Recommendations for stops on the way - Albania, North Macedonia, Greece
Posted by nikaeliiii@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 49 comments
I want to do a road trip in June for about 10 days and this is an example route I though of. What would you recommend to add/delete from this route? What is absolutely worth seeing in Albania? Would you please recommend hiking routes in Albania, North Macedonia and Greece around this route? How many days should I dedicate for each city?
Start: Sofia
A: Skopje
B: Tirana
C: Ohrid
D: Castoria
E: Thessaloniki
F: Sandanski
End: Sofia
Novel-Place9007@reddit
prizren kosovo is nice
TheGoix@reddit
While in Thessaloniki, before you do anything, be sure to visit the Church of St. Demetrius and St. Gregory Palamas, in that order, to pay respects to the city’s guardians :) Send them my kindest regards and ask for their prayers.
Wide_Juggernaut_5450@reddit
I really hope you are talking about what i'm thinking ⚔️🦅
TheGoix@reddit
I’m afraid you lost me with the war eagle, brother (or sister)
Wide_Juggernaut_5450@reddit
The eagle represents the Byzantine empire, and St Demetrius is the patron of the Bulgarian uprising of 1185-87 that ultimately establishes the second empire.
TheGoix@reddit
Different saint.. St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki died a martyr’s death at the beginning of the 4th century.
Wide_Juggernaut_5450@reddit
He is still the patron lol. Just like St. Dennis was the patron saint of the French resistance of the French vs the English and the Burgundians.
The Bulgarians built a church to St. Demetrius in Tarnovo.
TheGoix@reddit
Oh “patron” in that sense. I am so sorry, I can be a little slow at times. And no, I didn’t know that. All the Bulgarian history I know revolves around their stabbing Serbians in the back any chance they get lol
Wide_Juggernaut_5450@reddit
Lol ahahaha.That was before Serbia was a thing, so they were preoccupied with the greeks.
TheGoix@reddit
That was precisely around the time the independent Serbian state was forming, as well, reaching the status of kingdom in 1217.
Wide_Juggernaut_5450@reddit
That is true. Worst moment in Balkan history hahaha.
The Serbian state was actually formed in the vacuum of orthodox powers in the Balkans - the Latin Empire was Catholic, and Bulgaria was catholic(uniate) between 1205 -1236 as well.
Had this not been the case, the whole fragmentation of the Balkans could have been avoided, and the turks might've failed 2 centuries later.
Serbian historiography reads this moment as the culmination of centuries of struggle for their ethnic purity and unity, while in reality it was just opportunistic byzantine and bulgarian vassals seizing power for themselves.
TheGoix@reddit
Not quite sure where the “ethnic purity” bit comes into play? Sounds like woke propaganda 😅
Wide_Juggernaut_5450@reddit
Lol. The serbs are a 19th century group that extrapolated their modern identity to history. The same goes for modern bulgarians.
In the middle ages communities were divided by religion and language. The commoners who spoke slavic and were orthodox christians were not 'ethnic bulgarians or ethnic serbs or ethnic macedonians'.
The divide between these three groups was made in the 19th century with the revival of medieval states. Imagine this in Italy - Milanese and Genoese are subjected to 400 years of foreign rule. They are liberated by an external force and are told they are not italians but milanese and genoese.
Ethnicity, especially in the Balkans, is all in the head.
TheGoix@reddit
Interesting claim. Where do you get this information, so I can further read up on it?
Wide_Juggernaut_5450@reddit
The medieval info is essentially based on the correspondence between the different rulers and the Pope, which is quite reliable info. Questioning it as forgery would imply vatican records are unreliable, which is rarely the case.
The ottoman presence is very well documented. The only piece of political power in the ottoman empire for the bulgarians and serbs is the patriarchate of Pec, clearly attested in the ottoman documents as patriarchate of all the serbs and bulgarians(serbs frequently ignore the bulgarians and claim it as purely serbian, which is false).
Serbia was a project of Austria, very well established as fact, recent enough, we have a ton of data. Bulgaria was a russian project. Funmy how Bulgaria is with Austria(the west as a whole) today and Serbia is with Russia.
The aggression between the two states stems from nachertanie, 1844, you can read that. The first aggression was serbian in 1885.
The serb state essentially adopted an anti-bulgarian policy 30 years before bulgaria was on the map. This is very well documented and it is part of the serbian propaganda machine of the 19th century.
The language difference stems from Vuk Karadzic's idea to base serbian on peasant speech, instead of on the church language.
Every claim I just made is verifiable and you can cross check it with ai or just read up documents. Most Bulgarian and Serbian historians are quite biased, so tread carefully with speculative narratives.
nikaeliiii@reddit (OP)
Noted
svetislav2OO3@reddit
You can also visit it is on the way if you like hiking and mountains in Tetovo, the Sharr mountains specifically you can do Leshnica Valley it has natural waterfalls the difficulty is not that hard at all nice beautiful sceneries you can check on google or youtube how it looks !
Pijlmans@reddit
For more detailed info see here: https://mymacedoniablog.com/hiking/bozovce-to-leshnica-waterfall-16-5-km/
Fatalaros@reddit
At first I thought it was humour and you completely circumvented and avoided North Macedonia. Was about to comment you got it perfect!
Consistent-Dark-7781@reddit
Malakas everytime
stuyvesant1@reddit
Are you a toddler?
