Two weeks ago I was in Ohrid exploring the town, the lake, the churches and the food. This town never ceases to amaze me or draw me in. I've been three times now. This is a quick overview of my experience with Ohrid--a more detailed post will follow.
To start, I'm in love with Ohrid and I don't think I'll ever turn down a chance to visit.
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My first visit was in June of my first year in Bulgaria (that's 2009 for anyone who's counting or wondering). The weather was unreal. The sun shone every day. The water was cold but felt great to take a quick dip in and I even though I actively covered up with sunscreen I got a sunburn.
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The second time I visited Ohrid was in the summer of 2010. I was a trip through the Balkans with my friend R. and we took a minibus from Tiriana in Albania to the boarder. We crossed the boarder by foot and walked down a winding road to the lake where we found a taxi driver to take us to the city of Ohrid. Then we spent the next four days exploring, swimming and drinking beer lakeside in the afternoon and eating fish and salads which we washed down with Macedonian wine in the evenings.
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This time we went in early spring. At the beginning of May Ohrid seems to be waking up from winter still. There weren't many tourists. The sites were easy to see and never felt crowded. The sun was out and I put on sunscreen but the water was frigid and there was no way I'd go swimming in the lake. Although there were some very brave (or crazy) children doing so.<!--more-->
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The days have been getting longer so there was plenty of daylight to explore the town in but when the sun set Ohrid was noticeably cooler. I went out at night with my fleece jacket (yes I was <em>that</em> American tourist) and a scarf. I like to think that the scarf balanced out the American-abroad vibe of the jacket. Ultimately it doesn't matter. I was happy and warm so that's that.
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Had it been this cool in July I would have been disappointed but in May it seemed perfect. We could still eat outside but it felt new, fresh and interesting after a long winter bundled up in Bulgaria. Ohrid felt alive.
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And if it would just stop raining every afternoon I think Sofia would feel the same way.