The Balkans - N.Macedonia + Kosovo May 2024

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North Macedonia

Friday 3rd May 2024 We left , Albania and then we drove through a seaside town, and we had to go across a bit of unmade road to get to the Border!! Got through in about ½ hour and Chris got his Green Card!! Our first stop was the Monastery Saint Naum. It had started to rain again so I don’t think we were able to give it justice! Even the peacocks were sheltering from the rain- the boat trips to see the Springs were still going though!! Walked across a bridge that was gushing water from underneath ( I can only assume from the spring!) into Lake Orhid. The monastery was established in 905 by St Naum of Orhid himself ,and he is also buried in the church! ( That explains why people were laying their head on what I thought was a bed, now know it to be his grave! The monastery was rebuilt in the 16th century after the Ottamons had destroyed the previous one! The gardens looked magical with their red and green trees...even in the rain! Carried on driving around the lake passing through Trpejca and Peshtani. We nearly stopped there, but decided to push to Orhid. Got dead lucky as booked an apartment overnight, overlooking Lake Ohrid, and a five minute walk from the centre......and all for 50 euros!! Found an excellent little restaurant in the back streets ( Viva Santika) with loads of atmosphere, good food and good service! (Villa Dea)

Saturday 4th May 2024 As we didnt have to check out of Villa Dea until 12.00 we got up early and explored Ohrid. We basically hugged the lake and walked though a series of wooden tunnels ( They have them in Spain !!) until we came to a huge derelict church! Then found a stunning boardwalk, going past tiny coves,caves and old houses until we came to a small beach at the bottom of the 13th Century Church of St John of Kaneo. Walked up loads of steps and looked inside the church ( it was open!!) Walked up more steps to take the obligatory photo and then carried on walking up........until the path was closed!! Followed another path, through the woods,and the up a steep slope to a path that led to Ohrid Fortress, 100 meters above the lake!! It had started raining heavier again, but we still bought tickets to explore and climbed up onto the ramparts (Chris also did a tower - I sheltered from the rain!!) The fortress has been destroyed, rebuilt and upgraded many times but what is left today dates from between 976 and 1014. Walked back down then, past the Church Mother of God Peribleptos and the amphitheatre to the large derelict church, that turned out to be the Cathedral Church of St Sophia and it was open!! It was currently under reformation and claimed to have one of the largest complexes of frescoes from the 11th Century. It truly was a magnificent building! Went back and checked out of Villa Dea and as the weather was still cloudy, decided to drive to Skopje! It was a lovely drive as the rain had fallen as snow on top of the mountains and the views were magnificent. Stopped at Tetovo on the way ( It had stopped raining by now!!) to view the 15th Century 'The Colourful Mosque', which was indeed very colourful!! We had booked an 'apartment' in Skopje,right in the centre and it turned out to be very basic! We learnt later that it was left over from the Russian Era and the lift was so tiny that you could just about squeeze two people in it before closing, with difficulty, the wooden doors!!

Had a quick run around Skopje (I have never seen so many grand statues in a City!!) over the stone bridge and had dinner in Restaurant Pivnica An restaurant (expensive!!) which is located in one of the 15th Century caravanserias on the silk route to Istanbul!

Sunday 5th May 2024. Today was Easter Sunday in the Greek Orthodox Religion and we were given two hard boiled eggs that were painted red, as was their tradition! We had decided to go on a free walking tour at 10.00am, as it was blue sky and sunny today but first we had another look at the square and the fine statue of Alexander the Great, and all the other many statues, including a woman in a bikini diving into the River Vardar!! The guide duly turned up, and one of the stray dogs (Sauage!) was really please to see him!! Anyway, there was about 15 of us and as we went off, we were accompanied by about 8 stray dogs, all friendly!! First we saw the Memorial House to Mother Teresa and a plaque showing the location of her birth house. Next we passed by The Macedonian Gate (looks like the Arc de Triumph!!) which is a symbol of North Macedonias struggle for independence! Then we walked, quite briskly and still with the dogs, to the train station!! The dogs now regarded 'the Group' as a pack and duly chased everthing, barking loudly at buses, cars and bikes!! The clock on the train station permenantly frozen at 5.17pm which is the exact time a 6.1 magnitude earthquake, in 1963, stuck Skopje, killing 1000 people, and flattening 80% of Skopje! Walked back to the Square and our guide explained about the statues, a plethora of them to make Skopje appear 'more classical'!! (Cant remember anything, except there was a statue of Alexander the Greats Mother & Father!!) Had another look at the Caravanseria and then walked through the bazaar and up some steps to look at the grave of a local hero covered in flowers! Good tour and loads of good, useful information given!

