When Skopje Was Painted: A Peaceful Protest

Our Balkan trip is one of our favourites. We saw some extraordinary places and ate very well, but what made it special was the people. Here, Lowri Thomas and Jamie Jenks of Many Other Roads describe arriving in Skopje in the middle of the colourful protest, and share what they would tell anyone planning a budget trip to Northern Macedonia.

Arrival, and a taxi driver called Sasho

We landed in Skopje hot, tired and completely overwhelmed. We also had no idea where our apartment was, which is not the state you want to be in when you step out of a terminal in a city you have never visited.

As we left the building, a taxi driver came over and asked whether we needed help. That was Sasho, and our meeting with him is something we will remember for a long time.

He was our first glimpse of Macedonian kindness. On the drive to the apartment he asked about our trip and what we planned to see. We told him Lake Ohrid was next on the list. He then described the places we should stop at on the way, and offered to drive us there himself in two days. How could we say no?

A new city, covered in paint

When we reached the apartment, the first thing we noticed was how clean and new the city looked. Within minutes we were asking each other the obvious question: why is it covered in paint?

We had walked into the colourful revolution of Northern Macedonia without knowing it existed. The protest followed President Gjorge Ivanov's decision to pardon a number of politicians caught up in a huge scandal. What people wanted, at the bottom of it, was change.

The city had become a rainbow. Every wall carried colour, and the paint said what the people felt. It struck us as a simple act with a great deal of meaning behind it, and as an expression of national pride as much as of anger.

We watched from above as it unfolded. Then a text arrived from Sasho, checking that we were all right. He had also worked out that we should leave the city the following day: more and more roads were being closed, and soon it would be impossible to reach our next destination. He arranged it for us.

What we took away

The way Sasho took us under his wing was the core of every person we met in Northern Macedonia: kind, friendly and welcoming. That is the real reason the country belongs on a traveller's list. The sights are excellent, but the people are what we talk about.

Things to do in Northern Macedonia

If you are building an itinerary, these are the places we would put first.

• The Old Bazaar in Skopje. Wander the lanes, buy handmade crafts and drink fresh coffee. It is the clearest place to see what the Ottoman empire left behind, and the best introduction to the city's layers.
• Skopje Fortress. The best views in the city, free to enter, and full of corners worth photographing. If you want a stop afterwards, try the Austrian Palace.
• The Memorial House of Mother Teresa. Free, and one of the best things to do in Skopje on a wet afternoon. An hour is enough, and you come out knowing far more about her life than you did going in.
• The Church of Saint John the Theologian, Lake Ohrid. The view from here is one of those that stops a conversation. We have not found many in Europe to beat it.
• Local wine. Good, and very kind to a budget. If you would rather taste widely, a food tour is an easy way to work through the local dishes.

Why it works on a budget

Northern Macedonia is the sort of destination people mean when they talk about going somewhere less travelled: welcoming, full of views, and inexpensive enough that a week does not need to be planned around money. It will change how you see Europe, and it will probably change how you plan the next trip too.

About the authors

Many Other Roads is a travel blog written by the Welsh couple Lowri Thomas and Jamie Jenks. With years of European road trips behind them, they share in-depth knowledge and advice for travellers who want to get on the road themselves. Their honest accounts of personal travels, usually with their Border Collie Scout, are designed to help others avoid the mistakes they made and to get the best out of Europe. Every post comes with original photographs, so readers can see the real place rather than the brochure version.