I am in Macedonia since Sunday. It is really nice to be back again, though we are not staying at our usual hotel. Last time we were there, there was a fire in the kitchen and the corridors outside our rooms were filled with smoke from the basement to the top floor, but without a single fire alarm going off. Several firetrucks came but when my colleague went downstairs to the reception and asked if they shouldn’t evacuate the building, the staff told him that they didn’t want to cause any panic. And since there were always things that didn’t work properly throughout the two years that we stayed there (from the water system, to the internet and last time even the telephone in my room), and that were never fixed from one stay to the other even though we pointed this out, we decided to stay at another hotel this time. And as you can see, I got Lucy’s and Charlotte’s first room. Unfortunately, no handsome man has offered to change rooms with me so that I get a room with a view. But then again, this is not my first time in Skopje, and at least this is on the first floor so I will get out easily in case of a fire. If the fire alarm works that it….

And yes, all of my colleagues, I am aware that I am not following the UN and World Bank recommendations regarding hotel room location. And yes, all of you who do not work in the international organizations, someone has concluded that between the 2nd and the 7th floor is the optimal location for a hotel room in terms of mitigating the risks of BOTH a fire and a car bomb, and hence, we are recommended to book our hotel rooms accordingly!