First Impressions



 We had been told that Skopje, the capital of NoMac, had some of the worst pollution in Europe and to not expect to see much sunshine in the winter months. Coal and wood burning stoves are still used in much of the country. So I was not surprised that our drive into the city from the airport was pretty grey and bleak. Our very pleasant driver, Rubin, did not speak much English.  We had a bit of difficulty finding the apartment that we are renting because many of the street names had changed and google maps had not reflected that. Not a good sign for newcomers to the city! We called the landlord who guided Rubin to the right  location. We entered a dark lobby with what appeared to be a bunch of broken  high school lockers covered in graffiti. The landlord, Kristin, greeted us and brought us up on small elevator to a dark hall. Not feeling very good about this at all....

But the apartment is very nice, lots of light, modern kitchen and bath, two tiny bedrooms (one room is as big as a queen mattress with enough room to open the door to get in and out. And we have a lovely view of  Jesus and what appears to be the space shuttle launch pad from our balcony. 



Exhausted from a long flight from Boston to Frankfurt, six hour layover in Frankfurt and a three hour flight to Skopje, we  went to bed early....and set the alarm for an early flight to Istanbul the next day. 


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