You may remember Musli and Shefik who we met at the campsite on Lake Ohrid? Shefik runs a restaurant in Kicevo, located between Lake Ohrid and Skopje, and invited us to come and visit. Of course, we could not refuse. And wow, what a fantastic and interesting day we had!
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Restaurant in Kicevo
We drove for about an hour, through a green and mountainous landscape, to get to Kicevo. As soon as we entered the town, we saw the sign "Restaurant Uskana" and turned in. The restaurant is a bit out of the way in town, and turned out to be a huge and modern restaurant/nightclub/party venue.
The restaurant is relatively new and the plan is, among other things, to focus on organising wedding parties. This may not be a bad idea, as we understand that weddings are big business here!
Good food in Kicevo
When we turned in we were immediately greeted by Shefik, and it was of course very nice to see him again. We were immediately offered a well-prepared lunch: soup with liver and heart of lamb and a salad with, among other things, stuffed hot peppers. Very, very good!
Sightseeing in Kicevo
After lunch there was a guided tour of the area. We started by visiting a small orthodox church and a small monastery, where a single nun lives. Then there was a visit to a beautifully located hotel where artists apparently meet every year - the hotel's restaurant was filled with paintings and in the park around it there were lots of works of art. We also had time to visit a large stable/bed & breakfast that Shefik's friend is building.
Kicevo's two communities
This was followed by a visit to the city itself, which is home to around 65,000 people. We learnt that there are both Albanians and Macedonians living here - mainly divided at each end of the city. It's not that the two communities don't get along, but they do speak different languages and have somewhat different cultures and religions.
We experienced Kicevo as a lively town with lots of shops and outdoor cafes, and a wild mix of old and new: new private houses and old houses from the communist era, well-maintained houses and dilapidated houses.
Big weddings in Kicevo
I was perhaps most intrigued by the sheer number of wedding shops, and after a visit to the local mosque, we popped into one such shop, filled with stunning dresses and jewellery. We learnt that Albanian weddings last for two days, and no expense is spared!
The beautiful dresses, with hand-sewn embroidery, can cost 20,000 SEK and the wedding party usually has several hundred guests. Like I said, weddings are big business here!
Kicevo's hospitality
For us, the day ended with a fantastic dinner at the Uskana restaurant with Shefik and his friends, with baked lamb, baked potatoes and carrots, Greek salad, stuffed peppers, bread and wine. We haven't had to pay once, now or before, and we have to say that people here are so insanely hospitable, generous and welcoming!
Friendly people in the Balkans
It is not just today that we have been met with this hospitality. Wherever we have travelled in Albania and North Macedonia, we have noticed that people like to offer a little extra. Some examples: Although we received lots of extra small gifts at the campsite (countless raki, coffee, fruit, corn cobs, etc.), the price was rounded down when we had to pay and after the walk in Kicevo centre yesterday we came back with gifts, both plums and a small Albanian "handkerchief" that you wave during the wedding parties ...
We can only say that we meet fantastic people in these countries and - what we constantly repeat to ourselves - we actually feel safer when travelling around here than we do at home in Sweden. Many, many thanks for a fantastic and interesting day yesterday!
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Ditte says:
What experiences you will have! Absolutely fantastic with such generous, hospitable and friendly people. Funny that you write about this and that you both get to see and experience so much of both Macedonia and Albania. Feels good to read as the media images that are cabled out here at home often show other things, especially when it comes to the refugee issue (but it is on the other hand very complex).
Looking forward to the next post.
02 September 2015 - 16:33
Frankie & Co says:
Mmmm - almost gets chills and just gets so hungry for these hospitable countries!
02 September 2015 - 16:38
Lennart says:
I've answered that to everyone who asks how we dare to travel in different countries:
it is no worse than Sweden!
The only thing we have experienced in six years happened in Sweden, a sleepless night in Norrköping!
Live well
02 September 2015 - 17:08
BP says:
WOW! What an amazing day! Incredibly nice photo evidence that really shows how pampered you were. Now you are worthy of being taken care of, of course, but I like this genuine hospitality that is as far from our "habits" as you can get.
I wish Shefik all the luck in the world with the restaurant. It is as nice and luxurious as possible.
What an adventure! So good that you met Shefik who could show you things you probably missed.
02 September 2015 - 17:13
Maggan and Ingemar says:
Yes, now you can't help but be both jealous and curious 🙂 .
Your trip is fantastic and we also felt safer there than in Spain.
More friendly and helpful people are hard to find.
