Wanderings: Bitola to Parma, Italy

March 11, 2019

I woke up early to catch the 5:20 train from Bitola to Skopje. There was no sign of a train, any other passengers, or any railway personnel by 5:10 (1), so I took a crowded, bone-rattling 3 1/4 hour bus ride (2).

Skopje has undergone an extensive construction program complete with government buildings and grand museums befitting an empire. There were enormous statues, presumably of Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great. Incongruously, affixed to the shallow river bottom, were reproductions of Spanish sailing Gallions used as restaurants and bars.

As the plane descended into Milan, I noted what at first appeared to be small brush fires. The bumpy ride soon made me realize there was a stiff Tramontana wind flowing off the Alps (visible to the north) that was blowing soil off the late winter fields.

A train ride brought me to Parma (3) where I ate some prosciutto di Parma at dinner. They were out of the eggplant parmesan, so the waiter convinced me to order the local horsemeat patty. It came almost raw; when I asked the waiter to cook it more, he exclaimed: "You won't even taste it that way."

(1) I had done my normal due diligence about the train schedule the night before: checked the departure board at the station and asked the ticket seller, having written the destination, date and departure time. After the bus ride, I checked again in Skopje, and the first posted schedule I checked had the same information. Another schedule posted inconspicuously had a footnote hand written on it in Cyrllic, presumably indicating the the train had been cancelled. The train is still on the official railway website.

(2) I had a flight out at 1:00, so I had to get to Skopje this morning.

(3) While on the train, I received an urgent call from the office. "Someone from Macedonia has hacked into your email account." They were surprised that someone was me.