And how to do this? Details are over at Tripbase here; the abbreviated version is this:

1. Get tagged – huge thanks to Cailin from Travel Yourself for the kind nomination.
2. Determine your 7 links based on the criteria below.
3. Tag 5 other bloggers.

Here goes:

The most beautiful post

This little post on lamenting lost love in the Azores, perhaps. It’s a beautiful, if sad fairy-tale.

The most popular post

Bratislava Street Art. I don’t know… I suppose people simply like street art.

The most controversial post

Geir Halvorsen/flickr’s Creative Commons

Not many controversial posts on Sophie’s World. One that did spark a few reactions – both in comments and in e-mails, was 17 May – Hip hip hooray!. How can a post about a country’s Constitution Day be controversial, you ask? Well, I did detail some of the more debauching antics of Norway’s high school seniors as they celebrate the end of 13 years of school.

The most helpful post

I like taking a narrative approach to the classic ‘Things to do in xxx’-post. I also like to focus on the world’s more curious corners, hoping to give a useful presentation of interesting things to see and do in cities often unsung. Things to do in Skopje is an example.

A post whose success surprised you

A post that has received heaps of attention is The longest place name in the world?. Not exactly sure why, possibly because the title is a question and implying some sort of record (note to self…).

A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved

I don’t really have an answer for this category, as I’m very pleased with any attention. However, if we rephrase just slightly, I’d say that the post on the plight of the stateless Bedoun people is a post I’d like to see spread further. And the timing fits, too. Just today, American Girl, who cares deeply about the Bedoun, posted a thought-provoking comment, asking for tips on how to set up a charity or find educational funds to help Bedoun children go to school. If you click on one of these 7 links, please make it this one! And if you have any experience with charitable work at all and think you can contribute with a good idea or thoughts on where to start, please get in touch with her. Her e-mail address is in the comment.

The post that you are most proud of

Photo courtesy of dubaiairport.com

Hm, proud is a word I find a wee bit uncomfortable. Instead, I’ll mention a post I’m pleased with. I really enjoyed writing these late night observations from Dubai Airport’s Terminal 2. In a city known for glitz and riches (and an airport known for the same), it was interesting to see the simplicity of this terminal which mostly caters to Dubai’s itinerant workers. Terminal 2 is where flights take off for the world’s “bad” places like Kabul, Mogadishu, Bagdad – or unknown places, such as Gheshm, Ahwaz and Ashgabat – on never-before-heard-of-airlines like Queshm Fars Air, Pamir Airways, Jubba Air; even including airlines banned from EU air space.

That concludes my 7 links. Now it’s time to tag five fabulous bloggers. Take it away,

- Amanda from Not a Ballerina
- Vera from A Traveler’s Library
- Natalia from No Beaten Path
- Laura and Roberto from Travel for Love, and
- Geoff from Itinerant Londoner

My 7 links is a post from Sophie's World

“Yeah sure,” he said. “Everyone says they’re writers and journalists. But in reality they’re with a company.”

“And which company would that be,” I asked. Seriously. I had no idea what he meant.

“The CIA,” he replied darkly. Without humour.

Ouch! I hurriedly pointed to my red, distinctly non-US passport, but he was still sceptical. Apparently, Skopje was teeming with undercover agents. Along with quite a few KFOR soldiers who seemed to enjoy, shall we say, a varying degree of popularity among the locals.

So, what to see and do in Macedonia’s little capital? Here are my notes, from a lazy Saturday night and a long Sunday morning nearly three years ago:

Skopje’s Stone Bridge is a major landmark. Originally from the sixth century and reconstructed in the fifteenth, it connects the old and new city. I like this bridge; I walk across it several times. Back and forth. There’s something about old bridges, that somehow brings to life the people who might have crossed in the past. It’s easy to imagine, a poet say, strolling across this bridge on a breezy Saturday evening in April 1708, pondering sentence structure, rhymes, trills and spirants. Perhaps the occasional plosive, even.

A plaque commemorates Karposh, who was executed right here in 1689. Food for thought. On this very bridge, he departed more than 300 years ago. For a place where time doesn’t exist, probably. So, in a sense, I suppose one could say he is being executed now. If there is no time, it’s all now, right? I like that idea. I’m not sure I entirely understand it, but I like it all the same. A bit weird? Blame the bridge. And Macedonian wine.

