Oct 7, 2012 - Ohrid - Macedonia

Em Ohrid ficamos hospedados no Villa Lucija, um hotel familiar. Os donos vivem no rés do chão e os 3 pisos para cima foram convertidos em quartos com varandas viradas para o lago, pois o hotel está mesmo situado sobre o lago. Tem uma pequena cozinha comum e por isso podemos preparar o pequeno-almoço e depois tomá-lo na varanda com uma vista absolutamente soberba. Estamos no ultimo piso, e ficamos sentados a beber café com leite e a apreciar as gaivotas a voarem sobre o lago ou o bailado de meia duzia de cisnes, com as montanhas como pano de...

Oct 6, 2012 - Macedónia - Ohrid

A viagem até à Macedonia, que faz fronteira com a Albania e mais precisamente para Ohrid, foi longa. Saímos cedo de Berat e apanhamos uma camioneta bastante velha para Elbassan, mais a Norte. Chegados aqui a, apanhamos um taxi numa viagem curta até junto de um estádio de futebol e daqui um furgão até Progradec, já junto à fronteira com a Macedónia. A casa de banho na estação de camionetas há-de ficar na meméoria...desce-se um lance de degraus que vai ter a um portão e onde se entra para uma catacumba com 3 sanitas lado a lado. A estrada é...

Jun 18, 2010 - Walking to Greece

We took the bus from Ohrid to Bitola, not sure whether we would stay in Bitola, which was runored to be a fashionable place, for a night or not. Rolling into Bitola, either the hype exceeded reality or we missed the fashionable part entirely. A guy at the bus station offered to drive us to the border and we piled into a car that we were not sure would make it out of the parking lot. Thankully, 10 minutes later, we exhaled and exited the car. Now at this point it is raining pretty good and it's worth mentioning that, a few days ago, Julia...

Jun 16, 2010 - Ohrid, Macedonia

If you ever want to feel like the long lost aunt and uncle finally returning home for a long overdue visit, go to Macedonia. And the guidebooks and Albanians are correct, Ohrid is much more beautiful than Pogradec, or any other town, in either country. In fact, we are hard pressed to think of a nicer lakeshore town anywhere in the world. Steps from the waters edge was our apartment (of course, fabulous and inexpensive) and our new extended family. With the football world cup in full swing we spent most evenings at the bookie/sports...

Mar 11, 2009 - Magical Lake Ohrid

3/11/09 Immediately after crossing the border from Albania, the rubbish improved, building materials and implements of destruction disappeared, and the homes became larger and more picturesque (using artistic stone and tile construction instead of repeating concrete slabs). Hoxha’s bunkers gave way to handfuls of blown-apart houses followed by graveyards spiked with black tombstones bearing the same end dates. The driving improved, English became more prevalent, and more people came up to us offering accommodation. Politics already began to...

Aug 2, 2008 - A little Bitolis and a little Bitolat

As planned, I caught the over(half of)night bus from Sofia over the border into Macedonia; my intended destination was Prilep, on Lonely Planet's recommendation that the Treskavec monastery, a few miles' hike away, was "worth a trip". I'd hoped that the fact that it was an overnight bus might have persuaded the driver to switch off the radio and let people get some sleep, but apparently not; one of the "songs" was in English and included the lyrics "You can hear me screaming and shouting". Dead right I can, and I'd really rather not. Sleep...

Nov 23, 2007 - Ohrid

One bus ticket, Tirana to Ohrid, 100km in 6 hours, €10 - transport value minimal, mystery tour value fantastic. We started off in the wrong direction, I didn't realise this until we started driving along the coast. Tirana is inland and Macedonia is further inland but we had appeared to have driven for an hour to Durres to make a further pickup. I'd ask why the bus didn't start in Durres and leave Tirana an hour later but from watching the traffic I know that logic doesn't work here - some people really need dictators as they don't know how...

Jul 5, 2006 - Macedonia

Our arrival in Macedonia was spectacular as we spent our last few kilometres in Albania driving along the shores of Lake Ohrid in an almighty electrical storm. The sky was black, the streets were flooded and we could see walls of rain coming across the lake (looking more like the ocean). When some light made it through the clouds and lit up the cultivated terraces beside the lake it was amazing. We had spent some time in Belgrade queuing to get AG a Macedonian visa after doing our research and concluding that it was not possible to obtain...

Aug 3, 2005 - Orhid

It was a 3.5 hr bus ride through lovely mountains to Orhid - right on the edge of a very old lake (how can they tell?). It feels a bit like the Mount at Christmastime - 40000 people all here for the country's biggest public holiday. We were extremely lucky to find a room for two nights in a hostel and our room has a balcony overlooking the lake - how lucky can you get, and all for 11 Euros - much cheaper than 40 euros we paid in Skopje. The heat is quite oppressive as there is no wind whatsoever - the lake is like glass. We blobbed out...

Oct 22, 2004 - Ohrid, Macedonia

Ohrid is beautiful, but looking back I think it is a summer destination. There was just not much going on. Highlights: On the 20th I had an interesting conversation with a man in Ohrid Macedonia who I met at a bus station and on the 21st I had my best meal in Macedonia. 10-19-04 Contemplating whether I should have dinner or check the internet as I walked down a cobblestone street after hiking up to the top of the hill in the town of Ohrid to see some old churches and a wall constructed in the middle ages, an older gentleman began speaking...