Balkans
The bit that Michael Palin missed Part One - Lake Ohrid, Macedonia
Michael Palin’s recent New Europe series was a mild-mannered jaunt around the countries of the former Eastern Bloc. From Slovakia to Serbia he made his usual ambling way around some of the more interesting spots in the east.
Of course, he couldn’t do justice to such a wildly diverse region in just seven episodes, and plenty of footage also got edited out of the final cut for TV.
Frustratingly, he was shown travelling by boat from Albania across Lake Ohrid to Macedonia, but was next seen in Bulgaria up a hillside. So what did he miss out?
The town of Ohrid itself for one. This UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site is a fantastically preserved lakeside town of wooden framed Ottoman-era houses and a cradle of Macedonian Christianity. If your image of a cathedral is a huge, lofty Gothic space, then a visit to the town’s Saint Sophia (or Sveta Sofija) cathedral, might open your eyes.
There are plenty of other unique fresco-covered Orthodox churches to explore as well, like the dramatically-sited Sveti Jovan at Kaneo, which featured prominently in the cult Macedonian film Before the Rain (which, by the way, has a sublime soundtrack).
Aside from churches and old wooden buildings, there’s boating on the lake, modest beaches, a medieval castle, a Roman amphitheatre and mosaics plus unhurried lakeside restaurants. Ohrid trout is usually on offer but avoid ordering this endangered species and plump for something else – the local fish soup is a fine option.
Accommodation wise, there are plenty of private rooms and guesthouses to choose from. One of the best has to be Vila Sveta Sofija hotel, where balcony rooms overlook the lake, cathedral and castle. The suite is particularly romantic and the hotel serves a mean breakfast too.
Palin also headed into the heart of Macedonia’s interior, but this journey, too, was sadly cut out of the edit. Read Part Two for more on the isolated mountain refuge he visited.
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3 comments for “The bit that Michael Palin missed Part One - Lake Ohrid, Macedonia”
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I have just watched an episode of “Michael Palins New Europe”.
My mother and I eagerly waited with patience to view a glimpse of Macedonia, on which the opening preface had stated Michael was going to venture through…alas no Lake Ohrid hence no Macedonia. Why was this so? The station on which it was shown in Australia stated to myself that it was edited to make the program fit into its time slot, but why was there such a vast amount of time layed down for one place? (Turkey). Please someone explain, why?
The title of choice that was selected for your documenrty was very misleading (”NEW EUROPE”, ha my foot) Very Very Very Disappointing.
I also watched this episode and when I asked the television station in Sydney, Australia I was told that the recording was received this way from the UK. This was false representation of the program and is just became confusing. Why was such a large part of the show devoted to Turkey. Why was this not edited in the same way. I will not be watching any further episodes.
I was disappointed as well when the programme failed to show anything of Macedonia. I actually watched the episode twice to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, but it had all been cut out in the edit. And you are right, they had a long feature on Turkey which could have been cut, especially the belly-dancing bit which was plain daft. Michael Palin does talk about his Macedonian trip in the book of the programme, however. You can read about it on his website