MACEDONIA- 'Hiking makes you knowledgeable' ;)

Are you up for stories about hikes, wild climbs, kamikaze adventures, lonely caves and even more hiking?

Then don't click away and read on! :)

I didn't count the pictures attached above, but since it's currently taking a long time to load them, there will definitely be more than 5.

And you can also skip this step and opt for the many words instead of the many photos. 😃

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So, first of all:

ZDRAVO!

You can probably guess.

-That's 'Hello' in Macedonian.

(At the same time, it's the only word I've learned in those days and yet, by the way, I haven't used it once.)

But I'll start from the beginning:

I like humans.

Really.

I like having her around.

So not all of them.

Actually, very few of them.

Most of you know:

My real circle of friends is so small that I wouldn't even call it a circle.

It's much more of a point.

A friend point.

However, I really enjoy sharing beautiful things.

That's why I usually travel with at least two people.

And this adventure wasn't actually supposed to be a solo trip either.

Well, things were supposed to be different.

Spoiler:

It was the best thing that could ever happen!

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I was incredibly excited when it started.

So excited and euphoric.

Out of the comfort zone, into a country that I have spent 20 minutes dealing with when it comes up.

I booked a huge lodge for the first few nights.

High up with a view over the mountains and the Matka Canyon.

However, I only arrived at night.

I think it was around 1 o'clock.

And I couldn't even see my hand in front of my eyes, it was so dark.

That's why I was even more amazed when I opened my eyes the next day and saw THIS!

What can I tell you, you can see for yourself.

I don't know if you share my enthusiasm.

It never comes across like that in pictures anyway.

And I've never been to any mountains.

I maybe know the Teufelsberg, I know Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg.

And yes, I've traveled a lot around the world, but only ever somewhere near the sea.

I thought it was simply stunning.

I was dead tired after only 3.5 hours of sleep.

But I was way too excited and so full of energy that I didn't want to stay in the accommodation for a minute longer.

After a turbo shower and brushing my teeth in the middle of the most beautiful scenery in the world, I just wanted to get going.

Unfortunately, my own stupidity kept me up for quite a long time that morning.

Where were my sunglasses?

I know for a fact that I still had them at the airport in Berlin.

And on the plane I still had it in my hand.

Or?!

Maaannnn!

She was just gone!!!

You know, I really have a thing with sunglasses.

I do not know what it is.

My wear and tear is so high that I now have difficulty counting my losses.

And the way they disappear or break is sometimes so absurd and strange that no one would believe me.

Not really.

I wrote to Ilja, the host of the lodge.

Maybe it was in the car he picked me up in from the airport.

But since it was still very early, I was prepared for the fact that he wouldn't answer me until much later.

Spoiler:

Then he really did.

It wasn't in the car, but he was kind enough to put his own in my house in the afternoon so I wouldn't be so blinded by the sun.

You can call it nice or pretty stupid. ;)

But well, he didn't know anything about me

'Sunglasses thing'.

PS: Guess who still didn't have their sunglasses back at the end of my trip...

As quickly as I got into my frustration with glasses, I got out of it just as quickly and I left the house with my heart pounding.

And suddenly found yourself in a fairytale world.

Everything seemed so unreal to me.

I was the only person for miles around.

I heard a moo every now and then, but other than that there was nothing.

Just this stark landscape.

The damn fresh air.

Hills, rock faces, lush green.

And the sun.

Like my big grin, it accompanied me virtually the entire day.

It took a little while to get back to a paved road from the lodge.

You don't even have direct neighbors up there.

But more on that later...

In any case, when I got to the bottom and without a specific destination, I decided to go left first.

I just followed the stream for a few minutes.

Not a car anywhere.

That changed when I first heard the sound of an engine, then saw the car drive past and finally heard braking.

A little girl rolled down the window.

Behind it, a man leaned forward and asked, in even worse English than I speak, whether he should give me a ride to the bus station.

No thanks.

You can kidnap and rob me AFTER your vacation.

Now I would like to see something else first.

No seriously, that was incredibly nice and of course I declined because I didn't want to take the bus, but it gave me a really great feeling.

Nevertheless, after this encounter I changed my mind and went back in the opposite direction.

