30 Apr 2015. <RS-KOS> Graçanicë; <MK> Skopje —

We woke up this morning to find that a huge mountain, totally hidden by cloud yesterday, was overlooking our campsite.

Kosovo-Makedonija border control

Today we went on into Makedonija — or the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Again, another border crossing, and another insurance policy to buy — not so cheap this time, €50 for 15 days, again cash only. Interestingly, the Macedonian currency is the Denar, but border insurance requires Euros!

We were wondering why there were no trucks queued up for customs, until we realized that they were diverted into a huge holding area where we suspect they need to set up camp on their way through!

We drove through Skopje, but because we couldn't find a McDonald's or other internet cafe, suitable for van parking, from where we could wish our Jess a Happy Birthday, and check out how find a base of operations for our stay, we decided to continue on towards Bulgaria, in the hope of finding more and better information before we left Makedonija. It would be nice if certain countries made sure that there was good tourist information at roadside stops as you come into the country.

We drove out the E75, aiming towards Sofija in Bulgaria. We stopped off for a break at a service station, and noticed a little monastery up on top of the hill. Warren wandered up, and was soon joined by one of the monks, who opened the chapel up for him, and said he was free to take any photos he wanted. The monastery, dedicated to St George, dates back to 1921, and so all the paintings inside are bright and fresh. A delightful place to stop.

After a break, we continued on, through the township of Kumanovo — where the traffic is possibly more chaotic than anywhere else we have seen, and the roads could have been shipped up directly from Hell — and drove eastwards on the E871 until, just before the border, we found a grassy knoll near the highway where we could settle down for the night. While we were reviewing our day, we decided to retrace our tracks back to Skopje, especially as Warren had found a campsite (at a Best Western Hotel!) via the Garmin, so we will have our base of operations!

A typical haystack, near our camp!

Camped on the 'grassy knoll'

Distance driven — today, 97 miles ( 156 km ); to date, 19,223 miles ( 30,937 km )

29 Apr 2015. <RS> Niš; <RS-KOS> Prishtinë, & Graçanicë —

Today, a lot of driving. The road back from our overnight stop has been virtually unused since the nearby hotel closed, so it's not exactly in the best condition — but it's navigable, and saves paying any toll! We drove south from Niš to a town beyond Prishtinë in Kosovo. We mentioned roadwork yesterday — well today was more of the same. They have a habit here of digging out the old tarmac, but not coming back to fill the hole for some days — and they don't believe in warning signs! Our journey involved a border crossing, and we were informed that our vehicle insurance was not valid in Kosovo, so we had to buy a 15-day policy for our stay — €20, cash only (fortunately we still had a stock of Euros!). But for that, a simple border crossing.

A patchwork road!

Traffic in Prokupije — as bad as the rest of Kosovo!

... but the police are there to tidy up the mess!

Road ditches — unmarked!

We saw a few pairs or trios of cows with cowherd in attendance

and then we reached the Serbija-Kosovo border

Kosovo's houses often have interesting brickwork

Kosovo and Macedonia constitute the Islamic parts
of old Yugoslavia — so a lot of mosques!

Another vote against the Serbian language!

Kosovo looks a lot more prosperous than Serbia!

We went down beyond Prishtinë to Graçanicë, where there is an old monastery. We looked around the monastery, which was a quiet haven, but we found more interest perhaps in the shops in little tin sheds outside. For a minute, we thought we had found an unexpected McDonald's — until we read the sign a little more closely!

Trademark protection means little here!

We continued on southwards, towards Makedonia. The road as we got closer to Makedonia got more and more like the worst of the roads through light industrial areas in Oz!

We pulled off the road into a wide flat area opposite farmland on one side and a restaurant — flying the flags of Kosovo and Albania — on the other. We thought it might be a little noisy, particularly as the condition of the road meant that the tyres of the cars and trucks were not exactly silent — but the traffic died off dramatically as the night went on, and we slept well.

Distance driven — today, 130 miles ( 210 km ); to date, 19,126 miles ( 30,781 km )