The first day is the same as the one day tour – usually spending the first night in one of the basic Salt Hotels on the Salar itself. If coming from San Pedro de Atacama, this 3 day tour will finish in Uyuniģ Day Tours of Salar de Uyuni in 4×4 jeeps are the most popular tour type. The only difference is the shape of the residential blocks, which are of different height, have more decorative ornaments and are covered by a sloping roof, in contrast to the box-like shaped blocks dominating the landscape of Poznań’s Rataje.Start and finish in Uyuni, or finish in San Pedro de Atacama. Similar to residential areas in Skopje, such establishments are self-sufficient by offering residents various shops and other services, as well as nearby schools and healthcare facilities. The idea of a large, self-sufficient residential area is well known to me as I grew up in a similar establishment in Poznań’s residential district called Rataje, which represents a typical urbanistic development known in many Eastern Bloc countries. Throughout the drive, I observe landscapes dominated by high-rise apartment blocks, where modern buildings coexist with Yugoslav ones. On its way, it stops at the Skopje train station, where several additional passengers get in, then drives to the next stop at the Capitol Mall, where it does not stop as no passengers wished to travel. The bus arrives at 14:38 and, after all passengers board, departs on time. Several passengers are waiting for the 14:45 shuttle bus to Skopje airport at the bus stop in front of the Holiday Inn hotel. In my opinion, they are simply neither tasteful, nor respectful for the historical and architectural heritage of Skopje. And each evening I walked across the Vardar river passing the building of the Opera, one of the recently constructed bridges with zillions of sculptures, fake-boats “moored” at the river embankment and oversized new buildings, I was astonished by them. Plentiful restaurants which occupy the riverside section of the GCT was my destiny after intense sightseeing. And there is GTC Shopping Centre, whose cubic structure seems to be integrated with tall residential tower blocks. Cyril and Methodius University, the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Macedonia National Bank and National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia. The project of the museum was donated by the Polish government as a gift for Skopje, hit by the devastating earthquake of year 1963. One of them is the structure of the Museum of Contemporary Art designed by Polish architects Wacław Kłyszewski, Jerzy Mokrzyński and Eugeniusz Wierzbicki. But there are still many brutalist buildings, which are in much better shape than the train station or were saved from being converted into ancient-Athens-like temples. It seems to be left to decay and perhaps in long term to disintegrate. Infested by pigeons, abandoned by people and not maintained for a long time. In 2022 the station is a picture of misery and despair. Then I head to the Skopje Train station - the innovative building, raised above the ground on columns, designed by Kenzo Tange and completed in 1981. The next stop is the Nicola Karev High School. Then I view the residential blocks of different height. Leaving the Skopje Fortress, I take the Goce Delcev bridge, with both of its ends guarded by 4 lion statues.
70 km on foot in search of signs of Yugoslav modernism. With little help of the book “Modernism in-between” which describes the phenomenon of post-war Yugoslav architecture, I walked approx. While the first visit was focused on exploring new developments of the Project 2014, this visit was focused on tracking the brutalist roots of the city.
And I think they were right, as the new city center attracted me twice in 20. In contrast, its supporters claimed it would make Skopje more glamorous and put it on the tourist map, attracting many tourists. Since its inception, the project was controversial and many people criticized the proposed new aesthetics. In intention of its authors, the Skopje 2014 project was intended to give more classicist appeal and transform the modernistic city into monumental and visually appealing place. And I still remember my first impression after seeing the new center of Skopje, a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and astonishment. Inspiration for my maiden visit was an article about the Skopje 2014 Project, which was intended to re-shape the capital into a glorious and proud city and establish Skopje as a tourist destination.
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