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Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
To borrow my favorite line from the movie "American Pop":
Kosovo? Where the heck is Kosovo?
The ride from Trigrad Bulgaria was great, for the most part. Stayed the night in a weird little place close to the Macedonian border. It was weird because I was the only guest, but they opened the kitchen for me. It was a fancy place, for $24. I had thought I was going to end the day at a small town, but I ended up at a big smelly city, so I checked Bookings and Air BnB. Not a lot of options, so I grabbed the first one far out of the city that had a high rating. $24 with breakfast is a high price for a hotel here, but what the hell. Being out of season, a lot of places that would otherwise be packed are completely empty.
I chose a route to Macedonia that was nice, some highway, some city but mostly twisty roads. In the southwest corner of Macedonia there is a National park and two lakes with a nice twisty road connecting them. The view is incredible, and the fall foliage rivaled New England. A little less red, but plenty of other colors.
The Lake Ohrid area is pretty far out of season right now. Many places are closed, but there is enough open to make it worth it. Still, the server will hand you a menu, let you look at it, then when you try to choose he will tell you they don't have that. When you ask what they do have, they will tell you. Only a couple of items. They won't mention that they don't have fresh vegetables, so will substitute with french fries. Good thing a full meal with desert and a liter of beer is only $10.
My hotel is great, away from the main tourist areas, with a very nice owner. I was the only guest both nights I stayed there.
You can get Ohrid Fish, Belvica, which is like small trout and grows in the lake but is also farmed. Delicious. This lake and the restaurants also have eels that come from the sea to spawn, or maybe go to the sea to spawn, a bit of confusion with the language.
There is also a Bay of Bones, which is not as interesting as it sounds. They found a large old settlement in the lake that was built on pilings. There were animal bones there, which is not surprising in a settlement. There is a recreation of a portion of the settlement, and if you are a SCUBA diver you can go down and look at the real old settlement.
Ohrid has an Old Town. Imagine that. And a tourist area with restaurants and shops. And an ancient amphitheater, old churches, a Monastery, statues, monuments and all that. I spent very little time there. I am just not interested any longer. There is a point when nothing historic short of digging up an alien spaceship will invoke anything but a yawn. I think I have reached that point.
They did have one thing I don't remember seeing anywhere else, Polished Marble walkways where the tourist shops are. Actually nice. Well, except for the shops.
Nope, not an alien spaceship. 
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Even though I am a bit jaded, these places are still pretty cool to walk around. 
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Marble, nicely polished, to walk on while buying swiss watches and cheap chinese made souvenirs. 
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These contraptions were driving everywhere in Macedonia and western Bulgaria. Everyone here heats with wood, even apartment buildings. People get their wood delivered, then these guys show up with these things and cut the wood into smaller pieces. It is basically a big slow diesel engine with belts to drive the vehicle or the saw blade. I really wanted to get a video of one in action as these things look scary to use, but the only one I could have gotten looked like a suicide mission to stop and park. So you will have to make do with this video of one going by instead.
Roving Loggers
Link to VIDEO
And about Diesel engines. They are everywhere around this region. Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, etc etc. And they stink. The cars are so old and worn that they leave clouds of black smoke everywhere. It will take me a month of breathing clear SCUBA tank air to clear out my lungs and sinuses.
The roads north of Ohrid along the Albanian border were fantastic. Plenty of curves, great views and the foliage in peak color. I had planned on heading north into Kosovo through Morovo National Park in northern Macedonia, but Google, my GPS and every other mapping program I had disagreed. It turns out the road does not connect between Kosovo and Serbia. A little farther east there was a road into Kosovo, and it was nice. Curvy with great scenery, great foliage and a scary looking monstrosity of a city in the distance. I was able to find a route that did not go through there, and in fact avoided any big cities. It did not avoid all cities, but these were smaller and easier to get through. The small towns were interesting enough, and I have finally found a place where being on a big adventure bike seems to be a bit unusual.
I had not actually planned on going into Kosovo until that morning. I didn't know if I would need a Visa, if my insurance was any good, or if I needed a vignette. About 10 miles from the border I googled and found out no visa or vignette. Could not determine insurance.
Sure enough, when I got to the border I was told my insurance was no good. But there was an office just around the corner that could provide me with temporary insurance. $10 for a week. That would do.
Getting the insurance papers filled out properly, and answering a bunch of questions was an interesting task. The man did not speak any English. I no, errr, Kosovoianan???? I tried the google translate app but it did not have that language. It took me longer than it should have to remember that in Kosovo they speak Albanian. THAT I have on the app.
My first stop on the side of the road to look at maps had a local man trying to talk to me with limited English. I got my story across well enough, and he told me his as best he could. He also gifted me a mountain dew. I don't drink much soda and had plenty of caffeine today, but a gift cannot be refused. I forgot how much I liked these things.
On short notice, since I had not planned on being here, I tried to recall my history. Were we the good guys or the bad guys? I was pretty sure we were the good guys from the perspective of Kosovo, but was not completely sure. This sign of a sports center named after Clinton made me think we were probably the good guys.
There were plenty of very nice memorials and monuments to people who died for the cause. All were very tasteful and somber.
As the day passed, I was looking at the map to see where I would stay. There was not a lot. As I rode, I could not find a suitable place that was open. Nearing the border I asked a local, and he directed me to a place 10 miles away in the direction I was going. Place was fine, $12 for a decent room. But the kitchen was not open. Off season and all that. So off I went.
The border crossing into Serbia went smoothly. When I got to the next city, it was dark. I had already checked Booking.com and AirBnB. Booking was the better bet, as not a lot of Europeans use Air BnB in these parts. There was a place rated excellent 4 miles north and away from the city for $30. With breakfast. It WAS excellent. I was the only guest. They had to call the kitchen staff in to cook for me. This was the second place they had to do that, and the 4th night in a row I was the only guest in a hotel. Off season here is REALLY off season.
Monument in Macedonia. 
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More foliage 
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