Wine-ing My Way Around

View of Lake Ohrid and Amphitheater
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After a long day of travel, I arrived in Ohrid last night. I found a great room with private bath in the house of a local family.Mimi and her daughters are excellent hosts. They even let me use their washing machine to do my laundry!

Ohrid is located on a lake by the same name. The lake is so large that I often forget that it is not the sea! Today was a perfect day in Eastern Europe. The morning started with a walk around the lakeside and a steep climb on cobblestone streets through the lower gate of the Old City. Continuing upwards I visited an amphitheater built around the time of the birth of Christ. It was just discovered in 1984 when the city was digging a foundation for a new building. At the Gladiator restaurant overlooking the amphitheater with views of the lake, I had a tomato salad and a glass or two of wine from the Alexandria vineyard of Macedonia while listening to classical music. I then walked to the Sveti Bogrodica Perivlepta Church, which has impeccable, vibrant Byzantine frescoes (paintings) still on the walls. Climbing to the top of town brought me to Samoil's Fortress, where I climbed on the walls and admired the city and lake. On the way back down I stopped at an excavation site where they are currently exhuming a church basilica dating from around the 4th-6th centuries. The archealogists allow people to walk within confined limits of the site. I was able to see the old mosaic tile floors peaking from beneath layers of sand. Further down the hill I make a short stop at a small church called Sveti Jovan at Kaneo. Here there are commanding views of the lake from nice flower gardens. On the way home I stoppe by the Buovin Winery to sample the other famous Macedonian red wine. I couldn't ask for a better day!