Macedonian wine may be the reason I feel an impulse to explore below the bridge as well. It’s neither pleasant nor the least bit exciting. It reeks of urine. And the river, sadly, is awash with very unattractive flotsam and jetsam, much of it in blue plastic bags.

On the new side of town is Macedonia Square, a large airy plaza, full of life. At one end is marked the spot where one Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born. Eighteen years later, she left to do God’s work for the rest of her life, most notably in Calcutta. Mother Teresa is one well-loved Macedonian whose nationality isn’t disputed. Not one to talk about herself excessively, she is reputed to have said she felt as a citizen of Skopje, her born city, but she belonged to the world.

Early Sunday morning, I head for Kale Fortress, believed to have been built about 1 500 years ago. Several centuries and a few devastating earthquakes later, the bright red and yellow Macedonian flag waves gaily from one of three remaining towers of this one-time stronghold.

The otherwise cool, labyrinthine set of stairs leading towards Kale is just as malodorous as the area below the Stone Bridge. What is it with this peeing all over the place? It detracts severely from a city’s appeal. Let me hasten to add, though, that this is not a phenomenon unique to Skopje.

According to the receptionist at my accommodation, the grounds of Kale are a choice walking area for locals. No one is here this Sunday morning. I passed a crowded church on the way. That must be where everyone is. At Kale, I’m all alone. Apart, that is, from two very large crows and some pigeons, digging into leftover pieces of bread. Sitting by a fountain on a bench with only one of four boards left to sit on, I try not to think about who may have peed where I’m now resting my bum. Instead I focus on the view. Down below, the river Vardar flows gently through the city. A tiger-striped cat joins me on the bench, apparently not too concerned with who’s been there before.

I potter about for the better part of an hour, ending up at the ruins of a pretty rotunda. Pretty on the outside, that is. Inside, graffiti tells me to “Fuck Fashist Securities”. Also, two young lovers were here 02.02.2008 and inscribed their names within a heart. Don’t know if they were the ones to leave a soiled pair of underpants thrown casually into a corner, next to a discarded condom and a disposable razor (!)

The rotunda has sheer drops to one of the sides and no guard rails. Watch out if you bring the kids – or if you’re drunk. Or with enemies.

At the bottom of Kale hill, lies the old bazaar. I amble around the streets and stairways of Ottoman Skopje for a while, watching shops opening, café owners setting out menu boards, a cat stretching lazily in a sunny spot. I love watching cities wake up.

Crossing a busy road, I detect a whiff of 1980s Eastern Europe. I remember it from St. Petersburg, back when it was Leningrad; from East Berlin, Budapest, Warsaw… Now it’s no longer noticeable in these cities. I’m told it has to do with the fuel of old Ladas, and some of these do pass by. I don’t think it’s only exhaust fumes, though. It also smells of soap, a rough kind of soap. And sweat. And dark tobacco.

The Old Railway Station is a natural follow-up to Kale. The building is left as a partial ruin. The wall clock has stopped at 05.17. That’s when a shattering earthquake hit on 27 July 1963. Inside is The City Museum, filled with artefacts found during excavations at Kale; some amazingly well preserved, almost intact.

I gaze at reconstructed faces based on preserved skulls found in the fortress. One of them looks eerily like one of my old teachers. I wonder what their lives were like and what they thought about. Also, I can’t help but wonder if the men of medieval Skopje peed everywhere. I bet they didn’t. They probably had designated areas for that, so as not to gross out the women folks and be smacked about the ears.

In conclusion, Skopje is mostly a charming city with friendly people; a city with potential. I’ll take the liberty of suggesting a few improvements to the city authorities, though: put up rubbish bins and set severe fines for throwing rubbish in the streets and the river, prohibit plastic bags, and last, but not least, outlaw and severely fine urinating in public. Take care of that and Skopje will soon see more visitors than KFOR soldiers.

Skopje

This is an excerpt, somewhat reworked – of my Boots’n'All article Passing time in Skopje.

Things to do in Skopje is a post from Sophie's World

Ambling around Skopje one balmy April night last year, I spotted a large crowd on Macedonia Square, gathered around a photo of a young, ruggedly handsome man with the caption 1981 – 2007. The picture was placed in a large bed of flowers, encircled by lit candles. Nearby, young and old queued to buy 10-dinar-candles. Some bought 10, some 20.

