Balkans Day 3 - Ohrid

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After breakfast we return to Skopje. We discover the bus station behind the flyover where we were dropped yesterday, on the other side of a complicated one way system the driver obviously couldn’t be bothered to negotiate.

I’m not a big fan of bus travel. I can’t yell “stop” whenever we pass anything interesting that may warrant further investigation/photography. Plus, this particular bus looks like the driver stole it from a museum then got it really, really dirty before deciding to see if it could still manage a trip to Skopje.

We do, indeed reach Skopje, pick up our hire car and set off for Ohrid. It’s a scenic drive through the mountains but takes longer than expected due to a succession of roadworks and one way systems.

Finally we reach Ohrid where a quaint, cobbled old town tumbles down the hillside ending at a beautiful lake. Unfortunately google maps sends us down the perilously narrow quaint, cobbled streets which are heaving with tourists. It’s quite a stressful drive in our very new hire car. We go round in a cobbled circle then give up, park in the port and walk to the hotel which is part hotel, part winery.

It’s been a long day with 8 hours on the road, so we find a lakeside restaurant and unwind over dinner and a beer whilst taking in the wonderful view.

Refreshed, we take a walk along the boardwalk as the sun sets, turning the lake a shade of lavender. We stop at Sveti Sofija, an 11th century cathedral, then climb to Sveti Jovan, a 13th century church perched on the cliff top overlooking the lake.

We round off the evening with a glass of wine from our hotel/winery. Ohrid has rapidly become one of my favourite places.

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