We are off to Ohrid, Macedonia this weekend (June 4&5,2011); with a visit to the Saint Naum Monastery and Vevcani, Macedonia. The only challenge is running the gauntlet between Tirana and Elbasan and all of the fresh fruit stands. It is that time of year around Albania and the Bing cherries are in full swing right now. Madlyn must have them and we agree(actually I am directed) to stop on the trip home to get some "fresh-picked" cherries!
We have decided to give Budget car rental a try on this little adventure to Macedonia. We have had good success in the past renting from AVIS and Noshi(Albanian Company), and I feel comfortable referring people to either. We get a Chevy Epica, a four door sedan, for the trip for a more than reasonable price. We are off to Macedonia; next stop the Hotel Balkan, located east of Librazhd on the banks of the Shkumbinit River. The outdoor patio overlooks the river and is shaded by large trees;the only sound we hear is the whoosh of the river as it flows past our table.
The break has been just enough to get us over the mountains and into Macedonia without stopping; unless of course you count the border crossing zone. However, this is a surprise, no wait, no fuss and we are there on the downhill into Ohrid, cruising by the Struga exits and feeling good about how easy the trip has been so far!
The Hotel Tino has place signs along the main highway(read attached to poles in the median) into Ohrid and they are are well positioned to even lead someone as directionally challenged as me straight(ok, one slight deviation from the plan) to the hotel. The check-in is simple; we buy some more Denars (Macedonian money) and drop our bags off in our third floor lake front room.
We are hungry to the point that I am a bit grumpy(getting to be more like my dad every day), so we decide to eat at the hotel restaurant(great choice, excellent food and service).Madlyn has a delicious(so she says) trout soup with salad and I order pasta and salad. We have to re-group once the first salad arrives and we determine it could feed four people; we are fortunate as the hotel will hold our salad for later(another story). We are talking about our adventure and how much fun it would be to ride bicycles, when a man at the table behind us introduces himself to us as the owner of a bicycle rental shop in Ohrid (We had looked at his ad while checking in...who knew?).The gentleman, Alexander (www.velodrome.net), offers to bring two brand new bicycles to the Hotel Tino if we would like to ride this afternoon; we say let's do it! Fifteen minutes later we are test riding brand new Mongoose mountain bikes; once all parties are satisfied, we head down the boardwalk in the direction of the INEX Hotel Gorica, about 2.5 miles from Ohrid.
The boardwalk leads us past an amusement area; over a bridge spanning a canal; past several lakeside restaurants; past fields where farmers and farmers wives are cutting hay and weeding their vegetable gardens; past families strolling beside the lake and finally into tall trees that overhang the path we follow. We buy a couple of bottles of water(we have holders for the bottles) on the return and head into the market area of Ohrid in search of a route around the harbor. No luck as we end up climbing the hills that lead to the castle; a quick decision to return to the market(little did I know this was a ploy to wear me down) and after a gelatto we are at the Talevi-Ohrid Pearl shop! Madlyn is inside and I am on the outside looking(watching our bicycles) in; soon she re-appears with a strand that she calls "fun" pearls and asks me what do I think ( gotta be careful here); I suggest since the pearl strand is too long that Mr. Talevi cut the strand make a bracelet out of the extra pearls...voila, we are in agreement!
It is starting to drizzle so we make a direct line for the hotel, leaving our bicycles in the lobby of the Tino. Back in our room and too spent to go out, we are dining in and enjoying a wonderful bottle of T'ga za jug(Sad for the South,from a poem by Konstantin Miladinov, who is the first lyrical poet of Macedonia) and our salad with pizza! A quiet balcony, a sunset, breeze from the lake, and eventually music from the restaurant below.
We have a full day planned for Sunday; first we will visit the Saint Naum Monastery about thirty minutes from Ohrid(following the lake around towards Pogradec); and then on our return home a stop in the mountain village of Vevcani.
We are up early and into the restaurant for a quick breakfast before we are go looking for the monastery. It is a beautiful day in Ohrid and we are in a hurry to get going; breakfast is simple and just enough to get us going this morning.
