After leaving Albania and spending 3 days in Kosovo, I continued my trip to North Macedonia. The Republic of North Macedonia is located in the middle of the Balkans. Its population is mostly Orthodox Christian, which was a big change coming from Albania and Kosovo. The country's name had to be changed in February 2019 to solve a year-long dispute with Greece. Most NORTH Macedonians still prefer to call their country only Macedonia though.
I started my trip there at a really beautiful place: Lake Ohrid. The identically named town just next to it is beautifully located between high mountains and the pretty lake. It is the only place in the country which attracts a fair amount of tourists every year. The town itself is quite cozy and the views above the lake are amazing. Most beautiful is the church of Saint John, overlooking the lake. The best way to explore the lake is by bicycle. I spent 4 days at Ohrid and most of the time I cycled around the lake enjoying nice panorama views.
After Ohrid, I took a mini van ride to the capital, Skopje. It's a city of many cultures because many different groups have left their footprint during their ruling time: Romans, Serbs, Ottomans and Yugoslavia all formed that quite interesting city. But the real reason why I ended up spending nearly 20 days in the city was the amazing hostel with great people I met there. I had a special time in 'Get Inn Hostel Skopje' and met amazing people, who I am still regularly in touch with (hello to Hans and Chang! :D). We celebrated birthdays, explored the city, cooked Korean & Taiwanese food and had plenty of interesting conversations with many long-term guests.
In general North Macedonia and Albania became a hot spot for long-term travelers, because most countries in the world enforced senseless COVID measures to protect their population. It was really nice to exchange many travel stories with other people, who spent several years on the road. While other countries had to lock down all their touristic infrastructure, many Balkan countries had fully booked hostels with people from all over the world.
From Skopje, I did several day trips around the country. My favorite was a trip to the beautiful Matka Canyon. It has a lake and an impressive dam, located in a really breathtaking canyon. The main hiking trails there provide amazing views!
On my last day in the hostel, I felt really sad to leave, but was ready for new adventures!
3 Highlights:
- hiking through Matka Canyon
- enjoying the beautiful scenery at Lake Ohrid
- time in 'Get Inn Hostel' in Skopje
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| Visited places in North Macedonia, traveled by mini van |
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| Arriving in Ohrid |
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| View from my room in Ohrid |
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| What a location for a church! |
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| My racer for the days at Ohrid |
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| Hello Skopje |
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| Balcony at Get Inn Hostel, Skopje |
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| Don't know what to think about that |
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| Exploring Skopje with Chang from Korea |
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| Rave cooking Taiwanese food for us |
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| Chang making delicious Sushi |
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| Matka Canyon |