We thought we would do one of them, either Matka Canyon (which he said would be very busy today, as it was easter sunday, or the Cross on top of Vodno Mountain, Macedonias highest point! We decided on the cross, so after a quick lunch, caught the No 25 bus up to the cross. Got off in a car park, then walked for 5 minutes through a park to the Cable Station and had to get a cable car to the top!! You could have walked but its a loooong way!! Not too much at the top, had to wait for the cable car to go back down (He needed a break - its hard work operating cable cars!!) and made it to the Fortress (It was shutting up but the guy said we could go in for 5 mins!!) We only needed 5 mins as there are only three towers left (out of 70) which overlooked Skopjes newer half of the City!

Headed for the bar/cafe/restaurant on the 7th floor of Hotel Arka for views of the old bazaar and another Caravanseria. This was a tip I picked up from another Blog!

Monday 6th May 2024 KOSOVO. We were going to drive to Kosovo for the day so after driving along the road with swathes of poppies, we reached the border and heyho we were soon in Kosovo!! Took the old road to Kacanik - BIG mistake!!. My research said it was a stunning city with a rich history, 40metre clock tower that you could climb, a fortress, grand bazaar etc! There was NOTHING there!! (We learnt later that the town was 'famous' for recruiting the most Jihadists!!) Had a coffee and took stock!! Time was ticking on!!

Went to Gracanica Monastery built in 1321 and then on into Pristina. Managed to find parking next to the 'Newborn' Monument, celebrating Kosovos place as Europes newest country and then walked up into the town. Saw loads of people in National Costume ( Probably because it was Easter Monday?) and loads of people playing instruments and singing!! While Kosovo is predominantly Muslim, with a Serbian Orthodox minority, one of the most important religious sites is the RC Cathedral of St Mother Teresa that was inaugerated in 2010, the hundreth anniversary of her birth! Had a look round, then got the lft up one of the towers for views over the city! Clear views of the Kosovo National Library, fondly refered to asone of the 'ugliest' buildings, as it was built in the 1980's during the Yugoslav Era and seems more like a prison than a library!! It has 73 white domes that are supposed to represent the white hats of Kosovos National Costume!

Went back down,and after watching a procession, ( they love America too!!) walked over to Kosovo Library though the gardens, saw a derelict mosque and then went through the 'Wall' made by children and built with rubbish and covered in black plastic bags!!Decided we would walk to the Old Town and coincidentally, bumped into a couple that were on the walking tour yesterday, and got some pastries for our lunch there!! There didnt seem to be much of an 'Old Town' except a clock tower, a couple of mosques that we didnt go into, and an Asociation of Ex Political Prisoners of Kosovo house that looked old!! Saw a Mother Teresa Statue on the way back and a 'Route 66' Diner Bar!!

Drove to see the Bill Clinton monument on the way to Prizen ( We drove, at speed, on a Motorway!!) Parked the car by the river, (It was really heaving with cars and people there,) and walked into Prizren. Its quite a pretty place, because its on the Lumbardhi River and surrounded by mountains and overlooked by Dusans Fortress ( which we didnt climb up too!!) Walked around Shadervan Square, looked at the shops and the river before going to the Sinan Pasha Mosque that was built with stones taken from a nearby Serbian Orthodox Saint Archangels Monastery that was abandoned and in ruins by the 17th C. Donned my headscarf, took off my shoes and entered the mosque which had beautiful floral patterns and quotes from the Quran. It was about 4.00pm by now, and according to sat nav the quickest way back was over the mountains that would take 2 1/2 hours!