The sad demise of Elvis of the Balkans

Asking a group of teens, I was told he was Tose Proeski, a singer, killed in a car accident in Croatia half a year earlier. The Macedonian government promptly declared 17 October, the day after his death, a national day of mourning.

Tose Proeski, they said, performed Macedonia’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004 and was named by the BBC as the Elvis of the Balkans.

Tose was more than a pop star. He worked passionately to bring children of the troubled Balkans together, across ethnic groups and religions. For this effort, he was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and received the Mother Theresa Humanitarian Award. And he received a state funeral!

So 6 months after his untimely death, he was still fondly remembered every Saturday night here on Macedonia Square. This took me quite by surprise. Back home in Scandinavia, this would be very unlikely to happen. I suppose we’re just not given to worshiping anyone – living or dead. Yet, this evening, I suddenly found myself in the candle queue. Mass suggestion? I don’t know… At least, I restrained myself to one candle.

In October 2008, a year after his death, a Tose Proeski memorial concert was held and earlier this year, a square in Skopje was built and named in his honour. That’s how loved he was.

Today, a year later, I shouldn’t be surprised if candles are still lit on Macedonia Square in his memory. And me – well, I’m strangely drawn to this man, his voice and his story.

Here’s to you, Tose:

Skopje

Elvis of the Balkans is a post from Sophie's World

Returning from Kosovo, Alex, my driver, complains about fuel prices. Who doesn’t? Yet, he has better cause than many of us. At Aktiva Petrol on the outskirts of town, unleaded 95 octane petrol cost 65,5 dinars per litre. 1 Euro = 61 dinars: that’s pretty expensive for a country where salaries are low and unemployment, according to UNDP, is more than 35%. Alex furthermore tells me a job in a store in Macedonia pays 200 Euros per month, while the same job in the same chain in Greece pays 1,500 Euros per month. People feel this is very unfair, he says.

The Macedonian naming dispute

That’s not the only trouble they have with their neighbour to the south. Earlier this year, Greece rejected Macedonian entry into NATO and will likely do the same when the question of EU membership arises. The two nations are at strife over a word, specifically the name Macedonia, also the name of Greece’s northernmost province.

Arriving in Skopje’s Aleksandar the Great airport, you’re welcomed to the Republic of Macedonia. The Greeks worry that if the country is allowed to use Macedonia as its official name, it will pave the way for expansion further south. Moreover, the Greeks are none too pleased at the suggestion that said Alexander the Great was a
Macedonian rather than a Greek Macedonian.

Skopje’s Alexander the Great airport

Just like Kosovo, Macedonia is at a bit of a standstill regarding future membership in international organizations. After two unsuccessful applications, the country was finally allowed to join the UN in 1993, providing they didn’t use the name Republic of Macedonia, but rather the long, awkward-sounding provisional name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – FYROM, for short. Because of the naming dispute (covered in my Skopje article and in much more detail in Wikipedia), Greece has successfully hindered Macedonia’s membership in other organizations. FYROM is also still the country’s internationally recognized name, but that doesn’t stop Macedonia from dropping FY and retaining only ROM.

Last April, I visited Skopje. About the same time, NATO’s Bucharest summit decided not to issue an invitation to Macedonia to join the organization because of Greek objections. A year later, curious to see whether there has been any developments, both regarding future EU and NATO membership, and relations with Greece, this is what I’ve gleaned:

Macedonia is a candidate country for the EU

Like Kosovo, Macedonia is an EU candidate country. Furthermore, as of one month ago, Macedonia is an eligible country within EU’s Europe for Citizens programme.

As far as the naming dispute is concerned, the latest seems to be a proposal from October 2008, suggesting the country may use the name Republic of Macedonia internally. For official purposes, it is to be called Republic of North Macedonia. This, apparently, is not acceptable to Macedonians. Their solution might be to allow Greece to use the name Republic of Macedonia (Skopje), as long as this is OK with the Macedonians (to be decided through a referendum). It seems they want to keep the issue under their control. Who says names aren’t important!

