All good things come to an end and so did the day we were going to leave Ohrid. It was our sixth day since arriving in North Macedonia and we were about to go back to Skopje. We had actually arranged with the taxi driver that drove us to Ohrid to pick us up for the drive back to Skopje. As it turned out, this is something that worked very well. We had also arranged for two stops along the way. One in the small town of Kičevo and another in the town of Tetovo. After an early lunch in Ohrid, we met up with our driver and were soon on our way back north.
A Short Stop in Kičevo
Our first stop for the day was half an hour in the small town of Kičevo. This is a small town with around 23.000 inhabitants. Yes, it might not have any major sights, but it is still interesting to see other parts of the country that you are visiting. Walking along the mostly empty streets in the center of Kičevo gave one insight. It was surprisingly clean. It was a cozy town and we eventually sat down at a restaurant for a drink before our driver returned to the car. We were soon on our way again in a northward direction.
A Short Stop in Tetovo
Our second stop was for an hour in the town of Tetovo. This town is a bit larger than Kičevo and has a population of around 63.000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It is a town with a large Albanian population, actually accounting for a larger part of the population than the local Macedonians. Walking along the streets we encountered several small mosques and the utopian Macedonian Post Building that was completed in 1977. It is interesting to see how towns in this part of the Balkans mostly look the same with the exception of the number of mosques or churches. We had once more encountered a clean and cozy small town. It is a surprise each time when the perception of a country isn’t confirmed when visiting.
Hello Skopje! We Are Back!
From Tetovo, it was just a short drive to Skopje. It did not take us long to find our accommodation for the coming two nights. We are still happy that we spent a little extra on a taxi instead of spending hours on a hot bus. Especially since we got the opportunity to see two more towns along the way.
Skopje was still as expected with a grandiose facade at its central square and along the Vardar River. We only took a short walk before finding a restaurant for dinner in the area of the Old Bazaar. Customer service here at this time of the year was horrible, but we got something to eat and could enjoy the evening before a good night’s sleep. We had one full day left in North Macedonia and were at this time already a little worried about the temperature warnings that were going around for southern Europe. Luckily the AC in the apartment worked quite well.
Join us and read more about our Balkan adventure here: Summer in Macedonia 2023
