Sometimes cycling into a big city gives you a bad first impression - the road into Skopje was narrow, smoky and crowded. It is, however, a splendid capital. Much of the old town was destroyed by an earthquake in ... (although the Ottoman bridge survived), and has since be rebuilt in grand style, full of fountains, massive statues and collosal columns. There's also a fortress and busy old town/bazaar area which goes from touristy to cheap and tatty and has a huge undercover fruit and veg market. I've enjoyed myself enough to spend 2 nights here, but tomorrow it's off into the mountains of Kosovo!