After a week of hard traveling, we relaxed on May 4, 2026, in Ohrid, a resort town on one of the Balkans' largest lakes. We stayed at a resort hotel with a spa and huge all-you-can-eat buffet, and we took a sunset cruise around the lake.
The monasteries along the lake were lit in a golden glow as we sailed past them.
That morning, we took a walking tour along the boardwalk and through the winding streets of the city.
We passed the huge statues of St. Clement and St. Naum. They set up the first Slavic university and also devised the Cyrillic alphabet that is still used in Russia, Serbia, and some other Eastern European countries.
We walked through narrow alleys uphill to an amphitheater and beautiful church overlooking Ohrid and its lake.
As we walked, I spotted a beautiful cross pendant in a shop window. We bought it, met the jeweler, and saw his other creations made from sterling silver and "Macedonian rubies."
We saw Ohrid's well-preserved amphitheater, built by the Greeks in 200 B.C.
We walked through a stone tunnel to visit Ohrid's fortress.
Near the fortress was the Church of Sveti Jovan, which our guidebook characterized as "perhaps the most photographed site in North Macedonia."
As we walked down the hill to the city, the views were gorgeous...
...or just strange!
In the afternoon, we visited the Sveti Naum monastery, 30 minutes drive from Ohrid, near the Albanian border. The monastery was built in the 16th and 17th centuries.
We crossed a bridge above a very clear pond to a special restaurant, where singers with their violins and accordions serenaded us over lunch.
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