And that was just spot on.

After about half an hour I came to a dam.

From there the path got a little steeper, but every single step was worth it.

The valley opened up.

Steep slopes rose far up to the left and right.

I was already getting a stiff neck from staring.

The water is everywhere in between.

Blue, green, turquoise, glittery.

And I'm somewhere in the middle.

It was an almost magical aura.

I already said before, simply a fairytale world!

I just ran.

I ran and was amazed.

I soaked it all up.

Wow, it was all beautiful!

I don't know how long I hiked, but I just thought it was crazy.

Everything.

However, I had a vague idea in the back of my mind that there would be caves somewhere that could only be reached from the water.

So, for better or worse, I had to go back to the boat rental that I had seen behind the dam.

Of course they first wanted to offer me a tourist tour on a larger motorboat with two dozen other people who left there every half hour, but:

No no, not with me, ma fränd!

I am self-sufficient and want to stay that way.

I asked for a kayak and wanted to know how many kilometers it was to the cave.

4 kilometers sounded doable.

Especially when the boat guy said I looked like a basketball player, so tall and athletic, I didn't see any problems with my plan. ;))

(Eyyy! He really said that.)

Maybe I underestimated the slight current and the fact that I couldn't even take a short rest without being pushed to the edge...but I got there.

At some point I really arrived.

But the whole trip I just thought how crazy this was.

How beautiful.

These sheer cliffs all around me.

Every now and then a boat and everyone waves.

And actually I always find it a little strange when strangers wave, but in fairytale land you can do that... ;)

Anyway, I reached the cave after about 2 hours.

And only by getting my feet wet.

Fuck! That was cold!!

But But But

I've never experienced anything like this.

Since I set out on this adventure alone and caught a time window in which no other boat was docking, I was completely alone.

The entrance to the cave promised excitement.

And from the first moment the cool, humid climate of the cave touches your skin, you feel like you're in another world!!

The ceiling was high.

You had to go down a long, very slippery staircase.

I was basically swallowed.

The darkness was so intense it was almost tangible.

The silence was so deep it was almost audible. Only interrupted by the dripping of water and the echo of my own breathing.

I really don't have the words to describe what I felt.

There were limestone formations everywhere that had formed over thousands of years.

They were reminiscent of fascinating sculptures.

The middle of the cave was colorfully lit.

So subtle that you could almost have thought the colorful shimmer was natural.

Basically the cave consists of 2 chambers.

One that you can walk through and a chamber that is under water.

In fact, it is said that it could be one of the deepest underwater caves in the world and definitely the deepest in Europe.

Unfortunately, no one has managed to submerge them yet.

The best diver has 'only' reached a depth of around 230 meters.

But it will probably go down infinitely deeper...

I have no idea how long I let this scenario play out.

In any case, when I heard other voices, it drove me back to the surface.

Back in the kayak.

Back to work.

I took a little more time than on the way there and let everything sink in.

I was stock still when I arrived at the boat rental.

There wasn't much left of the athletic basketball player, I'll tell you like it is.

But I was happy.

And that's all that matters!! :)

...

I was actually approached several times afterwards by various people who met me looking for something to eat.

For example, a woman from Moldova wanted to know how I was doing after my 'experience'.

She would have seen me from the motorboat.

Oh, no problem, it doesn't matter to me.

I'm a sporty mouse.

No, seriously.

The next night wasn't funny.

Regardless of the fact that I was suddenly extremely scared, all alone in this big house... on a mountain... with no neighbors... I really only survived the hours until morning with a lot of painkillers.

Current status of muscle soreness:

I still have to turn around in stages.

Also That night I didn't sleep as much as I should and in the morning I had pain in places I didn't even know I had.

All in all I was walking at a rather slow pace, but that changed when I left the house after the obligatory shower.

Smarter because of Ouch?

-not with me!

Well, no one can get me into the kayak for now, but I really wanted to go back to where I left the day before and see where the path would take me.

Said and done.

I started running.

Along the hiking trail.

Right on the rock walls.

Sometimes there was a handrail.

But sometimes not.

Sometimes the path was so wide that two people could easily walk past each other.

Sometimes not.

Sometimes it was only 3 meters downhill.

