Turkish Airlines leave you with mixed feelings wherever you look: most advanced Middle Eastern airline, but a service quality which looks more like Eastern improvisation than Western professionalism; an economy class designed for Anatolian cattle, yet a business class to make you feel like a Pasha.

The verdict depends much on whether you view them as a Middle Eastern airline or as a European carrier, i.e. which standards they have to live up to. I have flown with them almost twenty times and have had a close look at their network, fleet, product and service – and the “special atmosphere” only to be found on board Turkish Airlines.

Network

Turkish Airlines (or THY, short for their Turkish name Türk Hava Yollari), stand out for their extensive connections to the Middle East and Central Asia. They are the only airline from outside the former Soviet Union to serve all of the CIS republics in the Caucasus and Central Asia, almost on a daily basis. Turkish Airlines also have extensive connections throughout the Balkans, but other European carriers have almost closed the gap here.

Most international flights depart from THY’s hub in Istanbul. To a lesser extent, international flights are operated from the capital Ankara, and a few from Izmir. Because of Turkey’s vast size and underdeveloped road and rail network, most long-distance travel in Turkey is by air. Thus THY serve around thirty cities in Turkey from Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

Their long-haul intercontinental network can be ignored, it only includes four destinations in North America, three in the Far East, plus South Africa, and the service provided on THY’s long-haul flights wouldn’t satisfy any European traveller.

Fleet

Turkish Airlines have built their fleet mostly around Boeing’s 737. The backbone of the fleet is around twenty 737-400s, but THY are currently adding around twenty Next Generation 737-800s with a new class concept. There are also some AVRO Regional Jets and a handful of wide-body Airbus 310s, plus a few Airbus 340s for long-haul routes.

The planes all appear to be properly maintained, and Turkish Airlines provide their technical and maintenance service to many other airlines in the Middle East and Central Asia. The interiors of the aircraft are not old, but old-fashioned: faint green and blue textiles, which look like they have been bought from a corner stand on a South East Anatolian bazaar.

Economy Class

The seat configuration is the usual 3 by 3, with a rather small seat pitch of 78-81 cm (31″-32″). The seat coverings are made of textile of the itchy kind, so don’t wear shorts or T-shirts.

Although there are video monitors fitted on most aircraft, I have never seen them being used on the old 737-400s, and on the new 737-800s they only give the current flight status and the position of the plane. So there is no real in-flight entertainment. Considering that most of THY’s international flights last more than three hours, this is disappointing.

The food is plentiful but not very good. Tomato & cucumber salad with dressing as a starter, usually lamb or chicken as the main course, a fruit salad and a cheese selection for dessert. After a couple of flights you know their standard menu. On domestic Turkish flights you only get a roll – again, considering the vast distances and long flights within Turkey, this is not satisfactory. They use lots of plastic for the wrapping – no European airline could justify that to the environmentally conscious passenger – but ecology is not a big issue in the Middle East, or not yet.

The stewardesses serving the Economy Class aren’t very well trained. They hardly speak English and the slightest unusual request can render them helpless. They are not trained to react in an attentive and informative manner to passenger needs, and most of them also miss the personal intuition to handle tricky situations.

Business Class

On most planes, the seat configuration is the same as in Economy Class. However, the middle seat is left free and converted into a table for drinks, etc. On the newer 737-800s, Turkish Airlines have introduced luxurious Business Class seats in a spacious 2 by 2 configuration with extra legroom. As far as I know, Turkish Airlines and Czech Airlines are the only European airlines to have fitted these spacious seats on their short-haul fleets, so that’s quite outstanding. Again, no in-flight entertainment, though.

The food is slightly better than in Economy, with an extra starter between salad and main course, better options for main course, and a better desert. Nothing impressive, though. I’m used to Business Class meals being served on china and with a cloth table cover, but THY seem to be the only airline to use plastic plates in Business Class, again with all the extra plastic wrapping.

The attention, friendliness and service quality, however, is worlds apart from the incompetence shown in Economy Class. It seems that only the best of THY’s cabin staff get to serve in Business Class and appear to receive extra training for this task. They really read every wish from your eyes and treat you like you are the most important person on the whole plane. They also speak fluent English and sometimes German or French.

