After our time in Bulgaria we took a taxi 5 hours from Melnik to Ohrid, North Macedonia. On the drive we saw numerous sunflower farms and vineyards. Nick loves how many places here use grapes as shade for driveways and outdoor seating at restaurants. We saw plenty of that on the drive as well. Our guesthouse was in the old town, with a lovely view of Lake Ohrid and the orange-red roofs of the other old town dwellings. Our balcony was on the side of the house with a somewhat obstructed view, but it was still a super nice spot to have for our evenings and mornings.

Once we were settled, we decided to do some exploring in the afternoon. It was nice to stretch the legs after a long drive to get here. It was an easy walk down past an old amphitheater to get to the streets that were lakeside. Along the lake there was a well maintained path for bikers and pedestrians that was incredibly wide. Nick thought it was funny as it seemed like a lot of infrastructure but not a lot of shops (once we were past the main area). The path led to several beaches and camping areas and eventually turned into a gravel road. A family of swans including three babies were a highlight for me. Nick’s highlight was probably the free outdoor gym equipment he used all weekend. I sat on a bench nearby with the other girlfriends and wives, waiting for the men to be done doing chin ups so we could continue our walks.

The lake temperature was absolutely perfect. At first we were worried it would be very cold. Our taxi driver told us it was freezing. In addition to that, we only saw children and older people swimming, which usually indicates that it is not that warm. Much to our delight, the water was fantastic and a swim was needed after walking in the heat. North Macedonia had the hottest weather we have encountered in Europe so far. Before heading back to our guesthouse we enjoyed some burgers from Plate Bistro and gelato from the main pedestrian area near the lake.

In the evening we were told about an event at the Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon, a short walk slightly up the hill from where we were staying. Our host told us people come from all over to attend and encouraged us to go. Along the road were many stalls selling a variety of trinkets and food items. One of the most intriguing items we found for sale all over the town were knives they advertised as being good for cutting cabbage thinly for salad. Nick thought it would’ve been a great gift for his dad if we could’ve flown home with one. The church was incredibly busy, but beautiful in the sunset. The property had ruins all around and the main church structure was nice too. We noticed many churches in this region use different types of bricks than what we are used to, they are much skinnier.

At 10:15am our boat, the Armada, left the dock and headed towards St. Naum Monastery. There were several boats all full of tourists departing around the same time. We were surprised ours was not full. Our boat appeared to have the most comfortable seating and was cheaper. It was a mystery we were happy about as it meant great seats and less people for us. It was gorgeous leaving the harbor with great views of the old town along the cliff side and a church we would visit the next day. We also passed the ‘semi-submarine’, a boat Nick found absolutely hilarious. It was submarine shaped, but did not go fully underwater. Nick commented that, “Aren’t all boats semi-submarines?” He’s not wrong.

The first stop was to the Bay of Bones, an open air museum. It was reconstructed houses along some docks with a museum display. We opted to not get off the boat for this quick stop as we thought it wasn’t worth the cost or hassle (the boat only stopped for 30 minutes). It seemed neat enough being able to see it from the boat.

After about 2 hours we made it to the final destination of St. Naum Monastery where our boat would be stopped for about 3 hours. Our first destination, which at that point was super urgent for one of us, was lunch. We ate at Restaurant Ostrovo. There we tried the trout, which was delicious. Nick and I also split the Macedonian pie, which was phyllo dough with onions, leek, and cheese. If it had been fresh and crispy it would be been fantastic but it was room temperature and stale; I’m not sure how old it was. Lake Ohrid restaurants were fascinating to us. They all served great fresh trout, but would serve that with premade vegetable medleys that are frozen and barely defrosted with no seasoning. Such a strange combination.

Once the hunger crisis was handled, it was a short walk up to the Monastery. Much like the other religious sites we had visited it had the skinny bricks, some flowers, and beautiful views of the lake. There were two options for making our way to the spring that feeds the lake after we finished walking around the Monastery. A boat for a fee or a short walk. We opted for the latter and were glad we did as it was incredibly short and easy, although I’m sure the boat ride was much more scenic. The spring had a church right by it and a plaque. Its incredible a spring is what feeds the huge lake.

The last hour of our boat stop was spent on the beach with a thousand other people who had the same idea. I have not been to beaches much more crowded than that. Nick and I took turns swimming and watching the belongings. Laying in the shaded grass area slightly away from the beach was perfect. The boat ride back was faster as there were no stops and it cut through the middle rather than going along the shoreline. I enjoyed a tasty gin cocktail, which seemed to be part of the boat experience. At 5pm we made it back for an early dinner and gelato.

Our day started with a longer delay than intended. I had decided to do a 35 minute load of laundry so that it would dry by the time we got back from our outing. We had the perfect area for hanging up clothing on our balcony. Unbeknownst to me, the machine was broken and would not finish the rinse cycle. We had hoped to start our day as early as possible in order to finish before it got too hot. The washing machine had other plans and decided to run for 3.5 hours. After contacting the host they told us we need to unplug it to stop it. At least our clothing was thoroughly rinsed. And there was a cute cat napping we got to see once we did leave.

By the time we finally exited our room after the laundry incident, it was lunch time, so we headed straight back to the burger spot, the only restaurant in town I trusted at that point. After lunch, Nick did his usual chin ups in the park before we headed (finally) to our first stop of the day, Church of Hagia Sophia. It is perfectly situated in the middle of the Old Town and was a quick stop.

A surprisingly short walk brought us to Samuels Fortress at the top of the town. It gave amazing views of the town, beaches, and lake from different angles. The fortress itself was large and seemed relatively well maintained. We could not walk all around the top of the wall due to damage, but we could walk most of it for views all around. It got pretty busy there with tour groups so we did not stay too long.

From the fortress was a path through the woods that led to our final destination of the day, the Church of Saint John at Kaneo. It’s a church that sits on a part of the cliff protruding slightly outwards into the lake. We had seen it the day before while leaving the harbor on our boat tour. That church was my personal favorite as it was the least busy and I thought was the most beautiful. Nick filled up his water bottle here before we made our way back to town by following the path along the shoreline. Our walk passed many popular beach restaurants and lounges.

To kill time we had also done some minor pearl window shopping. The Ohrid pearl is made in the area from fish scales rather than from oysters. They were beautiful, and we found a family founded company that was one of the original recipe creators. Although I didn’t find something I liked in house, I might order something from their website one day as the pearls seemed unique. Our night ended with pizza and more gelato. I was happy with the amount of gelato we got, but the rest of the food in Lake Ohrid was just okay. We find that happens in places that are mostly touristy. A weekend was the perfect amount of time and we loved our time at the lake.