Ohrid

Before heading over the border into Greece, I decided to make a visit to the most popular destination Macedonia has to offer, a small lake on the border with Albania called Ohrid. Every place has a certain speed with which it operates, which subconsciously infects you and causes you to catch up or slow down, this place slows you down to a crawl. I spent about an entire week here, and I don't have much to show for it except that my skin is a bit more tanned now, but I definitely recommend visiting if you want a place to relax.

Ohrid Old Town

Streets of Old Town

On the historical side, a few nice points of interests here are all within about a one-kilometer radius from the center of town. Samuel's Fortress was built by the First Bulgarian Empire around 1000 AD and sits on the top of the hill at the edge of town offering great views over the city and the lake. Somewhere along the path up to the Fortress, you can find the Lychnidos Amphitheatre, which dates back to about 200 BC and was partially constructed by the Romans during the "Macedonian Wars", seeing the Roman architecture here sheds a bit of light onto the dynamic history of the region. To the west of the both of these, you can find St Johns Church, this one's a bit younger and less exotic, however, due to its location on the side of a cliff overlooking the lake, its one of the more postcard-worthy spots in the area.

Looking South from St Johns Church

St Johns Church

Samuel's Fortress

Looking back at the town from Samuel's Fortress

Lychnidos Ampherthere

Another major historical attraction, St Naum Monastery, lies 28 kilometers south of town right next to the border with Albania. Even with its historical importance, I don't think people come here to see the monastery, but rather to play with the peacocks which are scattered all around the property. People appear to spend about one minute photographing the architecture, thirty minutes photographing the peacocks, and then about an hour or two drinking and enjoying the view at the bar which is attached to the monastery.

St Naum's Monastery

Albino Peacock

After you've seen everything else, there are many places to enjoy the beauty of the lake while wasting away the time, my favorite one's lie to the north and south of St Johns Church. To the north, Labina Beach sits at the bottom of some magnificent rocky cliffs and is shrouded in shade by a band of trees growing right out of the beach, it's an atypical yet calming place. And to the south, if you follow the pathways down toward Kaneo Beach, you can find a string of small open-air restaurants/bars sitting right on the sand which have somehow evaded tourist invasion.

View from the trail above Labina Beach

Labina Beach

Pathway over the water to Kaneo Beach

Kaneo Beach

Happy hour at Kaneo Beach