Delays, ground service, and baggage handling

Turkish Airlines are the one airline with the most delays that I know. Out of 20 flights with them, I may have arrived on time around 5 times, but I always prepare for delays of one to two hours.

On flights from most Asian airports, you cannot check in for your connecting flight. Luggage will however be checked through. As a result, you have to queue up at the transfer desk in Istanbul, which can easily add twenty minutes to your transfer time. But Turkish Airlines connections at Istanbul usually have a couple of hours between them so you don’t get stressed. That indeed is a problem with Turkish Airlines: their timetable is not well thought through, and stopovers of four hours and more are the usual. My recommendation would be to leave the airport and get a taxi to the city centre, which is around forty-five minutes away.

At Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir airports, Turkish Airlines have so-called CIP Lounges for Business Class passengers and customers with an EliteStatus Card. The lounges are fine, create a cosy atmosphere and provide a wide selection of snacks, drinks, and international newspapers and journals.

LUGGAGE IS A BIG PROBLEM. Unless you are flying on direct flights to/from Turkey without onward flights, you can’t be sure where your luggage will end up and if it will ever be found again. That in itself is a reason not to fly Turkish Airlines. Don’t check in any baggage for connecting flights! All of my five project team members who have been flying with THY to the Caucasus and Central Asia have lost their luggage at least once. I was the only lucky one never to have had my baggage messed up by Turkish Airlines and have since avoided checking in baggage with them.

Turkish Airlines are extremely reluctant to pay compensation. It has taken my colleagues up to one year of intense correspondence and threats of legal action before THY paid any compensation. This of course was the minimum compensation based on IATA regulations, which doesn’t come close to covering the real loss. If you do have to check in baggage, make sure you get proper insurance for it beforehand.

Frequent Flyer Recognition and Alliances

Turkish Airlines were a member of the Qualiflyer Group led by Swissair from 1998 to 2000. This allowed you to collect miles with the Qualiflyer programme on THY flights and benefit from a range of specials.

In autumn 2000, however, Turkish Airlines decided to leave the alliance and introduce their own frequent flyer programme, Miles & Miles. The reasons for this change of strategy have never been communicated. The structure of Miles & Miles is identical to the Qualiflyer Programme, before that one was adapted in late 2000. The only change is that you can now collect miles on domestic Turkish flights.

Partnerships with three of the Qualiflyer Group airlines – Swissair, Sabena and American Airlines – have been maintained, and bonus miles (though not status miles) can still be collected with Qualiflyer on THY international flights.

Prices

Turkish Airlines are extremely cheap! Business fares from western Europe are around £700 return, where BA, Lufthansa and Swissair would charge between £900 and £1,200. Economy specials to Turkey are offered from £150, compared with £300 on other airlines. Middle Eastern and Central Asian destinations can be reached for £350 return, again between 10% and 50% cheaper than the airlines mentioned earlier.

The “Special Atmosphere” on board Turkish Airlines

The first impression in Economy Class is that fellow Turkish passengers are moving their complete households. I have often been asked to check in luggage for someone else because they had already exceeded their weight limit. This must strictly be avoided as it is against IATA rules and safety regulations, and you will be held responsible for whatever is contained in the luggage. What cannot be checked in as luggage is taken on board, so be prepared not to have space left to store your own hand luggage.

Once on board the plane, there is a noisy atmosphere throughout the whole flight. Say you are sitting in row 10, you can be sure that the guy in row 9 will have a heated discussion with his cousin in row 11. The only way to endure it is to engage in the discussion yourself, talk to people, make contacts, exchange stories, experiences and jokes.

A different picture is painted on Turkish Airlines flights to the Caucasus and Central Asia. Almost no Turkish passengers here, but “upper class citizens” from these developing countries, who are returning from shopping in Dubai and show their newly bought goods to each other during the flight. I loathe these people, because they have no idea of the difficulties in their countries, have made some quick dollars in under-the-table deals, and live an elitist life in their nomenklatura quarters.

