30 January 2017 Hotel Tino, Ohrib

30 January 2017 - According to our itinerary, we were supposed to put up at Hotel Belvedere in Ohrid.  However, as the hotel was closed for winter, we stayed at Hotel Tino.

















The rooms we were given faces the lake.







Breakfast at hotel.

28 January 2017 Best Western Hotel Turist in Skopje

28 January 2017 - We flew to Skopje from Zagreb on Croatia Airlines flight OU366.  Arrived at the airport at 2245hrs.  Guides arranged by Fez Travel took us to Best Western Hotel Turist for our stay in Skopje.

The hotel is a walking distance away of tourist attractions.













Breakfast in hotel.

27 January 2017 Meridien Hotel, Zagreb

27 January 2017 - I will be sharing photos of all the hotels we have stayed in during our trip to The Balkans.  Our journey started with our stay at Meridien Hotel in Zagreb which was booked by CIT as our stay there is not part of the "11 DAYS BALKAN ESCAPE" package.







The room rate does not include breakfast.



There is a kitchen in the master bedroom for us to heat food up or cook if we want to.



A twin bedded room is attached.







Common bathroom for both rooms.



A nice and clean place to stay but there is no elevator so it was good that we were give a room on the first floor.  Shops for food and bakeries are within walking distance.

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).