My drive from Bitola to Ohrid, my last stop in Macedonia, took me along the shores of two of Europe’s biggest lakes and over a beautiful mountain ridge through another of Macedonia’s national parks. I first made my way around pretty Lake Prespa where I had intended to catch a boat to Golem Grad, an island in the lake with some Roman ruins on it. Unfortunately, they told me the weather was too windy for the boats and it was not possible to get out there. Bummer!

Next, a drive up through the mountains of Galicica National Park where I got some pretty stellar views of Lake Prespa. Then, just over the ridge to some pretty stellar views of Europe’s deepest lake, Ohrid.

Lake Ohrid is where Macedonians, and Albanians go to get their beach fix and bask in the sun. There are plenty of resorts and beaches all around the shore, and plenty of boats going every which way. There are also a handful of historic sites as well. On the way to Ohrid town, where I stayed, I stopped off at St Naum Monastery. The monastery is right next to a public beach resort, so I had to walk through a sea of people, souvenir stands, snack shacks, and horrible music to get to it. It seems a bit out of place to have a monastery right next to a resort filled with hundreds of half naked people, but whatever.

Ohrid is a fairly large city, but most of the activity is in the old town and along the boardwalk area. The old town is a kind of a peninsula sticking out into the lake, with lots of hilly cobblestone streets, old churches and houses, and topped with an ancient fortress. Honestly, I wasn’t super impressed with any of the sites. What I did like, though, was all the amazing views and gazing out over that lake.

When I planned this trip everything was open and there were very few restrictions. Several days ago Macedonia started requiring vaccination certificates to visit restaurants, museums, etc., so the two museums I planned to visit were a no. I also had to go back to my backpacker roots and rely on grocery store self catering and the occasional fast food. Ironically, I’m probably eating healthier than I have in weeks. LOL Ohrid ended up being more of a relaxing stop, a little break in the middle of this long adventure.

The one historic site in the old town that I did like, was the ancient theatre. It was originally built in the 2nd century BC and has been host to gladiator battles, public executions, plays, music performances, and many other forms of entertainment throughout the centuries. These days it’s used for various concerts and an annual music festival and its hemmed in by houses, but it’s still here. If this place could talk!

That about sums up my time in Ohrid. Sorry for the super short post, but the last few days have been a little slow. I turned in my trusty rental car today and tomorrow I’ll be on a bus for another border crossing into the final country I’ll be exploring on this trip. This will be the first border crossing on this trip that I’m NOT nervous about, however. Stay tuned…