Bicycle Tour In Europe, Republic of Macedonia Part 3

9/21 Bosnia And Herzegovina ➜ Skopje ➜ Lake Ohrid

Finally in Macedonia!
After a mammoth drive from Dubrovnik through Croatia, Montenegro, and Kosovo, we arrived at the Villa Vodno around 1am.

▲The cobbled section of the Old Bazaar.

Scenes from around the Bazaar.

▲Villa Vodno
The bike stowed in the room at Villa Vodno, and then poised for action out front in the morning.

▲Saint Jovan Bigorski Monastery
An impressive monastery on the road between Zhirovnica and Debar.

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9/24 Lake Ohrid ➜ Bitola ➜ Prilep

▲Bitola
Not a big service centre like Skopje, not a tourist magnet like Ohrid, but a good-sized, lived-in town with an easy charm.

Scenes from the ride to, and town of, Prilep.

Tobacco harvest.

A ruined mosque, with the church clock tower in the background.

Tobacco drying.

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9/28 Prilep ➜ Veles ➜ Matka Canyon ➜ Skopje ➜ Doha ➜ Perth

Scenes from the rail trip from Prilep to Veles.

Bagged up and ready to board. Wouldn‘t have got on if it wasn’t a folding bike.

Safely stowed.



Stations.

The sun setting on Veles.

▲Memorial Tomb to the Heroes of the Second World War
A war memorial that reminds me of Le Corbusier.

Scenes from the ride to Matka Canyon.

The entrance for the boat ride.

Tito memorabilia suggests an affection for the Old Marshal.

The restaurant was a pleasant surprise.

The ubiquitous treadly.

A mosque with uncharacteristic glazing at the front.

▲Skopje
A little bit London. A little bit Paris.

▲Skopje
More folding bike vindication: at the eleventh hour I finally got a flat tyre cycling around Skopje, but with the folding bike, no problems.
A couple of dollars for a taxi ride back to the villa, folded it and threw it in the boot, then got it ready to put on the plane in the morning.