Unfortunately, sometimes the canyon would kill you if you don't watch where you step.

I would like to show you pictures of it here, but I'm more attached to my phone than my life.

That's why I did the most suicidal actions and climbed wherever I could and kicked my fear of heights in the ass so many times that day, but I usually had my cell phone in my pocket for protection and therefore didn't take any pictures the moments.

I've walked so far.

I was sweating so much.

It was easily 35 degrees.

I ran until a fence signaled me

'until here and not further!'

And That was good in many ways because I was pressed for time and I also felt like I would have been running forever otherwise.

In fact, I just couldn't stop.

Always wanted to know what was coming around the next turn.

Whether there is another piece of forest around the next corner or whether you have to press yourself against rocks to move forward.

I didn't want to miss any views that might open up there.

The whole panorama was just too stark.

It went up and down.

About stones.

Over winding paths.

Over slippery forest floors.

I often slipped and it was a miracle that I didn't fall.

For over half an hour no one came towards me or came after me.

Nobody went that far that day.

IT WAS PERFECT.

I still had to go back. :(

...

And since I've already written so much, I'll skip a bit at this point, end the Matka Canyon chapter and start a new one, which is called: SKOPJ E.

I was supposed to spend the last 2 nights here.

I had chosen a hotel boat to accommodate me and I was really excited.

On the city. To the hotel. On everything.

I was sad to leave the fairytale world, but also happy to be back in civilization.

Glad to somehow have people around me at night.

The area around the ship couldn't have been better.

Central & super beautiful.

I had everything you need here.

Restaurants, supermarkets, bars and statues everywhere.

Guys, Skopje is full of them.

Macedonia is such a poor country.

And everything is probably missing.

Except for statues.

No matter where you look.

These parts are everywhere.

And if you blink for a moment and open your eyes again, a new one has probably already been built...

I didn't do much except sleep.

Because here too I arrived relatively late.

But the next morning I was already done showering and having breakfast at 8:30.

Standing still is death!!

I knew roughly where I wanted to go, but HOW wasn't entirely clear to me.

That day I wanted to go to the Millenium Cross, which is at the top of Mount Vodno.

Not because I'm particularly religious, but because I just found this work so impressive in the pictures I saw.

Or rather, because I was overcome by curiosity when I spotted it from Skopje at night.

I need to improve myself:

I've even seen it from the plane.

It's just huge and with the lighting you just can't miss it

I knew there was an option to take a cable car to the top.

However, the station is quite high up, so I decided to take a taxi and then take the cable car to get further.

The first ride on the 'lift' should take place at 10 a.m.

The taxi stopped at the station around 9:30.

By the way, the journey in the car alone took us to a height that made my ears pop for a moment.

Astonishing!

So I said 'Bye' and quickly got myself an iced tea from the only stand far and wide.

No other people to be seen.

Hmmm.

Me in English:

When does the station open?

The lady in English:

Not at all. Construction site.

So Google lied.

I:

And how long does it take to walk?

She:

1 hour.

I looked at the cross, which you could see sticking out a little high up.

A little suspicious.

But it's good if she says so...

1 hour. No thing.

Of course I could have bought myself some water.

But I could have also put on real shoes that day.

Instead, I started running like this.

Already 33 degrees at 10 a.m.

In pines.

And without water.

But hey.

It just wasn't planned that way. :))

It was a paved path.

Similar to a serpentine road on an island.

Things just kept going uphill.

Sometimes more, sometimes less steep.

But always uphill.

After just 30 minutes I was cursing my negligence towards myself.

Water !

I needed water so bad!!

😆

No matter, couldn't change it.

Go on.

Every now and then I saw the cross between the treetops, but just one bend further on it disappeared and I had the feeling that I was moving further and further away from it.

The hour had now been reached and I was further away from my destination than the North Pole was from the South Pole.

I think I was just moaning and groaning now.

I can't say exactly because the loud music in my ears accompanied this monumental situation.

Anyway, I was soaking wet.

At some point a narrow forest path opened up on the side.

No sign, no notice, just nothing.

And of course you don't walk in the dark.

Of course, you don't go into an unknown area of the forest without a plan of where or if you'll get out again.

