On a frigid day in January 2003, on the Feast of the Epiphany, dozens of men and boys were waiting to jump into the icy waters of Lake Ohrid. As hundreds of onlookers stood on the shore in Ohrid, Macedonia, an Orthodox priest threw a large cross into the water and the ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Macedonia
A Traveler In The Foreign Service: Free Alcohol And Other Reasons Why Ohrid Is Europe's Last Great Unspoiled Place
On a frigid day in January 2003, on the Feast of the Epiphany, dozens of men and boys were waiting to jump into the icy waters of Lake Ohrid. As hundreds of onlookers stood on the shore in Ohrid, Macedonia, an Orthodox priest threw a large cross into the water and the ...A Traveler In The Foreign Service: How To Avoid Posts Where You Might Get Eaten Alive
Have you ever received a phone call from someone who was hoping to entice you to live in a country where cannibalism is still practiced? I have.
"I have a great opportunity for you in Port Moresby," said Hollis, my State Department Career Development Officer (CDO)/used ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: My Secret Foreign Service Wedding
Today is my ten-year wedding anniversary, sort of. Does it make sense to celebrate a wedding that was a secret, five-minute affair that was capped off at a nearby Taco Bell over chalupas and 99-cent churros?
I asked my wife to marry me just days before joining the Foreign ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: Help us get away with murder
For Bashkim, a 25-year-old Albanian-American dishwasher, the trouble all started after he started having an affair with his boss's wife. When his boss heard the rumors, he immediately confronted his wife.
Luljeta claimed that Bashkim, who was nearly 20 years younger ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: Even corpses get bumped from flights
I was standing over a coffin that contained the corpse of a 76-year-old American missionary whom I was supposed to help repatriate to the U.S., trying to figure out why he was naked. After a long consultation with Stevcho, a sinister-looking funeral parlor boss, my local ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: Try not to die in Macedonia
You never forget your first dead body. One Friday afternoon several years ago, my boss at the American embassy in Skopje informed me that a 76-year-old American missionary, whom I'll refer to as Joe, had died of a heart attack.
When an American citizen dies overseas and ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: go native or go postal
Have you ever seen an American walking through an airport in a flowing, beaded sari, a colorful African tribal dress, or Afghan shalwar kameez and wondered, what the hell are they thinking? Expatriates who "go native" while living overseas might seem a bit loopy, but "going ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: A birthday that went up in smoke in Belgrade
There's nothing like having a sealed train compartment full of Serbian farmers blowing smoke in your face on your 30th birthday. One of the strangest elements of expatriate life is that you sometimes find yourself celebrating major occasions with people you just met, rather ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: Ding Dongs and danger pay in Kosovo
When I worked at the American Embassy in Skopje, I looked forward to visiting Kosovo. Not because I liked the place, but because I wanted junk food. American junk food. I'm talking Hostess cupcakes, Chips Ahoy, Jif Peanut Butter and the like. And trips to Kosovo, if you were ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: Ciao macho man (or how to help Albanian breakdancers win a grammy)
I was standing on a stage in an auditorium in front of about 500 people frozen in terror at Nota Fest, which is like the Grammy awards for Macedonia's ethnic-Albanian community. The organizers of the event had invited our Ambassador, Larry Butler, to present a lifetime ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: Escape from a rock-star elevator in Skopje
Trapped in a private, "rock-star" elevator in a seemingly half-finished apartment building on my first day in Macedonia, I turned, in desperation, to a phrase book. I had spent the previous six months in language training at the Foreign Service Institute, studying full time ...Budget Vacation Guide 2012: Macedonia
Since the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Macedonia has hidden beneath the radar. While Croatia and Montenegro receive sustained coverage for their coastlines and Slovenia pops up here and there as a budget-friendly alternative to pricey Switzerland, landlocked Macedonia has ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: My rock-star elevator in Skopje
The first thing I noticed about Macedonia was the Marlboro man and a group of short men smoking cheap alternatives. Six months after being handed the country's distinctive yellow and red flag, signifying a two year assignment to the American Embassy in Skopje, I'd finally ...European low-cost airlines fail to enforce charges and fees
Flying around Europe on low-cost airlines over the last few months has taught me a few things. Among the most useful lessons I've picked up: Baggage and check-in fees and charges are enforced quite unevenly.
European low-cost carriers present their customers with a ...Macedonia: what's in a name? A major controversy!
The erection of a giant statue of Alexander the Great in the Macedonian capital of Skopje is the latest round in an ongoing controversy with neighboring Greece.
The statue, erected on Tuesday as part of an ambitious urban development plan called Skopje 2014, drew ...From myth to Empire: Heracles to Alexander the Great
Today's royals have nothing on the ancients.
Alexander the Great and his predecessors enjoyed a sumptuous lifestyle that beats anything William and Kate will ever enjoy, not to mention real power as opposed to lots of TV time. Now an amazing new exhibition at the ...Five ways to get more European stamps in your passport
Lake Ohrid, Macedonia.
Yesterday, I wrote about the fact that European passport stamps have become harder and harder to get. The expansion of the Schengen zone has reduced the number of times tourists are compelled to show their passports to immigration officials. For ...Ten budget-friendly destinations in Europe
For Americans, Europe can be very expensive. Let's take a moment to acknowledge this fact. Tourist costs are high, and currently the euro is doing well against the dollar, even if the pound is down somewhat from its stratospheric performance a few years ago. So yes, ...Red Corner: Balkan Odyssey Tour
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We're usually not in the habit of plugging group tours here at Gadling, however, I recently came across one highlighted in the LA Times which covers many of the same places I recently traveled during my Balkan Odyssey this last summer.
Kutrubes Travel is offering an 18-day ...
