje i da ću nazvati prijateljicu kada stignem u Skopje. Jedan se carinik ponudio nazvati moju prijateljicom da mi pomogne da je lakše nađem i da mi objasni kamo da se uputim u Skopje, ali ona tada nije odgovorila na poziv pa sam se zahvalio cariniku i nastavio dalje prema Skopju do kojeg sam došao za pola sata.

Uspjeh! Postigao sam svoj cilj i stigao u Skopje nakon otprilike 8 h vožnje od Podgorice preko Kosova do Skopja, a o ovom gradu i mom boravku u Makedoniji pisat ću u slijedećom nastavku...

Pratite!

Hvala na čitanju!

PS

U slijedećem putopisu obećajem više fotografija!

On The Road

From Podgorica towards the North I took some kind of a fast road, which partly follows the canyon of river Morača, & than, I felt like whole time driving uphill, all around there were rocky & woody mountains. Beautiful landscapes & one of the most dangerous roads I've ever driven on. If you like adrenaline & driving, this road would be perfect for you! It seems like I was travelling through Monte negro for 3 h - from Podgorica towards the North-East & Kosovo border - & here the environment changes up-side-down!

On the border crossing I was obliged to buy a special car insurance, which is probably worth only in Kosovo (& maybe in Albania), because Kosovo is the newly created state which was still not recognized by other states, & besides that, the roads & behavior in traffic in Kosovo is more similar to those in India than in any other European country. In the beginning it was thrilling, but after some time, I hardly waited to reach Macedonia. I think I was under some kind of a cultural shock. Even in Monte negro, while coming closer to Kosovo, there was a lot of trash thrown away aside the road, on the meadows, fields & forests. Even on the border, & of course, after the border - in Kosovo.

In the first settlements through which I was passing, it seemed like the rule of full chaos, but I liked it: underage children were driving the various unregistered motorbikes, stray dogs were quite frequent & the roads were full of holes & I needed to be highly focused & careful while driving. Besides that, the traffic signaling was pretty bad & the street lights were very poor. For example, in Peć, on the road sign it was written "Prizren 72 km" but after that one, while driving to Prizren, there was maybe only one another road sign telling the direction to Prizren in the whole 70 km, so I needed to stop very often to ask the people for direction & that was thrilling! Almost the same hospitality like in Monte Negro & Dalmatia - it's the typical characteristic of all nations living in Balkans.

In one moment I felt heavy tired & sleepy cause I was driving more than 5 h so I stopped in not a large settlement through I was passing & it seemed quite urban so I would dare to call it a town, more than a village. I entered in some restaurant which looked terribly distasteful, terribly decorated & pretty dirty, but I didn't care! I just wanted to drink a coffee. The waiter was thrilled by my look & all he could say in English was "Bob Marley" & kept repeating it with a joyful smile. After serving me the coffee, he sat down by my table & tried to communicate with me. He had a little success cause he knew only Albanian & the only word in Albanian I knew, was "falënderim" (=thanks). Even thou we couldn't understand each other, we had a nice laugh, & in the meantime, he invited 7-8 of his acquaintances from the neighboring stores & bars to make them see who he hosted in his restaurant - it seemed to me that he was the owner of the restaurant too & younger than me.

While we were hanging out & while being a live exhibit to the gathered Albanians, I was watching the street & the surrounding buildings. There was not a lot of traffic & the buildings seemed like made out of carton & plastic & the air was filled with some strange dust cause it was drought & some warm wind was mildly blowing. Right across me there was wedding store. Can you imagine that?! On the terraces of almost all the other bars & restaurants, including the one I was sitting in, there were plastic chairs & tables which looked dirty cause of the dust & there were no tablecloths nor pads set. With coffee I got a plastic spoon & wedding dresses on the puppets in the shop window across the street, were not white but beige because of the dust which covered the shop window glass. Even the fences of the terraces were made of some strange materials which I couldn't identify with certainty - some kind of gypsum, knob or polyurethane foam (instead of metal or wood). All in all - horrible discomfort! But very friendly and pleasant hosts!

Cause I was exhausted & cause of all these stimulus to which I wasn't used to, the young Albanian boss who was repeatedly saying "Bob Marley, Bob Marley...", I felt a big mess in my head, but also cause of the pressure which I put on myself with the goal of reaching Skopje that day, instead of letting the plans go & enjoying the moment of now. Still, I decided to go & the young Albanian didn't charged me for the coffee. He treated me with few more "Bob Marley's" & I said "falënderim" - the only word I knew in Albanian, & I was gone.

Soon I arrived to Prizren, passed the center & proceeded towards Macedonia. Now I feel sorry for not stopping in Prizren at least for a night cause it looked like a real modern city with a tasty combination of the traditional & the new age architecture. After passing Prizren, the reign of "darkness" again dominated the road but still a bit lighter than in the North, with less trash thrown aside the road & less stray dogs, but still with too less road signs showing the direction towards Macedonia & Skopje, & it was already late evening & rarely I managed to find a human to ask for the direction. Nevertheless, somehow I was sensing the vicinity of Macedonia & as I was getting closer towards my destination, the settlements which I was passing by were more arranged, cleaner & more tasty cause of the mixed population & the presence of Macedonians.

& then, finally, after approx. 8 h of driving, I caught sight of my salvation - gigantic flag, the biggest I've ever seen, on a very tall, fat pier how slowly, but monumentally moves, cause of it's mass, the light wind was slowly moving it so in my tired eyes it seemed like I'm watching the slow motion... You have no idea how relieved I felt when I caught it's sight on the border of Kosovo to Macedonia!

Macedonian border police & customs were extraordinary nice. They didn't ask me anything special nor searched my car. They were thrilled to see Croatian plates from Rijeka & to realize that I passed such a long distance with Twingo. They asked where I'm going so I explained that I plan to meet my friend in Skopje, but still don't know exactly where & that I will call her when I come there. One of them offered to call her now so that he can help me with explaining the way to & where exactly in Skopje, but she didn't answer that call so I expressed my gratitude & continued further towards Skopje which I reached in the next half-an-hour.

Success! I reached my goal - Skopje - after approx. 8 h of driving from Podgorica, over Kosovo, to Skopje & about this city & Macedonia I'll be writing in next episode...

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Thanks for reading!

PS

In the next travel article I promise more photos!

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Some other travel memories from my 2016 summer Balkan journey:

Part 1: https://bit.ly/2Gegpzb
Part 2: https://bit.ly/2G8nnWl
Part 3: https://bit.ly/2zT1vJ9
Part 4: https://bit.ly/2L7YnNZ
Part 5: https://bit.ly/2T5juTT
Part 6: https://bit.ly/2GzZG9D
Part 7: https://bit.ly/2wij8zG
Part 8: https://bit.ly/2Hw8NXj


Dear @tibfox, I still haven't started my journey to Morocco but I have some memories from my Balkan adventure you might be interested in... Enjoy reading, bro! (If you don't want me to tag you anymore, please let me know. Thanks!)


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