Lakeside town of Ohrid

We went through Albanian exit immigration (perhaps we did) and entered Macedonia around 0400. My passport showed no exit stamp from Montenegro, no Albanian stamps at all and an entry into Macedonia. Go figure!?

At around 0530 we pulled into Ohrid station. It was light already. I needed a second layer for the first time in the entire trip since early June. We are inland and at a slight altitude I guess.

The toilets were locked despite a number of people waiting for buses there. A taxi driver alerted me to the presence of ATMs, coffee and toilets in the neighbourhood. So I did all that and waited till 0730 before taking a taxi to my accommodation.

Observations and learnings while waiting; the Cyrillic script is used here instead of the Latin. I had to be careful about using my limited niceties in Serbo-Croatian (or whatever the language you choose to call it in Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia). Macedonian is related but rather different.

At 0745, naturally my room at Villa Ohrid wasn’t ready. I waited on their balcony till about 0930 to discover a delightful apartment with a double bedroom, lounge, bathroom and verandah with a view of Lake Ohrid. There was also a shared kitchenette and laundry.

After a morning nap, I grabbed lunch and explored the old town briefly, visiting St Clement’s church with very nicely frescoed walls. The old town is a mix of Ottoman and Orthodox styles due to the history of the area.

I needed an afternoon rest as well. When it was cooler, I went down to explore the edges of the old town and the areas where people bake themselves and swim. I chose (out of many) a pleasant lakeside restaurant for dinner.