Macedonia Square

Mon 300117 - We start our walking tour the next morning.  All the monuments built at the Macedonia Square are huge.

 



This is one of them, a 22 metre high bronze statue of Alexander the Great standing on top of a white marble fountain. 



The statue of Alexander’s father, Philip of Macedonia, with his hand raised.







The statues below that of Philip of Macedonia.



There are statues of Alexander the Great in all of his phases of his life, even starting from the time when his mother was pregnant with him.  This is part of the Skopje 2014 project that cost hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and is not really popular with all Macedonians.









View of one of the bridges built over Vardar River.





We are standing on Stone Bridge and we can see the archeology museum in the background.  The Stone Bridge is considered a symbol of Skopje as it was was build in the Roman Period, during the reign of Emperor Justinian The First and reconstructed by Ottomans.















Found a link to photos of the bridge before Skopje 2014 project.



Kale Fortress is situated on the highest point in Skopje overlooking the Vardar River.





Cifte Amam, an old Turkish bathhouse.  It was the second largest in Skopje from that time. It is now the National Gallery of Macedonia.

To see more photo and know more about Skopje:

Skopje 2014: The new face of Macedonia

Skopje

BIRN's database documenting the cost of Skopje 2014 (in Macedonian).

Around Best Western Hotel Turist

Sun 290117 - The rest of our tour of the Balkans, starting with Skopje, is covered by a local guide and  a local driver arranged by Fez Travel.



Our guide, standing beside me in the photo, is Denis, while the driver is Seko aka Boss. 


Skopje is the capital of the Republic of Macedonia and this is its flag.  We are expecting the weather to be Sunny with temperature ranging from 28℉-43℉ (-2-6℃). 

We are staying at the Best Western Hotel Turist.  



Some places of interest are just right outside the hotel.  Like the Memorial House of Mother Teresa.

  



You can see many interesting sculptures like this along the streets.



A road guide for tourist.

Zagreb, the capital of Croatia

This is where we headed to from London Heathrow Airport.  Other than Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, we will also be touring Dubrovnik during 7th day of the trip.


Map of Croatia found on The University of Texas at Austin website.

Arrival at Pleso Airport in Zagreb at 1145hrs (0645hrs in Malaysia).



The travel agency booked a Superior One-bedroom Apartment (4 Adults) for us at the Meridien Luxury Apartments in Zagreb.



It comes with free wifi (a must when you are traveling), a full kitchen and 2 separate rooms.

One with 1 extra-large double bed.





The other with 2 single beds.



There is a separate toilet on the left hand side of the bathroom.



Hotels in Zagreb have to collect from their guests, a city tax of EUR 1 for each night stay per person. So, we paid 24,50 Kn (RM15.55) for it.