Madlyn is reading our guidebook (this time we are using a Lonely Planet-Western Balkans) and comes across a piece about a Museum on the Water that we would pass on the way to the monastery.The Macedonians discovered a Neolithic(4000 year old) village on stilts;this was done from artifacts found by scuba diving archaeologists. A museum has been created over the sight replicating the village on stilts...unfortunately it was closed during our visit.
We make a note to come back to visit the museum on our next visit to Macedonia.
The road to Saint Naum Monastery takes us through part of the Galicica National Park with some cliff driving scenery reminiscent of the West Coast of the United States. Located about 29 kilometers(little more than 17 miles)from Ohrid and close to the Albanian border, Saint Naum (Sveti Naum)Monastery Church of the Holy Archangels was built in 900.
The walk to see the monastery takes us past many vendors, restaurants and boat on a small lake/springs(?) that feeds the much larger Lake Ohrid. While looking at the serene setting of the springs, we are contacted by another tourist from Israel who advises us to take the springs boat tour with a guide named Nikola. The gentleman is very sincere about his suggestion telling us that the boat ride was the highlight of his visit to Sveti Naum.
We (read Madlyn) end up in a prolonged conversation with a small group of tourists from Israel who headed next to Tirana! We gladly tell them that it is a safe and friendly city (although a little dirty) and that they would find good accommodations and excellent restaurants within walking distance of their hotel.We suggest visits to Vlore, Butrint and Gjirokaster if time allows.
It costs to enter into Sveti Naum and after paying we quietly enter the small church, passing the two pillars that are the only remnants of the original church that was replaced in the 16th Century. The frescoes are vividly painted on all surfaces(walls & ceiling) and inside is the tomb of Sveti Naum.I am surprised by how small the inside of the church really is; especially when approaching you see the multi-domed construction of Byzantine design that leads one to believe the church is much larger inside. The curator decides to serve me a Raki after we purchase a small guide book on Sveti Naum...strong; he just smiles at me!
We walk back towards the springs and there stands Nikola Paveski(www.niktours.com) and of course we are in for a cruise of the springs. You can barely feel the boat move as he silently rows us through the springs; the water is crystal clear created by thirty-five springs that flow from the mountains and through the mountains bubbling up from below.
I give my camera to Nikola to take our picture; in addition to being a tour guide he is an accomplished photographer, who has been published in Macedonia.The reflections on the water from the trees and flowers and the small chapel are almost "impressionist"(we just got back from France, saw the Manet exhibit) in this setting.
It is so quiet, we stop to listen to the birds and their symphony; and trees moving in the breeze, barely aware of another boat approaching us. The Israeli was understated in recommending the boat ride on the springs with Nikola providing a quiet narrative; it is as peaceful as any place I have been.
As we are disembarking, we are telling Nikola we will be back for another trip around the springs. What a treasure to share with tourists from around the world.
We are off in search of Vevcani (a traditional Macedonian village); a quirky little village in the mountains between Macedonia and Albania about sixty minutes from Sveti Naum.. At one time, Vevcani declared itself independent from Macedonia creating a flag and money; today it is a good tourist lure. It is also home to springs from the mountains which wind through the town. You can hear springs below your feet; observe springs running down chutes in people's yards and see springs flowing alongside a street.
We are looking for a restaurant just past Saint Nicholas Church with a "Heinekin" sign out front(Brian has told us it is a great place to eat). We find the sign and follow it to the restaurant where we order pork ribs(Madlyn) and coarse local sausage for me; the food is fresh and flavorful; thanks Brian.
Walking back to the center of town we stop at Saint Nicholas Church for a visit. It is a pleasant visit with a curator who walks with us and explains the church to us in French! Oh well, we did understand most of what he said to us and it was nice of him to show us around. Saint Nicholas Church is undergoing renovation, including a new bell tower; a modern addition of church offices is directly opposite the entrance to the church.
Walking back to the car in the center of town we spot an ice cream store and always eager to enhance the local economy we spend our last Denars(later discovery of secret Denar stash of Madlyn!). We are off to Tirana it what would be a fairly easy drive for us. A stop in hills as we leave Elbasan for Madlyn to purchase two braids of fresh cherries...mission accomplished!
We definitely discuss returning to Macedonia to further explore around Lake Ohrid and Galicica National Park and of course the Museum on the Water; also further into Macedonia to see the rich archaeological sites.
