Skopje
…And Fixing Schimmelchen
30th May - 5th June | 2023
In the morning we took it easy. About midday, Ivan came around to pick me up. Also came Michael, another traveller on his BMW F750GS. He is a good friend of Katrina since they met during her RTW trip. So we first drove with Michael to the garage in the centre of Skopje as he needed new tyres. Then we all went to Ivan's house to pick up my bike to get it to the same garage. Ivan had charged my battery during the morning that I will be able to get it to the garage.
They will check my bike with an analysis programme if it is the stator or alternator. We did a lot of talking with the owners of the "MG Moto Group" (www.motogroup.mk). Nice guys. After some time we went into the city centre, where we visited the museum of Mother Theresa, which was born here in Skopje. I didn't know ... Very interesting! After that, Ivan showed us the direction to the Old Bazaar, but as it was already 16h00 we decided to go back to the garage as they close at 17h.
They already got a result on the reading and it is the stator! There are two options - REMEMBER, I am not in the EU currently - either get it rewired or try to get a new one via Greece or Serbia, which would not only cost me the part but also the shipment and customs! As already so late, we decided to leave it all until tomorrow! Also, Ivan had to go home as his wife was waiting for him due to a family matter. So we also decided to not meet tonight for dinner as originally planned. However, Katrina had the movie "972 Breakdowns" which I wanted to watch already for the last 3 years! So finally I can watch it! And what a great film!!
The next morning Michael met me at Katrinas' place and she offered us to use her trustful RTW-motorcycle Henry to get to the garage to meet Ivan. In the night I came to the conclusion to get the stator rewired as here in the Balkans they still know how to do this! And after I discovered that a new set in Serbia would cost me €1000, that made the decision even easier!
Michael stayed in the city centre to have a stroll around and Ivan and I went on his bike to find the man for the rewiring. After asking around at some places and people we finally found the man; directly next to the office of the Macedonian* Motorcycle Federation. Once the stator was sorted - will be only ready after 4 days though - we went to a very nice bakery to pamper ourselves.
Back at the garage, we still met Michael, who was just about to leave. We agreed to finally go out for dinner tonight as it is Michael's last night before he returns back to Turkey. So poor Ivan will be again the taxi driver ;-)
Now it was my turn to ride Henry back to Katrinas' place. It was really nice to ride "him", but I hit full-on rush hour! Also, did I know the bike ran out of insurance, so I was super careful as well!
At 19h we all met at Katrina's place and drove to a nice restaurant with traditional Macedonian* food. It was very delicious and we had fantastic conversations as we all share the same hobby: motorcycles and travelling!
As nothing was going to happen with my motorcycle I took the next morning Henry and went to the centre. I parked at the garage "MG Moto Group" (www.motogroup.mk) so that I could leave all the biking gear and knew the bike was parked save. Of course, I got chatting with the owners again about travelling as Portugal is still on their bucket list. I went then to see the centre and the Old Bazaar. It was nice just to stroll along without worrying about your motorcycle or your gear!
The next day I was catching up on my blogs again - as too much was happening in the last days to do so! Finally the next day, we met in the morning at the nice cafe shop to find out if the stator is rewired. Unfortunately, the wiring was touching somewhere the metal, so the man had to do it again. Due to the weekend, it would be only on Monday! Poor Katrina, I am invading her little apartment longer than planned! As she had to get some running around stuff to do, Ivan took me on his bike to pick up my stickers, I ordered some time ago through him via messenger! Gosh, what have we done in the good old days without Social Media ;-)
We also went up to Mount Vodno, the last elevation with a cable car. That was really nice, as you have a panoramic view of Skopje and its surroundings!
After that, it was time to meet up with Katrina in Old Bazaar as she wants her tank bag prepared to take her little kitten Loki in future on motorcycle tours. Ivan knew a shop that could help her with her ideas; the guy had great ideas too. We went then for something to eat and drink and then it was time to separate again, meaning me riding back home with Katrina. We went to a small shopping mall to get some other stuff and some food shopping done. The rest of the evening we stayed at home. I cooked some pasta for us and we watched the movie "Where the road ends".
Sunday we got very creative! Katrina has a friend in Belarusia that did her jerseys for her RTW trip! I loved them so much, so she created for me the layout for this year's "Destination Middle East". She got so great skills in that and she was super creative, now it is about finding out the price for doing it and getting it shipped around Europe if we come to an agreement! So stay tuned for that one - fingers crossed!!
The rest of the day we were just super lazy lolling around ;-)
Monday was the day of truth! In the morning I met with Ivan at the garage "MG moto group" (www.motogroup.mk) and we both drove then to pick up the re-re-wired stator, to bring it back to the garage. Whilst they started working on my bike, Ivan and I treated ourselves to a lovely ice cream. Back at the garage, I got the confirmation, that the semi-new battery is now also flat as a pancake and I would need a new one. As I already was a bit suspicious about the semi-new one, I was happy about a new one, as it was already on my to-do list for the 10K service in Istanbul. So, we agreed to meet again in 3 hours as they need now time to get the battery ready and to test-ride the bike.
At 16h00 we met again at the garage and there was my Schimmelchen already parked outside :-D That is a good sign! They were also happy about my bike during the test ride. So tomorrow the journey can continue :-D I loved the time here, meeting with especially these two fantastic people: Katrina and Ivan! They helped me so much with everything - I don't know how to thank them for all that! Everything was "no problem"! So once more, thank you both for everything you have done for me, looking after me and my bike, helping me with everything I needed, showing me the sights and Katrina sharing her small studio apartment with me all the time! You guys made my stay unforgettable!! Thank you!!
In the next blog the journey "DESTINATION MIDDLE EAST" is continuing - are you curious where I will be next? You will find that out in the next blog ;-)
*Republik of North Macedonia
Places | Cities:
Skopje.
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 6890 km
Information Border Crossings (in May 2023):
IMPORTANT:
- If privately staying, or wild camping, you are obliged to register within max 48 with the police, but you need an address of your stay.
- In my case it was Katrina going with me to provide her documents.
- When leaving you have to go again to the police 24 hrs prior to leaving for check-out.
- Hotels and Airbnb should do it for you.
- However, there seems to be no rule, about who has to pay a fine if not done and who does not ...
Maintenance | Breakdown:
Rewiring the stator.
Health issues:
./.
Special thanks to:
Katrina (FB: Ekaterina Dubanevich) for being a super-host as I was staying at hers longer than planned, also for letting me use Henry (her trustful RTW-BMW GS650).
Ivan for helping me to find all the solutions to my problems and driving me around. You both rock!!! Thank you!!!