On these flights to the former Soviet Union, there is always a group of development aid workers, NGO people and representatives of international organisations on the plane. In the good old days when I was working in development aid and microfinance myself and THY were the only carrier to fly there, I was always sure to meet some friends or colleagues on the plane. In Business Class, however, your seat neighbour on flights to Central Asia will almost certainly be a high-ranking executive in the oil business.

Verdict

The Turkish Airlines flight experience is one not to be missed, if only for studies in anthropology. And for the price you can’t ask for much, except for them to take you AND your luggage from A to B. But since THY fail even to provide this basic function, they can’t really be recommended on a rational basis.

Reader’s comment (December 2005)

Jens has written in with the following comment:

“I looked up your article about Turkish Airlines, written by Hajo, and was stunned how biased it is. I have flown Turkish Airlines numerous times, and I would be happy to recommend them. All my flights were internal, so I cannot comment about the international service. I found the airline to be well run and pleasant. Food was good and more than adequate. Even on very short flights (eg 40 minutes from Istanbul to Izmir) a nice snack is served, better than the fare on BA. Flight delays happen, but are minimal under normal circumstances. Customer service is good, baggage is delivered quickly. I see no grounds for the negative rating that Hajo gave this airline.”

Introduction

It may appear as if British Expat’s travel correspondent has lost his touch on exotic locations.

No more 1001 nights in Kurdistan.

No more incidents with Ossetian rebels on a Georgian mountain pass to Russia.

No more clashes with corrupt policemen in the Balkans.

Instead a column about Paris and now a travel feature on Madrid. Is Hajo’s World finally joining the mainstream of travel websites?

Not at all. A trip to Azerbaijan is firmly planned. The home of vampires, Transylvania in Romania, remains top of the list for 2002. Other Southeastern European destinations such as Slovenia and Albania, often postponed, may finally materialise this year or next. And a long planned visit to Scotlandistan has almost reached the flight booking stage.

But unfortunately a full business agenda, with the only welcome distraction coming from monthly flights to Bucharest, has slightly slowed down the pace at which Hajo seeks world domination, or exploration.

Hence, until all planned journeys have realised and afterwards found their way to my keyboard, I will have to feed you with some easily digestible material collected on more or less recent city trips.

Excursions around Madrid

During the summer months, leaving the city for a milder landscape may come as a welcome refreshment. Air humidity in Madrid often goes down to twenty per cent, turning every city tour into torture. On such a day, one should head for the countryside. Avila, Toledo and Salamanca are the most popular choices for daytrips, but also the most touristy ones. On a slightly less beaten path, let us explore the western and northwestern neighbourhood of Madrid.

El Escorial & Valle de los Caídos

30 miles west of Madrid, the town of El Escorial is the site of the Royal Monastery Residence. Built from 1563-84, it is one of rather few Renaissance buildings in Spain. The monastery is one huge square block with a tower in each corner and several courts and side wings on the inside.

At the centre of the building are the Basilica, the Royal Pantheon and the Pinacotheque with renaissance paintings of Flemish, Italian and Spanish masters. The Basilica is worth a look for its beautiful large altar room, but the rest of the church is rather plain. So is the pantheon, but it exudes the spirit of history – most Spanish kings are buried here. A highlight is the library with its beautiful paintings and frescos, unmatched anywhere else near Madrid. The library contains over 40,000 books from the private collection of Philip II.

A further 8 miles north of El Escorial lies Valle de los Caídos, a huge burial ground for victims of the Spanish Civil War. Although the graves themselves are not visible – except that of former dictator Franco – there are over 40,000 soldiers buried here. At the centre are the Basilica and the huge Santa Cruz Monument, a 150-metre high cross which overlooks the entire valley.

This site is somewhat controversial in Spain, because the monument and basilica were built in a 16-year long construction period by prisoners of war, many of whom died in the process. But one cannot really travel to Spain without visiting a memorial for the civil war, an event which has influenced Spanish consciousness throughout much of the 20th century.

