Plepe's Blog

Parc Diagonal Mar, Barcelona

Originally uploaded by plepe

After all those winter pictures, I want to indulge you with some sunny pictures :)
In 2007 I went with some friends to Barcelona in Spain for a short holiday in the middle of April, because we got some cheap tickets with SkyEurope.
One day we spent in the new development area „Parc Diagonal Mar“ which is near the North-Eastern end of Avinguda Diagonal, a road which runs all through Barcelona diagonally. It’s an area near the seaside and was used by former textile industry, which went down during the last century.
Now it’s a very modern area for housing, with a big green area, lakes and some modern art, looking like a roller coaster track.

Deep Snow Sightseeing

Originally uploaded by plepe

The weather situation did not improve, on the third day, the snow cover was pretty impressive. We had to go ‚deep snow sightseeing‘ :) Remember: Usually Ohrid doesn’t have snow at all.
Anyway, Ohrid was a really nice place, we just regretted the weather situation. Go there during the warmer periods of the year.

Statue of Saint Clement of Ohrid

Originally uploaded by plepe

This is a statue of Ohrid’s most important inhabitant, Saint Clement of Ohrid. He lived from about 840 to 916 AC and was a pupil of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, who are said to have invented Cyrillic script (although some discussion is going on that topic, it might have been Saint Clement himself).
Anyway, as Bulgaria’s first archbishop he reformed the Slavic church by introducing the Cyrillic script and the Slavic language, as form of independence from the Byzantine empire (church language was still Greek). Ohrid became a religious centre, and even nowadays there are many churches (although many were converted to mosques during Ottoman time).
Travelling in Eastern Europe, esp. Bulgaria and Macedonia, you see his name everywhere (at least if you are able to read Cyrillic script), e.g. the ‚main‘ university in Sofia is named after him and Bulgaria’s scientific base on Antarctica too (though you will not find in Eastern Europe).

Amphitheater in Ohrid, Macedonia

Originally uploaded by plepe

Later that day (January 3rd, 2009) we met a CouchSurfer from Skopje with her friends, at whose place we wanted to surf, but she herself spent new year in Ohrid. We used the opportunity to learn from some locals about Ohrid’s long history and see some places, like the the Ancient amphitheatre you can see in the picture.
And a long history it is, a first town was Lychnidos, founded in the 7th century BC. It’s nationality changed several times (Illyrinans, Ancient Macedonians, Romans) until it was destroyed in 526 AC by an earthquake. Later refounded as Ohrid, it continued to be conquered every couple of centuries (Bulgarians, Albanians, Serbs and the Ottoman Empire). Independence of the Ottoman Empire came in 1912 by Serbs, during the world wars it was ruled by Bulgarians and finally it became part of Yugoslavia. After independence in 1991 it is now part of Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

Ohrid in Wintertime, January 2009

Originally uploaded by plepe

Again a picture taken in Ohrid, Macedonia (FYROM). This time from the pier of the harbor. It started snowing the night before, and the town was covered with fresh snow. The harbor was sleeping, just some snow-covered ships were slowly shaking with the waves.

Lake Ohrid in wintertime, January 2009

Originally uploaded by plepe

There’s a picture of Lake Ohrid (Ohrid, Macedonia/FYROM). Usually you are supposed to see the mountains over the Albanian border, but as it started snowing that day (January 3rd, 2009), it was totally foggy.
It’s not very common to have snow in Ohrid, according to people we talked to the time when it snowed last time ranged between three or ten years.
But it was a very calm and relaxed atmosphere, the birds with their cries, the sound of the water, and not much more.

Maruska, the car-girl on an old Zastava

The nice girl which is leaning on this old car is Maruska, my travel mate from Czech Republic who was doing some kind of exchange in Bulgaria too.
The car is an old Zastava, from a Serbian car factory. The picture depicts either a Zastava 750 or 850, which were produced between 1955 and 1985 and are still very popular in the former Yugoslav countries. This particular picture was taken in Ohrid (OH), in the south-west of Macedonia (FYROM) on January 2nd, 2009.