Shots as our plane approached Tirane 1-1/2 weeks ago, to begin our current vacation. With clear weather almost the entire flight, and a perfect window seat, my eyes were glued to the landcape the entire flight down from A’dam. Today we’ll head back up to spend three nights there before flying home: more to come later!
As regular readers know, I’ve lived for nearly five years now in a location quite devoid of mountains. So I’ll hope you understand in the delight I feel each time I walk out the door here in Trpejca and see this, our local 2200-meter mountain framing the horizon :-). In the gallery below, I’ve also included a shot of the village as seen from the water, with mountain backdrop. We’re staying to the right, out of the frame of that photo.
This hilltop fortress in Ohrid is named after Tsar Samuel, who ruled a large empire in constant tension with the Byzantine empire over borders and so on. He was reputed to be invincible and quite cruel, and reigned from 997 to 1014, during which time he moved his capital to Ohrid from Skopje.
On Monday, Steve and I saw these lovely snapdragons growing in (the town of) Ohrid’s ancient amphitheater. When the Romans gained control of this region – so the sign tells us – they remodeled the amphitheater for gladiatorial and big-animal spectacles, instead of the classical dramas one assumes were mainstays during the Hellenistic period.
Somehow we’ve arrived in May, and my next vacation has brought me to another new area surrounded by mountainous countryside. So I’m splurging on a big post with all the remaining from my last days in 2025, all spent in the coastal range of Mendocino County.
(so much world, so little time....) 