Sierra de Guadarrama

Now for something much more beautiful and inspiring. The north and northwest of the Province of Madrid is made up of a scenic mountain range, the Sierra de Guadarrama. The one-hour drive from El Escorial leads up the pass to the town of Navacerrada, a popular Spanish ski resort. The road is very steep and full of hairpin bends, and thus requires good driving skills. This would truly make for one of the more difficult stages of the Vuelta, the Spanish equivalent of the Tour de France.

Along the way, there are spectacular views to be had of mountains, hills and valleys, and conifer woodlands. The railway to Puerto de Navacerrada follows a less steep route through the valley, but is no less picturesque. Outdoor fanatics may want to stay at the centre of Sierra, for some extensive hiking in the Valle de Fuenfría National Park near the town of Cercedilla.

At the peak of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain pass, the Puerto de Navacerrada marks the border between the Province of Madrid and the Province of Castilla León. This place has snow well into April, and even on midsummer days it can get rather chilly up here. Just the kind of refresher you might be looking for when in Madrid you can fry eggs on the bare floor.

From Navacerrada the road leads down to the town of San Ildefonso in a series of hairpin curves.

La Granja de San Ildefonso

La Granja de San Ildefonso is a beautiful palace and park on the northwestern slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama. It was built in 1720 by Felipe V, a grandson of the French king Louis XIV, and Felipe attempted to recreate his childhood memories of Versailles in the construction of La Granja.

Upon arrival, the Palace offers a beautiful front view: large old chestnut trees set against the baroque façade. The baroque style continues on the inside. Marble, gold and velvet are spread all over the place, and the room ceilings are decorated with magnificent frescos and huge crystal chandeliers. Although a fire destroyed much of the castle in 1918, all the rooms have been fully restored.

The real treasure of La Granja de San Ildefonso lies in its widespread park. Indeed one feels reminded of Versailles by the numerous fountains, lakes, bushes in all shapes and colours, and rows of chestnut trees. In the dry and hot climate of central Spain, San Ildefonso is a green oasis, sheltered from the burning sun by the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains.

Segovia

Segovia lies ten miles west of San Ildefonso. Unlike many other old Spanish cities which gained importance either during the Arab rule or in the late Middle Ages, Segovia was already a centrepiece of the Roman Province Hispania Tarraconensis, under its Latin name Secuvia. According to legend Segovia was founded in 1076 BC by a great-grandson of Noah, Hercules the Egyptian. Thus Segovia is one of the few Spanish towns which bear remains of all periods of Iberian history.

If you are coming from San Ildefonso, your first view of Segovia will be the Roman Aqueduct. Built in 26 BC, it spans over 700 metres length and 30 metres height. The Aqueduct was in use until 1884 to transport water from the Acebeda river 10 miles away from the city.

The direct path to Segovia’s other attractions would be one of the steep alleys that lead up into the old town. Yet I would recommend that you take a little side trip along Plaza del Gila, Calle de San Millan and Calle de San Valentín. The latter leads to the park and Rio Clamores below the old city, from where one can catch a great view of the cathedral and the castle.

Stairs and alleys lead up from the river park to the central sight of Segovia, the cathedral, which has had a very troublesome history. The original Santa María Cathedral from the 12th century was located on a different site opposite the castle. In 1520 a revolt broke out in Castilla, led by Emperor Charles V. His followers gathered in the cathedral, whereas the Royalists occupied the castle. The result of the battle was the almost complete destruction of the old cathedral.

The construction of the new cathedral started in 1525. Although this new church is mainly Gothic in style, the incorporation of some of the remains of the old cathedral has resulted in a mix of Gothic and Romanesque architecture. Plus there are many elements of the typical Spanish style which has resulted from the mix with Arab architecture in the early Middle Ages. Many of the side altars are baroque. Hence the cathedral of Segovia constitutes a combination of architectural styles which is rarely to be found elsewhere in Europe.

At the end of the huge rock which is the ground for the old part of Segovia, the Alcazar castle reaches into the landscape like the bow of a ship. The Alcazar is a mighty fortress. Its construction began in the 12th century and lasted well into the 16th century, and the latest expansion was carried out in 1764 to house an artillery academy. Much of the castle was destroyed in a fire in 1862 and subsequently restored.

