Is North Macedonia worth a visit or you can skip it? Well, here is my experience and what I think about it.
I am born and raised in Sofia (Bulgaria) and Macedonia (recently changed the name to North Macedonia), was never to me something to rush visiting or waking up my interest until now...
As I live since 10 years in Switzerland those neighbouring Bulgaria countries, started to get more exciting for me. Before I never paid attention as it was too close and I prefer to visit different places and cultures. Bulgaria and North Macedonia have a very similar culture and the language is almost the same, so there was no challenge for me to go there.
I went to Sofia in June for 3 weeks and what a better time to pay a visit to this country. Went with my mom and as she prefers organized excursions, we did it with a bus over the weekend. I am not a huge fan of organized tours, but whatever my mom prefers - her happiness is the most important.
We left on Friday morning from Sofia (at around 7am) and arrived in Skopje around noon, exactly for lunch. However, we had our lunch after discovering the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. There are a lot of statues in the city center built thanks to a project called 'Skopje 2014' implemented by ex-Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.
I have no words to tell you how hot it was there, but we succeeded to visit the city for 3 hours and then we headed to our next and main destination - Ohrid.
Ohrid is probably the most famous and visited place in North Macedonia, thanks to the beautiful endless lake and old town architecture. The sunset over the lake left me speechless.
On the second day of our trip, we did a walking tour around Ohrid - there we saw the typical oriental city houses built during 18th, 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, some beautiful churches, the Samuel's Fortress with a view over the town and the lake. I also went to do some sunbathing.
After that we did a short tour to Biljanini Izvori (Biljana springs). There is a legend that if you step on the third rock in the water by the springs and you turn around (clockwise?!) 3 times, then you will become 10 years younger than you are - well it didn't work for me, but I also did it in the wrong direction (orientation issues here lol). Anyway, my plan was to do the turns 3 times and come back home as a baby, or even before to get born (I am not 30 yet).
After doing that we left Ohrid to see the beautiful Monastery of Saint Naum - don't miss this place if you are around there. It's about 40 minutes drive from Ohrid.
TIP: Close to the monastery there is a smaller lake where you can see some impressive underwater springs. The water is crystal clear and always keeps the same temperature even in winter. We took a small boat and it was honestly the best decision ever. It is a great place to refresh and chill away from the crowds and to become one with the nature. This lake is also a border between North Macedonia and Albania, so we crossed the border for a few minutes and my phone sent me a message with the new roaming tariffs.
In the evening after we went back to Ohrid, we had a nice dinner and witnessed another great sunset over the Ohrid Lake. There are also some very nice bars where you can enjoy and listen some cool music for a nice end of the day.
The most of the third and last day in the country was more of a drive with a quick stop in Bitola, where we had some time off before to head back to Sofia. The most famous things in Bitola are a Clock Tower, a Mosque and Saint Dimitrija Church. You can visit it if you have plenty of time, but my recommendation is to stick to Ohrid and the surroundings there.
North Macedonia positively surprised me, may be also because I didn't have any expectations about it and just wanted to spend some time with my mom. Every now and then we like to do some trips together.
If you want to visit some Balkan countries, you should go there, but don't forget to pass by my home country first... Bulgaria is waiting for you and I am always there to give you some tips about it.
Love ur blog dear , this sunset is magical