The drive started off with roadworks, but a stream of cars following us , through a wonderful gorge. The cars all dropped off, one by one, at various villages along the way, and we were left with just one car in front of us as we climbed higher and higher. Then we came to an unmade part of the road that seemed top go on forever and we also reached the snowline!! Reached the top of the Pass where it was quite busy with shops and a grass slope with quite a few people waiting for the sunset!! Drove back down (with relief!!) passed some cows on a bridge and got to the border just as it was getting dark!! Didnt get back until after dark!!

Tuesday 7th May 2024 We were going to make our way back to Lake Orhid today but we wanted to see the Stone Dolls at Kuklika first. Folklore says that the 120 stones represent a full wedding party turned to stone when the bridegroom couldnt make up his mind between two women!! The stones have stood for over 100,000 years!! We drove along a 'main' road then turned off to a smaller road that seemed to go on forever and then we were in an empty car park!! Walked up a drive and was greeted by 2 puppies and their mother barking and a bloke from UK!!. He seemed so glad to talk to us - he had married a Macedonian and this was her fathers house that was used as a ticket office!! Walked up to the stones and viewpoint - it was quite overgrown but you could clearly understand why it was called 'The Wedding Party'!!

Carried on to Kratova (which is where the guys wife came from!!) which seemed quite busy, so we parked on the road and walked over the bridge in to the town! Delightful little place situated in the crater of an extinct volcano and basically built on a square with two bridges. There was a walkway underneath, by the river which we walked and then we went to a stone tower and a pastry shop!! We then saw a sign to some tunnels, and as it was only 300 metres away decided to go and have a look! We were directed to a restuarant with two women sat down, chatting!! When we asked about the tunnels she beckoned us to come, through the back of her restaurant,and she opened the door!! It was more of a passageway than a tunnel but most unexpected - apparentely it used to link the Towers?

Then drove (at speed!!) to Stobi - an excavation site which was enormous!! They have so far uncovered a theatre, 26 houses and some beautiful mosaics, all dating back to the 2nd Century. Off again to Prilep where we decided to stay for the night ( Chris had had enough of driving!! i dont blame him!!) where we stayed in a hotel at the back of a petrol garage overlooking one of Markos Towers which is part of the medieval ruins overlooking Prilep. King Marco is an important local figure to the people of Prilep as he was the last sovereign ruler before the Ottamons, crowned the King of Serbia in 1371 and died fighting as a vassal of the Ottamons in 1395. We looked at the square first, where there is a statue of King Marko and the shops, an obligatory clock tower, a ruined mosque then wandered over to the modern buildings and fountains, before checking in at our hotel! (There was only one hotel in the centre and it was fully booked!) We were only 3 mins from a monastery (St Archangel Michael Monastery!!) so we drove ( it would have taken about 20mins to walk I think!!). Lovely light on the rocks around the towers but unfortunately the monastery was shut!! Stopped at a shrine on the way down!!



Wednesday 8th May 2024 Drove past Bitola and onto Recica, which is about an hour away from Orhid. We were supposed to find a 'village' with only one resident. The laundry here is done using a vortex in the river which agitates the clothing the same way as a washing machine does and then hung up in a field to dry!! Well, we found the river, Mother and Father dogs with five puppies, loads of rugs hung up to dry, and the equipment that they used to use and that was it!! Not a soul around to ask, just a board saying ' Dont miss the Whirlpool Watermills' . We had a really nice walk anyway, in the sun, with loads of butterflies, wild stawberries, orchids. I really enjoyed the peace and quiet!!

Then drove to Radozhda which was a small fishing village on Lake Orhid which was very blue!! Thought it was ducks on the lake making a lot of noise....but it was frogs!! Loads of them!! Saw a sea snake and loads of fish, and a couple of swans as well!! Had a walk through the village - not as nice as Lin in Albania, then had some lunch sat on the lake (We had gjomlezec pie - not fish soup!!) Chris walked up to the 14th century Saint Archangel Michael Church which overlooks the village. Then back into Albania to drive the same route (but in reverse!!) back to Tirana! Only we bi -passed Tirana (whew!!) and stayed in a hotel near Vore, close to the airport ready for the early start tomorrow! Our flight is at 10.35!! (Lord Hotel & Restaurant at Autostation)

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