The truth is that we had never considered visiting Macedonia, the country of cut fruits and syrup, but by chance (or rather causality) of life we had the opportunity to visit this unknown country for a few days. The first stop was clear: Ohrid.
The Ohrid Lake and its homonymous city is located in southern Macedonia and without a doubt is one of the treasures most precious of this land. Castles, Byzantine churches, crystal clear waters, amphitheaters, monasteries and much more, Ohrid proved to be a jewel for the eyes and a rest (we needed!) For the mind. Already, because as we always say, travel is not a vacation and we often jog around the Balkans!
If you plan to travel to this corner of Macedonia we will give you a few tips things to see and do in Ohrid
If there is something that is not missing in Ohrid they are churches. They say he had 365 (one for each day of the year). This is why, in the past, Ohrid was known as the 'Slavic Jerusalem'. Today there are many less churches but we assure you that they are very worthwhile. The ones we visited (and we loved) were these:
- SANT JOVAN BGOSLOV KANEO: without a doubt the protagonist of Ohrid. This church represents the most beautiful and photographed corner of Ohrid (and maybe Macedonia). It has been built on a small cliff overlooking the lake ... and as you can imagine the views from here are simply unforgettable.
- CHURCH OF SAN CLEMENTE AND PANTALEÓN: the history of this church is curious since it was born as a Christian basilica, became a Byzantine and even became a mosque when the Turks arrived in Macedonia. Today rests the remains of San Clemente, which many define as the inventor of the Cyrillic alphabet.
- SANTA SOFIA CATHEDRAL: famous for its gallery of arches but even more for the wonderful frescoes of the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries that hides inside. The most curious thing is that these frescoes were discovered after a restoration in the 50s (the cathedral in the past was converted into a mosque and the frescoes were whitewashed).
WALK THE HELMETHISTORICAL
While it is true that Ohrid is not a very large city, it is also true that it has many interesting places (it was formerly the capital of Macedonia and is considered one of the oldest settlements in Europe). We advise you to get lost in its streets to discover real treasures such as the amphitheater, Byzantine churches or monasteries. The houses of the city are also very nice, with white walls, window frames and cocoa doors, full of flowers and peppers that dry in the sun to prepare the paprika and you will be surprised to see how many cats there are… meow!
It may not be the castle that has most enamored us, but climbing here and enjoying the panorama over the historic center and the lake is something we recommend without a doubt. The most impressive are the huge walls from which the red and yellow flag of Macedonia is raised.
Lake Ohrid belongs in 1/3 to Albania and 2/3 to Macedonia. It is not only one of the most crystalline in Europe but one of the oldest and deepest, with almost 300 meters deep. It is possible to walk around the lake along a very cool catwalk and navigate along it, you can hire boatmen for about € 5 that take you for a half-hour walk. We took it from the pier of Sant Jovan Bgoslov Kaneo to the village for approximately € 3.
It is really what we did most: stroll through the Turkish bazaar, sit on the terraces to take baklava and Turkish tea, walk the wooden walkway that surrounds part of the lake, take thousands of photos to the streets full of hanging peppers, eat roast chicken and cevapi, play with Ohrid's cats, visit the central market and fully enjoy a place that many define as the heart of Macedonia.
We leave Ohrid to take a bus (which became a taxi) to Bitola and from there we get on a train (with hyper comfortable old armchairs, grandfather's armchair plan) towards Skopje ...
USEFUL INFO
- How to get to Ohrid from Berat by bus through Elbasan: We took a bus at Berat station at 8.30-9 towards Elbasan (350 LEK per person), which took 3 hours. There they stopped us in a roundabout which is where a shared van left to the border with Macedonia. The normal price is 450 LEK, although we were charged 600 LEK (we saw how they paid then they less and in the end we did not make much history ...). After 1.5 hours to the border between Albania and Macedonia. You pass walking and on the other side there are taxis that take you to Struga for € 5 and Ohrid for € 8 (negotiating).
- Where to sleep in Ohrid: We did it at Luccia Apartments.
