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Tallinn, 19 October 2003
European summer: the Balkans, Albanian roads, kitten from Ohrid and Auschwitz
Odv2004-09-15 11:38:46
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trips; a crossing that would have gotten you killed during the cold war. From Sarande the Greek island is so close and clearly visible, that we tried to imagine what people must have thought at the time about never being allowed to actually go there.
Close to Sarande are the Roman ruins of Butrinti, fairly big and mixed in with the ruins of a medieval city. Many archaeological items are still covered with sand to protect them against the elements. There is a well preserved Roman amphitheatre and a large section of the ancient city wall to admire.
The roads in Albania have a bad reputation and unfortunately there is good cause for that. It took us 12 hours to drive 360 km from Sarande to Ohrid, just across the border in Macedonia. A few sections of road have been rebuilt with European Union assistance, as is pointed out by information panels with big EU flags on it, but all in all the roads are of terrible quality. Certain sections of road are so narrow that you need to stop when a vehicle comes from the other direction.
Ohrid used to be a major tourist destination for West-Europeans when it was still part of Yugoslavia, but the wars in Croatia and Bosnia, the resulting UN sanctions on Serbia and Serbian imposition of visa requirements, practically ended the influx of visitors from Northern Europe. Alternatively visitors could come through Greece but the dispute I mentioned earlier between those two neighbors has not encouraged that either.
It is easy to see why Ohrid was so popular, it has an idyllic setting on the shores of one of Europe's largest fresh water lakes and the deepest at 294m. The town is full of life, and there is an endless choice of accommodation and restaurants. Musicians play in most restaurants.
A fortress on the hilltop, is an easy climb and a wonderful place to see a sunset. That same hill has many beautiful Orthodox churches, such as Sveti Johan, which with the lake as a backdrop
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See photographs from:
Serbia Montenegro Gallery
,
Poland Gallery
,
Netherlands Gallery
,
Greece Gallery
,
Bulgaria Gallery
,
Albania Gallery
