Road Trip – Zlatibor to Athens

We spent 5 days travelling from Zlatibor, Serbia through North Macedonia and down to Athens, Greece. Along the way, we stopped in Nis (Serbia), Skopje (capital of North Macedonia) and Paralia – Katerini (Greece).

Nis

This city was the birth place of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great in 272 AD, and contains a few interesting buildings.

Fortress

This city has a fortress where the Ottoman Empire basically built a wall around prior Roman and Byzantine cities. Inside the fortress walls now are walkways, restaurants and cafes, and a couple of playgrounds.

Skull Tower

On the other side of town is the Skull Tower. After a particularly brutal battle, the Ottomans took the skulls of those they defeated and placed them into a tower. Originally, the tower had almost 1,000 skulls in it. However, some of the relatives removed some to bury them and time and erosion destroyed several more. Now, they have build a building around the tower to protect it and there are only 59 skulls remaining.

Dinner

While in Nis, we stopped for dinner at a small restaurant that had good reviews. It turned out to be one of the best meals we’ve eaten in years! Who knew you could make simple salads (coleslaw, beets and potatoes) and grilled meat/fish taste so good!! 😋

Skopje

We spent 2 nights and 1 full day exploring this city. The city has a beautifully restored fortress wall dominating it. In addition, Macedonia square has an impressive, huge fountain of Alexander the Great, several other fountains and statues, and an old bazaar left over from Ottoman days filled with cafes, restaurants and shops. Outside of this main tourist strip however, the city looks like it needs an influx of money to renovate some of its other infrastructure and features. Here are some photos of Skopje:

Katerini

And finally, we spent one night between the city and beach near Katerini in Greece. There wasn’t much to photograph or explore here, but our hotel room balcony had a wonderful view of mount Olympus!