Sometimes you wonder why they are much friendlier there than in many other places, maybe because they want to show their country and get the tourists to come there. 🙂
02 September 2015 - 17:21
admin says:
Ditte, it feels good to be able to report on something else. These countries have so much to offer! The refugee situation in Europe is, of course, very problematic, but we haven't seen anything like that.
Frankie & Co, these are great countries that we highly recommend!
Lennart, can only agree! Most people in the world are very friendly. And here feels fat friendlier and safer than in many other places! 🙂
BP, well we in Sweden may have to think about it a bit. How hospitable are we really? And of course it is good to have a local guide! We would never have come here and experienced this otherwise!
Maggan and Ingemar, yes Spain is probably the country we have received the most warnings about, especially some places, like Barcelona. We didn't feel overly worried there either, but were a little more careful about leaving the car unattended in car parks and so on. Here we feel very safe. Of course, crime occurs in all countries, but the feeling is that it is unusually safe here.
02 September 2015 - 17:49
Role o Carina says:
How nice you have it with such hospitable people!
You get more and more resigned to the south 🙂 .
Have fun and enjoy.......:-)
02 September 2015 - 19:06
Ama de casa says:
Incredibly fun and nice! What treatment - and what a modern restaurant! Keep your fingers crossed that many celebrate their weddings there in the future 🙂
02 September 2015 - 19:41
Anja says:
Yep! Should just check out air travel in late summer / early autumn. Albania will probably be flooded with Swedes next year, after your blog!
(About the tattoos, I didn't mean where you are now, but in other countries of course).
P.S. Too bad you're already married, but a repeat performance can never hurt!
02 September 2015 - 20:16
Mr Leif Berglund says:
Yes, Macedonia is a wonderful country you feel so genuinely welcome that it is difficult to leave. The people want to talk and cheer and offer, behind us the young people chanted "forza italia" because we are travelling in an Italian registered motorhome.
You feel safe because you are among friends everywhere. The only country I've travelled to that can compete with this hospitality was Buddhist Siri Lanka but there the people were a bit shy and more cautious, but it was completely safe even though there was a war going on in the north.
Will be fun to hear what you think about the Slavic part of Macedonia, hope the card comes soon so you go there or go east first and then come back. Hear that you understand how important it is to understand the history and religions when travelling in the Balkans otherwise much becomes incomprehensible.
I will come back to Macedonia and also Albania many times!
02 September 2015 - 20:29
Motorhome Helge says:
Your days must be amazing, you experience and meet lots of people who enrich your journey. But we're not without luck here at home who have the opportunity to indirectly accompany you on your journey. Constantly waiting for new descriptions!
02 September 2015 - 22:42
Marina says:
How marvellous! It is great fun to be with you and I can only agree with what many before me have already said, that it is really tempting after your reports to go to these countries, so a new car holiday through Europe may not be so far away on the day of our engagement.
03 September 2015 - 4:28
admin says:
Rolle and Carina, for us the challenge is to stop travelling... 😉 Thank you!
Ama de casa, we hope so too!
Anja, do you mean Albania? It would be great if more Swedes discovered these beautiful countries! There are certainly different opinions about the tattoos, you're probably right. I recently read that there can be a problem in some places in Japan.
Leif, isn't everyone friendly and hospitable? Wherever we go! I'm not sure how far we will go in Macedonia, but this town is both Slavic and Albanian and we were in a Macedonian restaurant yesterday. I agree that everything becomes more interesting when you understand some history. We both read and ask a thousand questions 😉 .
Husbilen Helge, thank you for your nice comment! It is so nice to hear that you like to follow our journey!
Marina, we can highly recommend these countries! So far only positive experiences!
03 September 2015 - 8:40
Mr Steve says:
You couldn't ask for a better guide.
Great to see such friendly and generous people. I am sure you will meet again sometime in the future.
03 September 2015 - 10:47
steel city anna says:
Nice to read and see all the nice pictures! In Sweden no one stops to help a stranger, a cold country in many ways.
03 September 2015 - 19:16
admin says:
Steve, yes we hope to see you again! We have already made loose plans to go by Malmö and we hope that Shefik and his friends will visit us in Stockholm! 🙂
Steel city Anna, we have also discussed this a lot! How would a Swede do it? How welcoming and generous (or cold and stingy!?) are we Swedes? Travelling gives perspective!!!
04 September 2015 - 7:08
Marie says:
What wonderful experiences you get to experience! I have only heard good things about Albania from friends who have been there before and so much wonderful advertising the country gets from you - hope it boosts them a little!
05 September 2015 - 13:49
admin says:
Marie, we really only have positive experiences with both Albania and Macedonia. Great countries to travel in with beautiful nature and friendly hospitable people!
05 September 2015 - 21:14