Friday Night Froyo.

Finally, my favorite dessert has arrived in Kosovo!

I Love Birthday Love.

Love notes and care packages are definitely the next best thing to spending time with the ones who love me best.

So grateful for friends and family --near and far-- who make my birthday amazing every year.

I Promise to Always Eat Peppers and Cheese.

If you plan to visit Kosovo, you are probably more interested in the tourist attractions and the fashion than the eats....I'm just kidding; no one really plans to visit Kosovo.
But if you do find yourself in the Balkans, enjoy some of the traditional foods, beginning with peppers and cheese.

After one bite of the hot, gooey, spicy mixture, Susan was hooked.
So much so, she made me take her back another night for round 2.

She also fell in love with the fried cheese.

And the shopska salad.



Honestly, if you boil Balkan food down to a few words, it would be....salty white cheese.
It's an odd feta-type cheese that comes in two forms -- wet or dry.
I don't really want to talk about it anymore because it may cause me to stop eating it, but it does taste pretty good when melted, fried, or shredded.

Ohrid Art Walk.

Shortly after beginning our walking tour of old town, we discovered this school

hosting these works of art.

, 

So sad yet so amusing.

Ohrid, Old Town Walk.

Because the sun continued to shine, we were able to experience the Lonely Planet walking tour to see the major sites of Ohrid's Old Town. 

 Starting at the Upper Gate, we climbed down a small hill to see the 2,000-plus-year-old classical amphitheater.  Originally built for theater, the Romans turned it into a gladiator ring {dislike!}, but it is now back to hosting non-death-resulting summer performances.


{Sorry the photo doesn't exactly capture the amphitheater; I'm just really a lover of mountains.}

From the theater, we headed over to Sveta Bogorodica Perivlepta.  Built in 1295 and ranking among the most outstanding achievements of mediaeval architecture, the church is home to an icon gallery {that we didn't make it in time to see} and some majorly gorgeous frescos.



It also offered a view of the Ohrid Fortress of Tzar Samuel {or Car Samoil's Castle}.
Once serving as a function of defense against enemies and as an inhabited area, it now just acts as an item of magnificent beauty.



Continuing our walk, we strolled through the cobblestoned old town until we arrived at the fortress.

  

 From the top of the castle walls, the lake shines like a blue jewel, like a piece of the sky. And the whole city of Ohrid is visible.







Climbing the narrow stone steps down from the top of the walls, we realized we were actually locked-in to the fortress.

Don't worry! After a completely unnecessary panic, we escaped/the workers unlocked the gate for us, and we continued our stroll down a wooded path to Saint Clement's Church of Saint Panteleimon,  a church sitting on a cliff looking over Lake Ohrid. Beautiful inside and out.

Because of the sun and rain combo, a bright, full rainbow dramatically and beautifully cut across the sky bridging city and water -- a perfect escort for our trip back down.

Following the rainbow, we continued downward to the 11th century, Sveta Sofija Cathedral, said by Lonely Planet to be modelled after Constantinople's St. Sophia.  The church offers views of more frescos, Ottoman-era architecture, and old ruins, but also provides some amazing acoustics making it a great place for a concert.

 

And it was here, across from a beautiful cathedral underneath a rainbow that Susan and I decided it was time for a cold beer on a patio to celebrate {my} life.    

And yes, we ordered some fried cheese as well.

Jealous?