The naming dispute hasn’t hindered trade between Greece and Macedonia

As for relations with Greece, the naming dispute hasn’t hindered trade. Bilateral relations between the two neighbours are continually improving – as long as nobody mentions the name issue. Talking to Macedonians last April, though, I got the impression they didn’t trust the Greeks. Furthermore, there seemed to be a feeling of inequality. The salary issue above was cited as an example.

Other countries are in the picture as well

To complicate things further, there are also large Macedonian populations within the borders of Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo. It will be interesting to see how all this folds out in the EU family when everyone’s in. And it’s bound to happen. The only really relevant question is when.

Skopje

The Macedonian naming dispute is a post from Sophie's World

In January, we spent an entire week in the same place. That’s pretty rare, as I get restless after a few days. This hotel was a boat, though, the M/S Helio, cruising along the Nile.

Fave hotels in Eastern Europe

In the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – oh, what the hell, let me be politically incorrect and call it Macedonia – I stayed one night at the Stone Bridge Hotel in Skopje. The hotel was nice; the main draw being its location right by – you guessed it – Skopje’s very cool, 6th century Stone bridge and only metres from the old bazaar and the old fort. 5500 MKD (ca 90 EUR/125 USD)

Going to Moldova, Alex and I had to spend a night in Latvia as the outbound flights didn’t connect on the same day. We stayed at Homestay Riga, a great rambling guest house a bit out of town, run by Diga Daga. Good price as well – for LVL 40 (ca 55 EUR/80 USD) we got separate bed rooms, large ones – and a huge breakfast.

Our most interesting overnight in 2008 was spent in a private flat belonging to a lovely woman named Lubov in Tiraspol, capital of the internationally unrecognized state of Transdniestr, where the Soviet Union is still alive and kicking. It was weird and wonderful to go “home” to a Soviet block-of-flats, watching children play and old women knit outdoors in the late afternoon sunshine. Arranged through Marisha, it cost 30 EUR for the two of us.

When planning our summer holidays in Wales and England, T’yn Rhos Country House near Caernarvon showed up on a web search. As I foolishly planned to see heaps, I booked only one night. When Cat saw our room, she immediately demanded a long stay. We ended up staying 3 nights in this charming house in Northern Wales. At GBP 110 pr night (for the three of us), it was a bit of a splurge.

In mysterious Hay-on-Wye, we had a huge 2-bedroom apartment all to ourselves for GBP 90, including breakfast and free use of the pool (!) at the B & B Seven Stars. A big plus: the owners didn’t bother with incessant talking during breakfast.

On the Salisbury Plain, we stayed two nights at The George, a 13th century pilgrims hostelry in the centre of Amesbury. Today, it’s a large, somewhat rowdy hotel. Birthday celebrations in the bar downstairs kept us awake through most of a Saturday night. But we had a good sleep after a 5 a.m. visit inside the stone circle at Stonehenge, only a few minutes drive away. And GBP 60 pr night for a very large room wasn’t too bad.

In Republika Srpska, I stayed at Hotel Viv in the centre of Trebinje. Nice, clean room, helpful staff – a good deal for 30 EUR. Most memorable experience: After a look at early morning Trebinje from my balcony, I walked back into my room, only to discover a young naked man asleep on my bed. A dream, you say? Not so. Trouble was, the bed had moved to the other side of the room. Turns out the balcony was shared, and he obviously didn’t mind sleeping with his door open. Partly afraid of getting caught staring at this gorgeous creature, partly curious, I stood there a good minute before I had the decency to get out.

On fairy-tale Prince Edward Island in Canada, we stayed two nights at Fitzroy Hall, a Lonely Planet recommended B & B in the sweet little capital Charlottetown. It was a beautifully restored Victorian townhouse, but pricey at a 202 CAD pr night (tax incl.) Breakfast was delicious; a bit difficult getting away.

Less personal, but at half the price, the large, beautiful Loyalist Country Inn in Summerside (also on PEI) was a better deal. Plus for the large swimming pool, a life-saver when travelling with children.

Our favourite stay in Canada during the autumn break, was Spinnaker Inn in UNESCO-listed Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. For 140 CAD (tax incl.), we got a split-level suite with excellent views of charming Lunenburg harbour. Plus for the extra large upstairs bed, super-plus for the very large bath room and super-super plus for the whirlpool bath tub. Very child friendly.

11 fave hotels of 2008 is a post from Sophie's World