Busy Day

After a great night's sleep, I was up and got ready for my day.  After updating my blog, Tanja had prepared  delicious breakfast and I ate well.  I was told to "put my walking shoes on" because I was going to join Toni and a longtime friend of his and go for a walk down by the River Vardar.  This river winds through the city of Skopje and has a great walking/riding trail beside it. There were also periodically set up "mini gyms"" where guys could do pull ups, sit ups, etc. using the metal bars set up there.  It was a beautiful day for a walk, the sky was slightly overcast and a good breeze was blowing.  I walked for a total of 3 hours, and saw an amazing display of old monuments, and new construction.  Some of the sites I saw included the oldest stone bridge in Skopje, a huge monument to Alexander the Great (did you  know that ATG's dad was born in Skopje?), beautiful fountains, the Castle Kale (pronounced K AW LAY), the American Embassy, tons of businesses and restaurants, and even the Memorial House of Mother Teresa... did you know that Mother Teresa was born in Skopje, too? Well, she was!

After walking for so long and far, Toni asked I would like to try one of the drinks of Skopoje, and I asked if it was as strong as the whiskey I had last night and he laughingly said no!  It was actually a drink made from corn, and it is called boza.  We went to a special shop and ordered boza along with a couple of pastries, baklava and another delicacy dripping in honey called tulumba.  Talk about SWEET!  I thought I was going to share them with someone, but noooooo, I had one of each to myself!  Delicious!

 And no, the eclairs were NOT mine!  When we finished eating we continued walking and learning about the history of Skopje, and Macedonia.  Did you know that there was an earthquake that hit Skopje in 1963?  It destroyed many buildings, and one building that has a clock on the front of it actually STOPPED at the exact time that the earthquake hit!  Such a plethora of information and sites to see today.  We finally turned back to walk back to the car (YEA! my feet were saying!).  Made it back to our starting point and said good bye to Toni's friend, Goran, and his dog, Luna.

We zipped (literally) back by the house and picked up Tanja and headed off to Canyon Matka, a beautiful canyon
just about 15-20 minutes from their home.  An absolutely breath taking view of the mountains, canyon, and the river Treska.  As we hiked back, under a canopy of cool, green trees, we breathed in the wonderful fresh, clean air. As we hiked on further, I was privileged to see the rustically beautiful St. Andrew church that was built in 1389!  It was so rich in beauty and steeped in history.  Tanja had me light a candle to bring health and happiness to my family.  Then she lit a candle as well and put ours side by side to show the joining of our two families.  What a powerful statement that makes!  Headed back home soon after that and took a power nap then got up and ate a wonderful dinner.  (Do you see a LOT of references to me eating already??? - could be trouble for my waistline down the road!  lol.) Anyway, my day is not over yet, we still have a wedding we get to go to tonight!  I am told that I will learn a Macedonian folk dance, and dance the night away!  So more on that later!