Day six in the Balkans

Day six – the penultimate one – and how did it go? We left our hotel in Skopje at 9 am and arrived at our hotel in Pristina at 6.20 pm and, in the intervening nine or so hours, we visited four locations in two countries in excellent weather (26C).  

Starting the day with some more time in North Macedonia, we went to an artificial lake called Marka Canyon where we spent around an hour on a boat trip which offered stunning views of the turquoise water and karst mountains and included a fun time in a cave where stalactites and stalagmites are v-e-r-y slowly forming down and up respectively. 

Then we crossed the border from North Macedonia back to Kosovo, our third border crossing in five days. It was time to view another Serbian Orthodox Church and this one, although in Muslim Kosovo, is located in a Serbian village where they fly the Serbian flag and use the Serbian currency. The Gracanica Monastery was built in 1321 in Byzantine style and it is a splendid construction with five domes and 16th century frescoes. 

Nearby, in Pecina, we walked around the Gadime Cave before stopping for a light lunch. Our last visit was to more Roman ruins, this time the remains of Ulpiana. A good deal more could be revealed here but the land is owned by Serbians who would not want it excavated. 

This evening, there was no group meal but half of us were taken by Miku, who lives in Pristina, to one of his favourite restaurants called “Shpija e Vjeger” which translates as Old House. Food and conversation were both splendid. 


 




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