Skopje,, North Macedonia – – birthplace of Mother Teresa— July 27 – – 29, 2026

The 7 AM Kaleia bus from Sofia Bulgaria to Skopje North Macedonia costs about €25 for a five hour journey.

After arriving in Skopje, I walked about 20 minutes to the Mickitos Urban Hostel that was located in the Carsija area. This neighborhood dates back to the Ottoman era with twisting walkways, many shops along with a big public market. It reminded me of the Turkish markets that I had seen before, and many of the shops had a Turkish theme to them.

I enjoyed walking about sampling the lemonade to cool off on these hot days. Turkish coffee, and a bowl of lentil soup with bread was good for lunch. 

I toured the Tvrdina Kale Fortress with its rampart walls and towers high above the city.  It dates back to the Byzantine era and the later Ottoman era, and has recently been used as the backdrop for the popular series “Game of Thrones“.

On the way down from the Fortress, I stopped by the Mustafa Pasha Mosque that was built in 1492. It was beautiful both inside and out.

I continued down to the center of town, crossing the Stone Bridge with its guardian lions, passed by a giant statue with Alexander, the Great on horseback, dominating the scene.

I then made my way to the Memorial House of Mother Theresa. She was born in Skopje, and returned several times during her career spent mostly with the poor in India.

There were pictures of her with the Nobel peace prize official, and with several country leaders in including president  Reagan and Queen Elizabeth.

Across the street was a large Christian church that even had a minaret like those found at Islam mosques.

I was struck by the stark contrast between the woman of peace, Mother Theresa, and the Alexander, the Great statue.

Crossing back over the river, I enjoyed spending a couple hours at the Archeological  Museum.

Following that, I walked a short distance to the Holocaust Museum. The museum covered the history of Jewish settlement in Macedonia. 

The assorted pictures are of the over 8,000 Macedonian Jews, who were sent to the Treblinka death camp, and below is the scroll that is inscribed by those names that were killed by the Nazis.

It also described a lot of detail the deportation 1492 of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, primarily Spain that included this map that shows the dispersion of these Jews, primarily Sephardic Jews

The displays then then focused on how 8,000 Macedonian Jews were sent to the Treblinka death camp to be gassed to death.There were less than 200 that survived the war. 

It also told of other Jews, who either left before the deportation date, were hidden by rescuers that were not Jewish, or joined the resistance to fight against the Nazis and their associates.

It was a pretty unsettling experience for me. 

I then returned to the hostel for a welcome shower after encountering a 90° day, and after that, I returned to a restaurant in the Carsija area for a dinner of a fresh salad along with shish kebabs and three glasses of refreshing lemonade.

In the morning, I walked about 20 minutes to the Skopje Bus Station where I had a meat and cheese pastry, coffee, latte, and lemonade before boarding the bus.

This minibus was overbooked with two people standing for two hours on our way through the border between North Macedonia and Kosovo to Pristina, Kosovo.  I was jammed up next to a nice fellow that looked like a Bulgarian wrestler covered with tattoos and a skin head.

When we arrived at the Pristina, Kosovo Bus Station, we were glad to be out of those cramped quarters.

Sofia, Bulgaria— sleep interrupted —-July 25 – – 27, 2026

National Palace of Culture

Our train arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria about 9 PM. The bus station was situated near the train station, so was going to buy a bus ticket to my next location: Skopje, North Macedonia.

The train station was virtually empty and dark and covered with very well designed graffiti as I made my way to purchase my bus ticket. 

Unfortunately, the ticket office was closed, but a helpful information staff member told me which bus company went to Skopje and that they were two departure times: 7 AM and 5:30 PM

Fortunately, my cell phone was working as was Google Maps as I made my way to The Bla Bla Hostel where I had made reservations for two nights a few days before. I passed by this mosque as it was beginning to get dark.

When I arrived, the receptionist, Dali— he has a droopy mustache like the real Dali—told me although I had made reservations, I couldn’t stay there because I was too old. He asked me if I read the notes on the booking page. I said that I read some, but not much. He said the maximum age here was noted up to 55 years old and older people gave off the wrong vibes.

I told him I was tired, the notification was in small print. I said they should’ve highlighted in the initial description of the Hostel and not buried in pages of text.

Dali tried to call his boss to see if I could stay, but he didn’t connect, but he ended up telling me I  could stay one night, but forfeit the second night.

Instead of a room with eight bunks, Dali upgraded me to one with two bunks, and I immediately went to sleep.

In the morning, i got my five euro key deposit back and headed to The Mostel Hostel for one night.

After a 15 minute walk, I got there about 9:30 AM and the receptionist said I could store my bags there until check-in at 3 PM.  Here’s the bunkbed I stayed in.

I later got a WhatsApp message from the Turquoise Hostel staff back in Romania, that I left behind an electronic device. He agreed to mail it home to me, and I told him I would pay for the shipping via Western Union or PayPal or some other system. I thanked them very much for this help. I’m so glad the manager insisted on getting me added to his WhatsApp file.

As I headed down to the tourist areas, I found a wonderful place for breakfast called 718 Ood where I had a delicious quiche, salad, mango-passionfruit smoothie and coffee latte for €19. Check out the two scorpion patterns on the Café latte.

A great way to start off to start touring Sofia, Bulgaria.

The Mostel Hostel gave me a walking tour map guide, and I used that to see the highlights. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful buildings in Sophia.

Fairly close to my hostel, I found this beautiful walking street loaded with stores and restaurants. I even saw a wedding party with a photographer, busy back, peddling and taking pictures

I stopped at this one called Iuzini Vetar, and had two delicious pork-scallops smothered in a tasty mushroom sauce with another great salad and fries.

I got up early to catch the 7 AM bus to Skopje, North Macedonia with a half-hour walk in the early morning rain. Along the way I got flaky pastry filled with cheese and coffee from a Turkish baker.

The Kaleia bus left right at 7 AM in the rain toward Skopje, North Macedonia. We stopped a few times for bathroom breaks and two immigration border crossings.

It was still raining as we pulled into the Skopje North Macedonia bus Station. From the Bus Station, it was about a 20 minute walk to the Mickitos Urban Hostel.

It is much better to be driving in the rain than touring outside in the rain. This is unexpected weather for summertime.