"Macedonia" a FYR of Macedonia Travel Page by Natrix

I've been to Macedonia three times now. I just returned from a longer stay in Skopje and I must say: this time I really fell in love with the country!

Macedonia is a small country with breathtaking mountain landscapes and beautiful lakes. It used to be a part of former Yugoslavia, but gladly separated peacefully.
Situated in the Balkans, Macedonia has been at the crossroads of different cultures for many centuries. This cultural variety is one of the most attractive things about the country. Macedonia borders to Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Kosovo and has a large Albanian minority and other small ethnic groups.

As you may know Macedonia was at the brink of civil war in 2001 due to an Albanian uprising, which is largely portrayed as a spillover effect of the conflict in Kosovo.
Today things seem more relaxed and a new conflict is unlikely, but not impossible. (Slavic) Macedonians like to deny that there's any discrimination in their country and like to put it as if the conflict was caused by Western countries in the first place. While everybody is trying to sell a different truth, the segregation and hostility between different communities is too obvious sometimes.
I've given up trying to make sense of these things, also of the issue with Greece. Nationality is an empty and stupid concept and I'm trying simply not to think in these terms anymore. I've met many wonderful people in Macedonia of different ethnicities and I'm sick and tired of prejudices and stereotypes...

The economic situation in Macedonia is quite bad with high employment and widespread poverty. Many people are in a state of depression. Nepotism is for a large part root of the problem. Macedonia is hoping to become an EU-member though and has great potential as an agricultural country - I miss the wonderful fresh fruit and salads!

In spite of some critical thougths - don't get me wrong - I really love this country! I prefer small countries in general and Macedonia is a very pretty one! Coming from Germany, I also appreciate the culture: People are usually very helpful and sincere. They don't strictly follow the rules, but they're considerate. You can find friends easily and cafés and restaurants are always well attended in spite of economic problems, which I find very smpathetic. I've also noticed how people take things easy: no matter what, they have a "nema problema" on their lips! :-)

Also check out my Skopje pages please!

Yayy, there's finally an official site on tourism in Macedonia:

www.exploringmacedonia.com