Macedonia - the land of...?

November 28 and 29 are Albania's National Days. While the true meaning of these holidays eludes us foreigners, we still appreciate the fact that we get two days off in the middle of the week. So, true to form, I set off on another adventure. My friend Ingrid and myself set off in a rental car to Macedonia for the day. Our overall impressions were that while beautiful, Macedonia was basically Albania, just 5 years from now. Roads were in good condition, the service industries developed, and regular people had a improved grasp of English.

First, though, we had to drive through Albania to get there. We were awed by the sheer vastness of the scenery, scenery that we had no idea existed in Albania. (Just pretend you can't see the telephone lines.)


We set off for the town of Ohrid, just over the border on Ohrid Lake. The town itself is lovely, wandering up the hillside, dotted with an impressive lot of well-preserved Byzantine churches. Here is a view of the lake with the hazy mountains that surround it in the distance:



And, of course, the numerous churches that abound in this region...



We also had the good fortune to visit with some of the town's craftsmen. This gentleman makes his own paper, and print basically whatever you would like on it using a Gutenberg press, which he claims is only one of two exact replicas ever made and functioning.