No Ohrid-inary day
While visiting North Macedonia, I took a day trip to Lake Ohrid and the town of Ohrid. This, of course, meant renting another car.
I was picking up and dropping off the car in downtown Skopje. The location given for the rental car company was a hotel about a mile or so from my airbnb. There was a sign for the company on the outside of the hotel but no rental desk or any other indication of the rental car location inside. I was directed to the manager who then called the company and they came to pick me up to bring me to the hotel where they actually had a location. I’m still pretty unclear as to why this was the situation. The manager said this happened a few months ago as well.
Once I got to the actual rental car location, I was given a BMW SUV as that was the closest to a compact automatic they had. Luckily my previous rental car experience the week prior had prepared me for this.
Before heading to Lake Ohrid, I decided to make a slight detour to Matka Canyon which is just about 30 minutes outside of Skopje. It was a straightforward drive to get to the canyon but a bit confusing upon arrival. There wasn’t much signage and it was unclear where to park, where to walk, etc.
The canyon was stunning. There was a path along one side of it that was occasionally lined with cafes and boat rentals.
On the walk up to the canyon, there were signs about the damage of littering and the importance of protecting the natural surroundings. Also on the walk up, there was a ton of trash lining the road and walkway, overflowing trashcans, and trashcans that didn’t have a bottom so refuse just piled up on the ground.
The contrast of the beautiful natural landscape, the signs attempting to protect the surroundings, and the garbage were startling.
The drive to Lake Ohrid was more stressful than I expected mostly due to navigation issues. I had routed the trip using the Maps.me app before I departed and was using my phone without cellular service. After an hour or so of driving on the highway, the app started directing me on sidestreets that made less and less sense. I turned cell service back on but couldn’t get a good enough connection to reroute the directions. I backtracked and got back on the highway and finally found some signs for Ohrid and just followed those. On the highway, there were people selling grapes and on the main rural road, people selling honey.
After a few hours in the car, I was ready to not be driving for awhile. I found parking in the town of Ohrid which is right on the lake. Ohrid is a small, touristy city filled with shops and hotels. The lake is lined with restaurants, cafes and bars with gorgeous views.
From the town, I walked up to the amphitheatre which was constructed around the end of the third century BC. Throughout its life, it has been used for performing arts, gladiator fights and the execution of Christians by Romans. The theatre was abandoned and locals didn’t know about it until it was discovered in the 1980s. Starting in 2001, it’s been used for theatre performances.
I also walked up to Samoil’s fortress. The exact date of the fortress’ construction is unknown but it was in existence in 209 BC — it’s just unclear how much before that it was built. The fortress was destroyed and rebuilt several times by the various empires ruling the area. As a result, the fortress has been shaped by the Romans, Byzantines, Slavs, and Ottoman Turks. In 2000, the site was repaired and restored.
A visit to Lake Ohrid would not be complete without a swim. The water was perfectly clear and a cool but not freezing temperature. I found a small park on the water with a dock that seemed to be mostly used by locals. There were people of all ages chatting with friends and going for a swim.
I was a bit disappointed by the majority of the food options. The places along the lake were overpriced, especially compared to prices in Skopje, and all seemed to have the same menu of pizza, pasta, burgers, and some fish. I was on the search for more traditional Macedonian cuisine. In my wanderings, I found a little place on a side street, Podrum Ohrid, that was family-run and the menu featured the local dishes that I was in search of.
Before hitting the road, I figured I should experience one of the fancier cafes on the water. I enjoyed an affogato and took in the spectacular view. This was exactly what I needed for the 3-hour drive back to Skopje.
The drive back was much less eventful than the drive to Ohrid. Driving in a country I didn’t know with Cyrillic signs was definitely a bit challenging. There were also some intense roundabouts with three lanes and crosswalks going through them. The most confusing to me, however, was some of the intersections that had multiple stoplights and the lights overhead would be red but there was a third light on the right with a green straight arrow which meant go — I’m not entirely sure what the red lights were for. Needless to say, I was relieved and exhausted to return the rental car.
Lake Ohrid and Matka Canyon were a nice complement to the few days in the city of Skopje. I could’ve spent more time exploring other towns around Lake Ohrid but I do feel like I got a good sense of both places and am glad I made the day trip.
