Ohrid, Macedonia

RUSSIAN
I pod zvyozdami balkanskimi
Vspominaesh nesprosta
Yaroslavskie, ryazanskie
I smolenskie mesta.
Da, tut obnaruzhivaetsya, chto Rossia ne obladaet monopoliey na otsutstvie nadyozhnoy informatsii ili pryamuyu dezinformatsiyu. Dostatochnuyu dolyu etogo ya ispytal v Bolgarii. No, konechno, v etom, kak i vo vsyom, "horosha strana Bolgaria, a Rossia luchshe vseh!"
Odnako, povidimomu ya nespravedliv -- pogoda byla ko mne laskova i ya posetil mnogo interesnyh mest po marshrutu Varna-Nesebr-Veliko Tyrnovo-Plovdiv-Koprivshchitsa

-Sofia-Rylski Monastyr-Blagoevgrad. V eto vremya osennie kraski byli v polnom razgare, osobenno na sklonah ushchelya vozle Rylskogo Monastyrya s byglyadyvayushchimi vershinami gor, priporoshennymi snegom. Konechno, krasivo. No tut a ponyal, pochemu samaya zhivopisnaya osen v mire v Novoy Anglii. Zheltye i zelyonye tone tut horoshi, no nehvataet bagryantsa klyonov.
Posle Bolgarii ya okazalsya v Makedonii -- vy ved znaete, chto ya lyublyu sledovat po sledam svoego druzhka Cashi Makedonskogo. Mezhdu prochim, na Vostoke ego nazyvayut Iskander Makdonya -- chast zvuchit ka Makdonald. No vse velikie pokoriteli mira (Alexandr Makedonskiy, Chingiz-khan, Napoleon Bonapart i Leo Falk) ne mogut sravnitsya s Ronaldom McDonaldom -- kuda ya ne priedu --- on uzhe tam.
Iz stolitsy makedonii Skopye ya smotalsya na paru dney v Kosovo -- Proshtina i Prizren. Posledniy byl stolitsey srednevekovoy Serbii, no nyne vyglyadit kak zhivopisnyy turetskiy gorod s mnogochislennymi mechetyami i minaretami.
A seychas ya v ocharovatelnom Ohride: na holme staryy gorod s krepostyu i vizantiyskimi tserkvyami. i vsyo eto na beregu iskluchitelno zhivopisnogo Ohridskogo ozera.
Na drugoy storone ozera Albania, gde ya budu zavtra.


ENGLISH
In Bulgaria i followed the most interesting places: Varna-Nesebar-Veliko Tarnovo-Plovdiv-Koprivshchitsa-Sofia-Rila Monastery-Blagoevgrad. The weather was fair and the autumn foliage was at its peak. But now I understan why they say that the best foliage in the world is in New England. Though the yeloows and greens are bright , especially with the snow covered mountain tops near Rila Monastery, The reds and carmines are missing here. Couple of irritating moments spoiling some impressions I did enjoy that country.
After Bulgaria I found myself in Macedonia. You know that I like following the steps of Alexander the Great. Perhaps we are related -- it is not by chance that we both have the same last name: Alexander the Great and Leo the Great.
By the way in the East he is called Iskander Makdonya, often sounds
Makdonald. And I have to admit that all the world conquerers (Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan, Napoleon Bonapart, and leo Falk) -- we all cannot compete with Ronald McDonald. Wherever I come -- he is already there!
From Macedonian capital Skopje I visited Kosovo -- Prishtina and Prizren. The latter was the capital of medieval Serbia, but now with numerous mosques it looks like a picturesque Turkish town.
Today I am in the charming Ohrid. The old city with the steep cobbled streets and Byzantine churches is crowned by a fortress. And all this on the shore of the picturesque Ohrid Lake.
On the other side of the lake lies Albania, where I will be tomorrow.