Falling in Love with Ohrid, Macedonia

I left a piece of my heart in Macedonia. There are places in this world where you feel like your soul finds peace. For me, this was in Ohrid.

My entire journey to Ohrid was meant to be perfect. Trying to leave Greece proved to be a bit of a challenge. No one was sure of how to travel from Thessaloniki to Ohrid and after reading lots of forums on Trip Advisor, blogs, bus schedules, imaginary train timetables, I was finally able to figure it out! I took a train from Thessaloniki to Florina where I met another girl who was also going to Ohrid and we agreed to share a taxi to cross the border (€40). It was smooth sailing into the next bus terminal where we immediately found another taxi to Ohrid (€20). It was a total of 5.5 hours to get from point A to B.

I booked 3 nights at City Inn Hostel & Apartments and couldn’t be happier with my choice! Alxander, the owner was outside when I arrived and with his big energy and open arms welcomed me in. He introduced me to his wife Maria and proudly showed me around the space and to my beautiful dorm room. It’s clear as day how much love they pour into this place! His laugh is contagious and his knowledge was endless. His family has lived I the area for generations and he has a profound love for the city and his country. You know how when you cross paths with someone who has the right kind of positive energy that you automatically feel at ease? That’s Alxander! I knew I could trust every bit of information he gave me!

The lake was a 10 minute walk from the hostel through the main shopping pedestrian street. It was when I set my eyes on that lake, I fell in love. The lake is massive! A cross in landscape between Lake Tahoe, CA and Seward, Alaska, it was breathtaking. The lake is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has been since 1979. It’s home to over 200 endemic species including the famous Ohrid Trout. Two-thirds of the lake is in Macedonia while the other third is in Albania. It is 22 miles long and 10.4 miles wide. The water is crystal clear and about 980 feet deep at its deepest point. I knew I’d have to go swimming at some point and fortunately, it warmed up enough to do just that! It was exactly what I had hoped for!

Alxander suggested that I take a boat trip out to St Naum and as I walked to the port, the boat was about to depart. They let me jump on and away we went! I had no idea how long the trip would be, where it stopped or how much it cost. As we sailed away from Ohrid the mountains felt bigger and the air even more clean and pure. We made our first stop at the Bay of the Bones which is an old village set on stilts above beautiful turquoise water. There were originally over 10,000 stilts supporting fishing homes between 1200 and 600 BC. Remains of the area were officially excavated between 1997-2005. They named the area Bay of the Bones based on the amount of animal bones and artifacts that were discovered by archeologists at the time.

From there we headed off to St Naum (Sveti Naum) which was built in 905 by St Naum himself, who happens to be buried there as well. The area has 4 monasteries with St Naum being the oldest and largest. The Byzantine architecture is really remarkable to see. I love how you can see the construction and reconstruction through the ages based on the color of the stones and bricks. There was a small walking trail that took me to 2 of the monasteries which was perfect because no one else walked that far! At the prettiest of them, the groundskeeper was tending the garden and opened up the monastery for me to view. He’s lived and volunteered on the property for the last 17 years. The monastery was also built in the 9th century and had a fresh spring running through the property. He even plucked fresh peaches from the tree for me!

Ohrid is home to 365 churches, one for each day of the year. These officially became churches after the Ottoman Empire and of course, communism which outlawed religion altogether. One of the most famous of them all, St Sophia is known for its ancient frescos that had been covered when the building was turned into a mosque by the Ottomans. They’ve since been uncovered and are simply beautiful to witness. After visiting it, I spent time at Samuels Fortress and to be honest, didn’t learn much about other than it was pretty cool to be on top of the wall of a fortress looking out over so much territory! I could certainly see the advantages of defending ones self from a place like that! Onward to the most famous of them all, the one that’s in all the Google images of Ohrid, St Jovan Kaneo. Sitting out on the edge of the lake facing south, the Byzantine architecture lit up in the fading sunset. Another perfect day in Ohrid.

I would have happily spent a month exploring and enjoying the area around Ohrid. There are 2 national parks in the area and another big lake on the other side of the mountain range from Ohrid. With so much hiking, biking, swimming and camping, I really do hope to make another trip out here soon! Maybe I can convince one of my nieces to join me 😉

My time in Macedonia was short but memorable. It’s a country that is worthy of exploring slowly and thoroughly. It deserves the extra time and extra patience. The people have been the kindest that I’ve met so far. If you’re considering the Balkins, definitely put Macedonia on the top of your list! ❤️