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This was a real piece of Countrybagging! I hadn't intended to visit Macedonia when I visited the Balkans in 2009. I knew that it was close to both Montenegro and Albania, but when I was planning the trip it looked a bit too ambitious to get across the border.
However after making good time down through Croatia and Montenegro, and the ability to get the train from Durres (in Albania) up towards the border it seemed a sensible move to present myself at the border and visit the beautiful Lake Ohrid and the town of the same name. As it turned out the border crossing was very simple, the only issue was the 1km walk across no-mans land between the respective border posts.
Ohrid is a very pretty little place right on the shore of the lake, and I managed to stay in a great bed and breakfast (with no breakfast) right in the old town on the edge of the lake. It seems that Ohrid is very popular with local and Russian tourists, the whole place had a very holiday feel to it with people just wandering around the place and relaxing.
I guess one of the most visited parts of Ohrid is Church of St. John at Kaneo which is a short walk from the town centre - it's a small church sitting on a small headland overlooking Lake Ohrid, the setting is perfect and very picturesque.
While in Ohrid I took the bus to Bitola a pretty little city with a pleasant pedestrian main street with plenty of places to sit, drink and watch everyone else wander past. At the end of the street is the clock tower, and an interesting fountain that shoots water out of holes in an upturned flying saucer!
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