Week 38: Ohrid, North Macedonia (posted by Eliza)

We arrived in Ohrid on Friday, March 20 from Bitola. It was less than a two hour drive. The first thing that struck me about Ohrid is that it is gloomy but beautiful. I mean it was very cloudy and cold on the day that we arrived, although it has a giant lake with snow-capped mountains in the distance.

We went on a long walks through the town and along the lake and saw some rocky beaches. We also spent the week thinking our brains out for our research projects. So there was lots of walking around and lots of studying. I did my presentation on basketball in the Balkans and Annie did her presentation on Balkans food.

Mom and Dad found a basketball court while they were exploring on top of the old fortress hill. It looks out over Lake Ohrid and it is very scenic. Later, Jane and I went with Dad and had a lot of fun playing basketball. Annie cooked yummy stuff for our dinner, specifically mushroom soup, stuffed zucchinis, and stewed apples. Mom helped a lot.

Some other highlights included exploring the medieval fortress and visiting Orthodox churches that are over 1,000 years old. The churches had very interesting frescos that told the story of Jesus. Some of the faces were rubbed out during the Ottoman era because in Islam you cannot worship false idols.

Overall, this week was pretty chill, but still very fun. I would recommend Ohrid because of the stunning views and the rich culture -- which is kind of what we say about every place.

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, and 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 played. 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 ancient 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 not have 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 joked that the heads on a stone were ancestors of Voldemort because they did not have any noses.