Operation "six capital cities in two weeks"

As a kid, I didn't need every single expensive toy found in high-profile toy stores to be happy. I would just quietly play for hours with my few soldiers and little cars, or kick around the house a tiny football (being extra careful not to break anything and have my butt spanked). As a teenager, I didn't lose my sleep over becoming the best footballer in the world, or kissing as many girls at school as possible, or scoring high grades at school. I was happy with playing football just for the fun of it, from the moment I'd finish school until it was time to have dinner, hours later, and equally I was happy with secretly being in love with a girl I never got to kiss, and scoring grades just high enough to keep my parents satisfied. As a young adult, I didn't set out on a "have sex with a hundred women before I die" expedition, and when I started working I didn't have not even in the back of my mind any thoughts about becoming some hot shot of a journalist, let alone making a fortune. I was ok with having a job I liked, and that was pretty much it. You could say I always set the bar low. I say I was never greedy. The truth, most probably, is somewhere in the middle. But... Yeah, there is a "but"...
But when it comes to traveling, I'm the Greek impersonation of Obélix. I can never have enough of my "potion magique". I've been abroad 45 times already (trips to Greek destinations aside), in less than a month I'm leaving Greece for the longest trip I've ever made, one that may last several months, and yet, here I am, unable to say no to the temptation of making another shorter trip, for two weeks, starting this Saturday. Back in July I took advantage of some amazing SkyEurope offer, I bought Thessaloniki-Vienna-Thessaloniki plane tickets for 10 euros (one euro each way, plus a process fee of eight euros), the tickets are for March 21-24, but... told ya, when it comes to traveling, I'm greedy, someone could say I already have more than enough travel stories to tell my grandchildren one day, but... do you remember Obélix ever acting indifferent while standing next to a cauldron full of that irresistible "potion magique"?...
So, am I going to Vienna for three days? Eham, not exactly... I thought, since I will be in Vienna, and since I don't have a boss waiting for me back to work, why not go to Bratislava as well? It's "right next door"... Then I thought, I haven't been to Budapest for more than three years now, I have never been there alone, so... why not stop buy and bring back in my mind some fond memories? Then I thought, there is someone in Croatia I would really like to see, maybe for a last time, so... why not? After Croatia, where? Well, Belgrade is a city that has a special corner in my heart, I would need a separate post to explain why, I would love to go back even for a single day, and... it IS on the way from Zagreb to Thessaloniki, so... Finally, I thought, these last two months I had so many things happening to me, stuff that turned my life upside-down, stuff that made crazy scenarios become reality, stuff that "reminded" me I should never take ANYTHING for granted, and NEVER rule out ANYTHING, so... I must stop by at Skopje as well. What's so special about me stopping by at Skopje? Well, no big deal... Let's just say I had promised myself NEVER to go there, even though it's a stone's throw away from where I live, Thessaloniki. For my own reasons I always ruled out the possibility of a trip there, but... what the heck... Yeah, never say never...
SO, that's it, six countries, six capital cities in two weeks. Someone could say it's too little to squeeze in so many places. I say I have already been to most of these places, and I see this trip as a good opportunity to refresh in my memory beautiful moments of the past, and also as a "farewell" to Europe, before flying next month to the US and then on to Central America. Unlike Obélix, I don't have a Panoramix to put a grip on my greed. Two Romans (actually Greeks, the owners of the newspaper I used to work for) kidnapped Panoramix (my job obligations), while he was preparing his yummy drink, and now I find myself alone in a hut with a big enough (some money I had set aside) spoon, free to quench my greed. That is... until annoying Astérix (the editor of my closed newspaper) liberates Panoramix (starts up something new) and asks me to behave myself (come back to Greece and start working again)...