So I preferred to continue following the official road.

Yes, exactly!

As if.

On the forest path I asked myself for the first time whether my chosen footwear might not have been a bit unsuitable for this mission.

Maybe I was a bit unreasonable to do this marathon without water.

Whether I might not be completely closed anymore.

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It was damn steep.

Damn rocky.

And damn exciting.

And I can only keep repeating:

It wasn't planned that way.

And at some point, after a long time (similar to the kayak) I really arrived.

At some point the forest path led me directly to my destination.

Right in front of me is the Millennium Cross

It is approximately 66 meters high.

A steel framework in the shape of a cross.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

'The cross is a symbolic construct. The foundation consists of four pillars, corresponding to the four evangelists . The basement has 12 columns corresponding to the 12 apostles . The cross is built of 33 floors. This corresponds to the 33 years of Jesus' life.'

I was probably grinning completely crazy when I finally arrived.

I was dirty and even had sand on my face.

(Don't ask, I don't know myself)

But I had finally made it to the summit.

It was planned for the 2000th anniversary of Christianity and built shortly afterwards.

Believe it was inaugurated in 2002.

I thought it was a shame that you couldn't go up, that was possible in the past, but my body is certainly very grateful for it. ;)

The fact is, the hike was awesome.

The surroundings and the general view over the city were breathtaking.

Despite all the hardships, it couldn't have been a nicer morning.

I chilled for another hour, took pictures, then slowly made my way down because I still had plans for the day.

And oh well.

Because I am who I am, this time I followed a small arrow that (of course) didn't point in the direction of an asphalt road...

Looking back, I think:

It probably wasn't particularly smart.

I may have said that out loud to myself after a few minutes.

It was steep.

So that's right.

I sometimes had to crawl backwards on all fours because I had no grip at all.

I was in the middle of the forest.

On a mountain.

On a trail that was certainly not suitable for tired city dwellers like me.

Heard nothing but my panting and heartbeat.

I climbed more than I ran.

Going downhill seemed so much more strenuous than going uphill.

I still had to laugh.

I had stories in my head about the true crime stuff that I always fall asleep to.

Stories of women who disappear while hiking.

And never show up again.

And if then dead.

Killed by some stranger.

But it's probably more realistic that I die 'by my own hand'.

Cause of death: stupidity.

😆

Nope, I'm not ready yet.

There is still so much to see.

And I did it too.

Sometime.

And I even had perfect timing because when I got back to the starting point there was a bus that took me back to the city.

After an ice-cold shower, I headed off to my obligatory vacation appointment and then the day was basically over.

The next morning I had no plan at all.

So really none.

I just went for it.

And I had often been able to see a small part of a former fortress that was very close by and that day I was spontaneously drawn in that direction.

It was so cool to just go with the flow.

Here, too, I was not disappointed with what presented itself at the end.

And I was increasingly certain that no one in their right mind would willingly take part in ANYTHING (or anything at all).

It was a good thing that I was alone from start to finish!

With all my crazy excursions on this trip.

With all my incredibly stupid ideas.

With all the selfies at dizzying heights.

At no time did I feel lonely or want anyone by my side. (excluding the one night in the lodge)

In a way, this was the most beautiful and intense journey of my life so far.

And definitely not the last one alone!

And because I haven't said anything about a few things yet.

And because I've already written way too much.

And because I actually really need to sleep, here are just a few bullet points:

The Macedonians are pretty nice.

Sometimes a little inattentive.

But never intrusive.

The taxi drivers I met were all scammers.

The food is absolutely delicious and very cheap.

The beer is tasty.

There are street dogs everywhere.

Everyone is really nice, but mostly rather indifferent when it comes to people.

Mother Theresa was born in Skopje.

all in all:

I didn't expect anything and I'm overwhelmed.

And.

By the way.

Just one:

I just found THIS HERE in an article on the internet when I wanted to read up on exactly when the Millennium Cross was built again

"...Difficult hike. Very good physical condition required. Good sure-footedness, sturdy shoes and alpine experience necessary..."

Ha!!!!!!!

So:

If you want to experience something, just come with me.

You may regret it, but you will like it. ;)

OVER & OU T.