Living on a Lake
We spent two days driving and exploring through Serbia, overnighting in Leskovac. It was gorgeous! When we had to cancel our trip to Bulgaria when they announced at the beginning of the year that they were joining Schengen 12 days before we were set to arrive there for part of our non-Schengen travel time, we debated between Serbia or North Macedonia as an alternative destination.
As we drove through Serbia, I had serious regrets that we wouldn’t get to stay and explore this gorgeous country for a longer period. We went over the border into North Macedonia and found that the country was far less impressive than Serbia at first glance. Everything in the country felt half-finished, including roads and buildings. And we thought to ourselves, oh no. We made the wrong decision.
We made it down to the southwestern point of North Macedonia. We booked a beautiful, almost brand new, extremely spacious apartment east of Struga, just two blocks from Lake Ohrid. We have stayed in several smaller accommodations lately and were looking forward to the girls having their own bedrooms and space for five weeks! I think they last had their own rooms in Cartagena, several months ago now. Togetherness is great, but too much togetherness for the two of them results in much fighting over petty issues.
We walked in and felt instant peace as we walked through the apartment. It was very clear a family owned this place, as they had all the perfect touches including a box of local wine for the parents! And our own private sauna in our unit. The girls happily ran off to their rooms to stake their claims and settle in. And while they loved having their own space, they were equally enchanted to find that they had their own balcony, accessible only from each of their bedrooms. And yes, they most definitely had a lot of late-night rendezvous moments out there, thinking we had no idea what they were up to.
We wanted to get out right away and go for a walk and stretch our legs. And eat. We walked the two blocks to an amazing little restaurant, Villa Cherry and had the most delicious meals. I ordered a pork, cheese, and bacon wrap, assuming I was getting a tortilla or similar wrap with meat and cheese in it. Nope. It was a thin pork cutlet rolled up and stuffed with cheese on the inside and wrapped in bacon on the outside. And had some extra cheese melted on top for good measure.
After drowning myself in meat, we walked the block over to the beach. Oh wow. Lake Ohrid is a truly stunning body of water. Surrounded by mountains on most of the perimeter, the water was crystal clear and the most gorgeous colour of blue. For our entire stay in Struga, I never stopped being stunned by the beauty of this lake. It didn’t matter if it was clear blue sky, cloudy, rainy, or somewhere between. The lake always looked like the most beautiful pastel colour palette exploded over the water and mountains. I have honestly never seen a body of water that I have loved more than this one, and I’ve seen a LOT of water!
It was amazing to think about the history of this lake. All the things it has seen, experienced, and lived through. It is one of the oldest lakes in Europe, dating back approximately 1.3 million years. It is filled from an upper lake higher in the mountains to the east and drains out via a river that runs through Struga.
We had the most beautiful walk along the lake, enjoying the views. There’s a beautiful sidewalk and boardwalk that stretches the full length to Struga along the lake, and then well beyond. As we walked along, we all felt so much peace and contentment. And we knew, without a doubt, that we had made the right decision to come to Struga, North Macedonia for five weeks. While Serbia looks gorgeous and is definitely on our list of places we want to travel to and explore in the future, Struga immediately captured our hearts and never let go.