Pijlmans@reddit
I like it how your avatar is dressed in the colors of the Macedonian flag!
Aggravating_Fan_7322@reddit
Thessaloniki is great for 1-2 nights or 2-3 days, depending how much time you have in the other stops too. I have way too many recommendations for this wonderful city to write out here, dm me if you'd like some.
On the ways towards and away from the city, you can check out Edessa, Naoussa (Agios Nikolaos), & Lake Kerkini if you're into nature, Mt Olympus if you have time for a longer stop/hike, and Vergina & Pella if you're interested in ancient Macedonian history. If you're interested in religious history, you may be interested in checking out the steps that Apostle Paul took on his missionary journey around here (Veroia, Thessaloniki, Appolonia near Lake Volvi, and Philippi). Near the border crossing to Bulgaria there is a historical fort called Roupel where the Greeks resisted the invasion of Nazi Germany in 1941, might be worth a visit.
There are 2 ways to go from Kastoria to Thessaloniki: one via the Egnatia road and one via Edessa. It is one extra hour if you do the latter and it's harder through the mountains, but it might be worth it if you do the stops on that road. Egnatia is the longest motorway in Greece, so it's generally very well paved and doesnt' usually have traffic jams or weird bottlenecks to my knoweldge.
nikaeliiii@reddit (OP)
I am into history overall, so will probably check Byzantium/Ottoman landmarks if there are to be seen :) would you recommend a beach around Thessaloniki or going souther to Sitonia would be better for this?
Aggravating_Fan_7322@reddit
Ah lovely, Thessaloniki was very important in the Byzantine and Ottoman times so there are many to check out. There's also a Museum of Byzantine Culture that has quite a good collection of artifacts, and near Upper Town is located the home where Atatürk was born, which is today the Turkish consulate.
As for a beach, depends on how far you're willing to go, generally it's better to check out Chalkidiki (I'll tentatively mention here Kallithea, Sani, Pefkochori, Siviri, Yerakini, Nikiti, Vourvourou) because σαν τη Χαλκιδική δεν έχει (nowhere is as good as Chalkidiki, Greek expression).
Observe_Report_@reddit
We are spending three days at Lake Ohrid this summer. Is it worth taking a day trip to Thessaloniki?
stuyvesant1@reddit
Thessaloniki is nice, but still pretty far from Ohrid. A lot of driving.
Observe_Report_@reddit
Eight hours round-trip and that’s what I thought. I’m pushing against it because I don’t really want drive that much in one day unless it offers something really different.
stuyvesant1@reddit
Yeah. A day trip closer to Ohrid is nice to climb the Magaro trail in the Galicica national park, go see Bigorski monastery or Vevcani village.
Keke_Papaya@reddit
Nothing to see i Tirana.
Overall_Value3825@reddit
Skip Skopje, Tirana, Sofia. Visit Gjirokaster, hike in the Vikos gorge (Monodendri-Papingo) and spend a day in Trpejca.
nikaeliiii@reddit (OP)
Well Sofia is my hometown so I won’t skip it 😂
nikaeliiii@reddit (OP)
But I will check the places thanks
Vesko85@reddit
Why would he skip Sofia if he’s flying from there?
Pijlmans@reddit
What is there to do in Trpejca besides that it has a nice beach?
Fun_Selection8699@reddit
Drilon is on your way https://maps.app.goo.gl/47QBd8heug7wKGkh9
klebermann@reddit
Stop in Tetovo to see the painted cami and eat at Sharri, a legend! In Albania, add a detour to visit Voskopoja. On the way back, do a round trip around Sithonia and then visit Rila monastery.
Strange_Status_7690@reddit
God luck with your tour. Watch out the roads in West. MK and onwards to Albania as they are too narrow.
nikaeliiii@reddit (OP)
Do you mean this part?
Strange_Status_7690@reddit
From Mavrovo-Debar-Albania. Onward there is a new road to Tirana but 1+1 carriage. The corridor 8 runs the south road back to MK but it's not finished highway yet.
Pijlmans@reddit
For hiking in Macedonia, have a look at Shar National Park and Mavrovo National Park. Near Ohrid, there is Galicica National park which js less rough and wild than the other two. Peak Magaro in Galicica NP is really nice with great views of both Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa on a clear day.
You can have a look at my website for hiking and sightseeing suggestions all over Macedonia (including city walks of Skopje and Ohrid): https://mymacedoniablog.com/
I would say two days in Skopje and Matka Canyon and 2-3 days in and around Ohrid if you have the time and additional days if you plan to hike in the National Parks…
nikaeliiii@reddit (OP)
Got it thanks :)
sangueblu03@reddit
Meteora (already mentioned) is a must-see, also Ioannina is very nice (can pass through for lunch), and Zagorochoria are beautiful. After Ohrid , go down to Zagorochoria for breakfast, Ioannina for lunch, then Meteora, then up to Thessaloniki in the evening for dinner.
I love Kastoria but if I had to pick between that and Ioannina/Zagorochoria/Meteora I would pick the latter.
nikaeliiii@reddit (OP)
I will take a note thanks
st4lk33r@reddit
You can add Korçë.
wrakiya@reddit
I have 2 recommendations:
Here pics of both:
nikaeliiii@reddit (OP)
I will check them thanks :)
Glass-Forever-1023@reddit
Visit Meteora
Archaeopteryx111@reddit
That’s on my bucket list.