The Byzantine architecture of the 13th century church Saint John at Kaneo overlooks Lake Ohrid
It’s barely nine in the morning, but at the waterfront café on the shores of the sparkling, crystal-clear Lake Ohrid, the owner is recommending I try a bowl of traditional fish stew – for breakfast.
I’m spending a week in Macedonia and have already encountered baked snails, giant flaky pastries and huge sausages at random mealtimes, so by this point I just shrug and say, ‘When in Macedonia’ – fully expecting a hearty dish of heads and fins.
But I’m presented with a delicious light, lemony broth, with freshly caught lake trout for just £1.20, and I manage to tear myself away from the stunning view for the few moments it takes to slurp it up.
The historic town of Ohrid is probably the biggest tourist resort I’d never heard of. It’s in the south-west corner of the landlocked Balkan republic, which used to be part of former Yugoslavia, and visitors flock in their thousands from all over the world to enjoy its lake – one of the oldest and deepest in Europe – and charming Unesco heritage sights.
