Monday 30 November 2015

Albania

There are always some things you should know before travelling to another country, like for example basic cultural differences. Of course, the Internet is an inexhaustible source of information and it seems that it's possible to find there an answer to almost every question. However, it can be misleading or even false in some cases.

Reading some blog posts of other travellers, I was looking for some travel memories related to Albania. Opinions were quite divided but in my eyes many of them show this country in a bad light. Danger, insecurity, theft are the most common words used to describe it. No wonder I was a little bit worried. Nevertheless we decided not to change our plans. One of the aim's of our stay in Albania was to confirm or shatter these stereotypes.
 
It was the last country we visited. After more than two weeks of sigthseeing and in general many other activities, we wanted to rest a bit and just doing nothing. For three days, lying on the beach (I couldn't stand it even one more day :) )  I could admire these views:



Our hosts (like everyone else during the whole trip) were so nice and helpful. A good news is that in the south Albania some people speak Italian because of their economic emigration. A lot of young people decide to leave their country and move for example to Italy or Germany in search of better life, with its main aim to support their families. I had an opportunity to see the world from another point of view once again. For me, there is no doubt that conversations with local people can tell you more about a determine country that all the information in mass media. In the same time, I'm aware that it isn't always possible. Sometimes somebody starts to talk to you in Albanian and at this point you just know that your conversation doesn't take place.


There was no electricity for several hours every day (of course when you least expect it :) ). It was connected with a lack of water. Generally speaking, there is a problem with the electrical wirings in Albania. Despite these small ''difficulties'' (it isn't an appropriate word) I felt really happy there. First of all, it was a great opportunity to enjoy my life. You may think it sounds banal, but it was a perfect time to  take all the things slow, there was no rush and I could focus only on pleasurable things and views. Sometimes, it's necessary to escape from reality and to look at your life and choices in a different way, from a different perspective. All the days spent in the Adriatic Sea were full of tranquility. The town where we were staying was really small so we were attracted the attention of local people and in some moments it leaded to funny situations.

On the way back home,  we visited the capital of Albania, so in my next post I'd like to write a few words about Tirana.

PS: In my experience, contrarty to some opinions of other peole, Albania is such a safe and congenial country and I strongly recommend you to visit it.

Monday 23 November 2015

Let's go to ....


The (unplanned) two-day stay in Greece was one of the surprises of my holiday trip. We had to drive about 300 km and we decided to spend in Meteora only one day, but then some things went wrong and we were forced to stay in Greece one more day. It was absolutely worth it. Meteora is so charming and this place completely blew my mind! Like many others by the way. :)
 
Why? There' s my answer:



Generally speaking, this place is considered as a magical and mystical not only for all these stunning views but also for a complex of Greek Orthodox monasteries, which are built on rocks. Nowadays remain six of them and they are still inhabited by monks and nuns. At the same time they have become a tourist attraction.

Originally, the access to the churches was difficult. First, hermits were living there in some individual caves within the rocks. Then, during an age of Turkish occupation, monks have decided to build these monasteries. It took a lot of years to carry all the construction material to the top of rocks, using for example baskets. Initially there were no access to for example electricity and water. 


Today the situation has changed. All of the monasteries are connected by some pathworks, so it's possible to see them all in one day. What's more, there are also roads, so you can get close enough them and then continue your 'climbing' on foot. It doesn't take a lot of time (if you choose an option with a car) and in my opinion it's good to see at least one monastery to have an idea of its architecture. Inside, there are a lot of things to see, for example some outstanding  frescoes, iconostasis, sculptures or:


I'm aware of the fact that to take advantage of all things that Meteora offers to the tourists, one need to spend there a few more days. It should be noted that these monasteries aren't the only 'attraction' of Meteora. We had to make a choice as our time was limited. It's undoubtedly one of these places that I would most like to revisit one day.

Saturday 14 November 2015

City of light - Ohrid

Finally, it's my last blog post about Macedonia but the story isn't over, not yet. :) It's time to share one of my favourite macedonian travel memories, even if it seems to be almost impossible to choose only one, the best place. By the way, I really enjoy writing all these blog posts. It's a great opportunity to take a stroll down memory lane and recall some past events or take another look at photos. 


Getting back to what I was saying, first I'd like to show you some of my photo impressions of Lake Ohrid. All of them are unedited, I mean that it's the original version of the pictures, without any filter. For me, these photos convey the natural beauty of the city. It isn't insignificant to note that Ohrid and its Lake were accepted as Cultural and Natural World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.


It's a typical summer destionation and for this reason Ohird is quite a crowded place and wherever you go, you'll find a lot of tourists. However, this doesn't change the fact that it's an ideal place to have a rest. Of course, you can spend all days on doing nothing, laying on the beach or walking along the shore of the lake, but like everywhere, there are some lovely places to visit. 


Ohrid is most famous for its ancient churches and monasteries, handmade jewellery (especially pearls). Most of the monuments are located in the Old Town. Anyway, I'd like to mention only a small part of all the places you can visit there.

 
In the Old Bazaar the customers can buy different handmade items, peral jewellery,  counterfeit articles, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. There are always a lot of people, and in general the bazaar is known for its vivid atmosphere. Walking between stalls, a foreigner can observe behaviour of local people. It's a perfect way to understand, to a certain extent, cultural differences.


Travelling through Macedonia, many times I came across some frescoes and icons, which are strictly related to the religion. They are everywhere, also on the market stalls, because the biggest religious community in the country is the Orthodox Church. 

And here you can see a part of a frescoe from the monastery of Saint Naum, which is located close to Ohrid. It was founded in the year 905.


The above picture shows my preferred ancient church in Ohrid. It's one of the prettiest place I've ever seen. The building is really small, but  it offers a phenomenal view of the lake and this is why it's my favorite one. The view and the location are just breathtaking!

As I said, it's only a small part of Ohrid. It would take too much time and especially I have to write more blog posts about it. However, I prefer not to focus on only one place, so next time I'll write about totally different place. :)

Thursday 5 November 2015

Tetovo & Matka Canyon

 Hello!

Today I'm going to describe (briefly)  another two places which I recommend you to visit in Macedonia. I'm really sorry but I truly like this country so I must warn you that it isn't my last post about it. :)




The first one is a mosque located in Tetovo. By the way, it was the first and the only Macedonian town in which I had a shock. Traffic jams, bad driving and so on, in general - disorder .... everywhere. For this reason we decided to visit only this place and leave Tetovo as soon as possible.

Anyway, in Macedonian the building is called Šarena Džamija, while in English it means Decorated Mosque. It was originally built nearly 600 years ago, then it was rebuilt. The facade of the building draws people, because it's covered with a great number of vivid, colorful paintings. There are a lot of them also inside. It doesn't look like any other mosque I have seen. It looks rather like it was made from some playing cards. Unfortunately, it was foribbden to take photos inside, but it's easy to find them on other websites. Check them out, because they are absolutely worth seeing!









And now something for nature lovers - Matka Canyon. It's situated close to Skopje and it's a popular tourist destination. There are dozens of caves (some of them are under the water) and monasteries. As you can guess, there are a lot of things to do: mountain biking and climbing, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, scuba diving or walking. It's a perfect place to chill out and spend an active day.