Week 37: Bitola, North Macedonia (posted by Annie)

 

We had a seven hour drive from Montenegro to Macedonia, ending up in Bitola. Bitola is an authentic, lived in town, with a fantastic pedestrian old town, with lots of shops. We ate at an amazing pizza place next to the town's old clock tower.

The next day we visited the town's history museum. It used to be an Ottoman military school, Ataturk went there himself, so there is an exhibition to him, funded by the Turkish government.

The following day was uneventful, up until night came, and dad found out about a basketball game being held. On Bitola's team, there were three American players, and Eliza even got a selfie with one one of them. She also made a friend, who was seven years old and taught us some Macedonian.

The day after, we decided it would be good weather to see the old greek town called Heracles, in the suburbs of Bitola.

To the daughters dismay, our dad made us bush-wack to the top of a hill with good views. It may or may have not ended in tears, and yet dad and Jane still wanted to go to the gym later.

The next day was uneventful, so Eliza and I decided to play some basketball.

The day after we visited an Orthodox church, with breathtaking icons.

We also stumbled on old roman carvings. We also joked that the heads on a stone were ansestors of Voldemort, for they did not have any noses.

Week 36: Kujava, Montenegro (posted by Jane)

 We have spent the last week enjoying the spring weather, getting school work done, and exploring the Montenegrin countryside near Kujava. Before arriving at the farm house we stocked up on all the food we might need.

During our time by the Zeta River we went on lots of long walks! There were lots of charming old farmhouses and even a bronze age tomb from 4,000 years ago! Thankfully we found a basketball court by a one-room schoolhouse. So, Eliza spent many hours shooting hoops.

One highlight was our lunch by the Zeta River. The restaurant was just one older gentleman in a log shack with live trout in the river. He cleaned the fish in front of us while we sipped on Coca Colas. It made for a very yummy lunch.

Finally, we spent our evenings around the fire pit. Annie even grilled us cevapi, a Balkan meatball over the fire.

But most of all, we enjoyed the beautiful surroundings.