Macedonia - Ohrid & Skopje

The crossing to Macedonia was interesting as it is the only one I have ever done on foot. I'm used to passing through airports, being in a bus or train or at least a car, but this border crossing from Albania was something like out of the wild west. I had to take a taxi from Pogradez, the nearest town on the Albanian side and was eventually pushed out by the driver who gestured in the direction I assumed I had to go. After following a deserted cliff-side road around a hair-pin corner, I found the near-deserted border post tucked away almost as if it was supposed to be hidden.

Ohrid Castle

I made it across and tried to find a way to Ohrid, my destination, quite a distance away around the other side of the lake. The bus would not be coming for quite a while and I was stuck in the middle of nowhere, but luckily I met a nice American family who were also stranded and together the 5 of us, plus a driver, squeezed into a private Macedonian car and paid 10EUR to take us to Ohrid.

On the castle walls

I had a lot of fun in Ohrid. The hostel I stayed in was run by a Finnish guy, which must be pretty unique in eastern europe and attracted all kinds of people. I met some Irish teachers, two Moldovan-Americans on their way to visit their homeland for the first time and even a group of Kosovans. This turned out to be quite convenient as I'm hoping to travel to Kosovo soon and was able to ask them everything I needed to know. They were some of the friendliest people I've met (must be that Albanian blood) and really helped set me at ease about the idea, after being continuously told it's a stupid thing to do.

An archaeological dig sight

Ohrid itself is a nice town, with a lot to see including an old Roman amphitheatre, archaeological ruins, an imposing castle and several remarkable churches. One in particular is nestled dramatically on a cliff above the lake and was a spectacular sight at sunset.

A beautiful sight

It was really nice just to wander around the town and relax by the lake, after my rather chaotic-but-fun time in Albania. I met with the American family in a restaurant and they bought me lunch, which was nice of them.

This was taken from a charming fisherman's village at the cliff base

Later on, I went out in a big group with people from the hostel. We first went to a highly recommended pub, which was absolutely rammed with people so made our way along the lakeside to another bar. The town seemed to have made a transformation once night fell - the place was thriving, with crowds of holidaymakers and revellers filling the streets. Quite different from the serenity earlier on!

An oversized message of support from Tito regarding a 1970s earthquake

The next day I took the bus with an Aussie and a French girl from the hostel, as we were headed to the same place in Skopje, the capital. We were forced to take a late bus and arrived in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain. Not a nice introduction to the place, but it actually turned out to be quite fitting.

A typical sight. Note the Tito dedication on the sign

Skopje is, I'm sorry to say for anyone who lives there, possibly the most depressing and dull city I have ever visited. Maybe it didn't help that the weather wasn't too great, but the dull, grey, concrete buildings, dirty streets and almost total lack of sights combined to make it a thoroughly unremarkable place.

Not the best destination for sightseers

The 'historic' stone bridge, supposedly a highlight of Skopje turned out to be nothing more than a rather plain modern reconstruction over a dirty river. On the other side, the thriving Turkish market was indeed quite interesting, but it was no different from the others I've seen.

Converted railway cars now serve as bars in the old station

Unfortunately Skopje just screams 'Former Yugoslavia' to me, which basically means a landscape of crumbling concrete and lack of cultural appreciation. After Ohrid, which I really enjoyed, Macedonia's capital was a let down. However, all is not lost, as it conveniently serves as the launching pad to perhaps my most exciting destination yet - Kosovo!