Macedonia vs. Slovakia

Last weekend, we went with 13 other Peace Corps Trainees to Skopje to watch the Macedonian national soccer team play Slovakia in the UEFA 2016 qualification tournament. It was one of a series a games to see which European teams will qualify for the 2016 UEFA European Championship, which determines which European teams will compete in the 2018 World Cup. Macedonia has only had a team for a couple of decades. Macedonia has never qualified for the European Tournament, and this time around isn’t looking much better. For this reason, there aren’t many Macedonian soccer fans here. Macedonian sports fans tend to follow basketball and handball instead, because their teams are successful internationally.

Macedonia almost scored a few times.

Even though Macedonia lost the match 0-2, we had a great time experiencing a professional soccer game in Macedonia with our comrades. It was fun to be in the stands, hear fans get excited or angry, and see such an exciting game live and in action.

The Veles crew.

The whole group with our Macedonian swag.

Our group stayed at the Lounge Hostel around the corner from the stadium Saturday night. We completely filled the hostel, and had the place totally to ourselves. The hostel was super nice and clean. We had space to all hang out together and full use of the kitchen.

Playing games at the hostel.

Bonnie reading Meredith's coffee grounds.

Sunday morning we had the leisure of getting ready and eating breakfast at our own pace, without the pressure of family responsibilities. The hostel provided breakfast and coffee so we were able to enjoy a relaxing morning together. On Sundays in Macedonia, almost everything is closed except a few restaurants. We were surprised to find this to be true even in such a large city like Skopje. We wandered around the center of the city until we found an open restaurant for lunch. After lunch, we caught a bus back to Veles. It is amazing how easy and inexpensive it is to travel within the country. We look forward to exploring more of Macedonia.

-Jarred & Andreya