Balkans

Sofia

How to get to the City Centre from the Airport

There is a bus from the airport to the city centre, however, I arrived in the night and it was a bit too late for me to cope with only Cyrillic letters and Bulgarian announcements of the stops in the bus. I eventually took a taxi; you should not pay more than 15 to 20 Levi for a taxi to the city centre!

1 Levi ≈ 0.50 €

City Art Gallery

Gurko Street 1

The City Art Gallery is located in the middle of the city and normally displays two different exhibitions. I was actually unlucky and did not really like either of them. However, their entrance fee is only 2 Levi, so there is nothing to lose!

Photosynthesis

Bulevard Vasil Levski 57

This gem is actually hidden within a photo supply store. You have to enter the shop and get up to the second floor and voilà, you will find yourself in a fancy café with delicious coffe.

Café DNK

Bulevard Bulgaria 1
(inside the National Cultural Palace)

To be able to enter this café, you have to enter the main entrance of the National Cultural Palace and go upstairs. This place does not only offer coffe, tea and sweets, but you can also buy books there.

Skopje

How to get from Sofia to Skopje

There is various bus companies which are offering several bus rides to Skopje each day. I took Matpu and paid 28 Levi as a student ( the regular price is 30 Levi).

At Skopje bus station there is also an exchange office where you can get a quite fair rate for exchanging Levi/Euro into Macedonian Denar.

62 MDN ≈ 1 €

Old Bazaar

Bazaar

When you keep walking up the Old Bazaar, you will end up at the current Bazaar. Here you can not only find fresh fruits, vegetables and spices, but also clothing, dishes, tea, coffee, etc.

Piazza Liberta

Dimitrie Chupovski 24

I've had the best hot chocolate in my life at Piazza Liberta. It is not simply milk with chocolate powder, but a thick and liquid chocolate mixture similiar to pudding.

Hot Chocolate 120 MKD

Menada

somewhere on Podragje, Old Bazaar

Menada is a really artsy restaurant in the Old Bazaar and a place where all the young locals meet. Their food is so delicious and you get a lot for the price!

Chips 200 MKD

Oven cheese 150 MKD
Coke 70 MKD

Concept 37

Franklin Ruzvelt 37

Chocolate Cookie Macchiato 110 MKD

Plaza de Toros

Kej 13-ti Noemvri 65

Waffle 140 MKD
Pot of tea 80 MKD

Turist grill

Arhiepiskop Angelarij, Old Bazaar

The name of this place is quite misleading. It is not a tourist place with low quality food - au contraire: Their version of the traditional Macedonian baked beans together with kebab is incredible!

Kebab with baked beans 180 MKD

Pristina

How to get from Skopje to Pristina

I personally was taken to Pristina by a friend of Ines' family who passed by Pristina on the way to Novi Pazar and simply dropped me off in the middle of a motorway. But normally it should be possible to get a bus for approximately 5 € from Skopje bus station.

In Kosovo the official currency is Euro, but still everything is way cheaper than elsewhere in the Eurozone.

Ethnological Museum

I rather ended up at the Ethnological Museum by coincidence and was immediately given a private tour by one of the museum's employees. It was actually a nice way to begin my stay in Kosovo with since I learnt a lot about history and traditions.

Moving Bar

Bajram Curri/ Zagrebi 

The Moving Bar is a rooftop restaurant, café and bar which is supposed to rotate - and of course there was a defect while I was there. Anyway, I had a perfect view of Pristina and a really good Macchiato.

In general, you should definitely try a Macchiato since it is a quite Kosovarian thing; it should normaly not be more than 1€.

How to get to the Airport

There are unfortunately no buses from or to the airport, so the only way to get there is taking a taxi; a reasonable price for a taxi is between 10 to 15€. To prevent them from ripping you off, you should order them by phone and already fix a price beforehand!