On the inside the Alcazar resembles an oriental palace, which results from the Trastámara Dynasty’s love for Segovia. Henry IV turned it into his royal residence and in 1452 had the oriental elements added, including a whole hall with pine cone decoration. In 1474, the famous queen Isabella I of Castilla was crowned in Segovia, and in 1492 Cristobal Colón (Spanish for Christopher Columbus) came to the Alcazar to report to Isabella his discovery of what he thought was the sea route to India.

When you’re done with the main sights, Segovia is an inviting spot to stroll around the old city with its picturesque small alleys. Or you may wish to rest over a cup of coffee in one of the many street cafés on Plaza de la Catedral or Plaza Mayor. A promenade along the old city walls provides some nice views of the surrounding area. Segovia is also a good place to buy souvenirs and handicraft works, they are a lot cheaper here than in Madrid.

You shouldn’t leave Segovia without enjoying an extended dinner. The local cuisine is famous for piglets and lambs. Start your meal with grilled local chorizo sausage, and pick a lamb joint as your main course. If you are travelling with a larger group, a whole suckling pig may be the perfect choice.

Having come that far, you don’t have to go back through the mountains to return to Madrid. The direct route through the plains lasts around one and a half hours and is easy to drive even at night.

Some Travel Advice

Transport

Travelling to these recommended sights is most convenient by car, in fact for some places this is the only possible transport. El Escorial, Segovia, and Puerto de Navacerrada (Sierra Centro) can also be reached by train from Madrid; however, they are badly interlinked. If attempting this excursion with public transport, it would have to be split into two separate tours.

Seasonal Variations

The mountains of the Sierra de Guadarrama carry snow until the end of April. Thus the climate in the villages of the Sierra and at San Ildefonso is a wee bit chilly during winter months. Should you be taking the mountain route from Madrid to Segovia via the Sierra and San Ildefonso in winter or spring, do expect road jams due to masses of Spanish skiing tourists. A more sensible approach during the winter may be to limit the tour to El Escorial, Valle de los Caídos and Segovia and stay on the main roads in the plains.

Travel Literature

Cees Nooteboom, Roads to Santiago
Harvill Press, New Edition 1998, ISBN 186046419X
Paperback, 320 Pages with Photographs, UK List Price £8.99

This book is an absolute must for anyone travelling to Spain for anything other than its beaches. Cees Nooteboom is a prolific Dutch novelist, poet and essayist born in 1933, with a huge fan community particularly in continental Europe. I personally believe that he is a good bet for a future Nobel Prize for Literature.

In Roads to Santiago he has picked up on the medieval theme of the pilgrimage on the Jacob Path and has come up with an intelligent and insightful collection of essays on Spanish sights, landscapes, history and culture.

Since the Middle Ages both pilgrims and skilled craftsmen have embarked in thousands on a journey from Northern Europe and the British Isles through Spain to the city of Santiago de Compostela in the northwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula. Whereas the pilgrims have sought absolution and cure from disease, the Cathedral of Santiago has been the main inspiration for Gothic buildings in Europe. Many British masons learned their craft here and applied it to the Gothic cathedrals of the British Isles.

Nooteboom himself does not restrict his modern-day pilgrimage to the Jacob Path alone, but has expanded his observations to the whole Spanish mainland, and has embraced history, philosophy, architecture, nature and fine arts in his essays. The result is an extremely enlightening book and an intellectual, yet easy-to-read travel guide to Spain.

Roads to Santiago includes two essays on Segovia and San Ildefonso, which are part of the excursion I have described in this article.

The Obligatory Introduction: Caithness, Alaska

If Mike Clark says that he is late with his latest column, then I am even later.

Which means that my holiday was longer.

Which means that my year-end bonus from British Expat Ltd was bigger.

Shortly after receiving my cheque from British Expat around Christmas, I used it to purchase a First Class ticket to Barbados, bought a villa near the beach, and spent the following four months over Piña Coladas and fine books, and behind or on top of the local beauties.

The only truth in this are the fine books which I received courtesy of the incredible Ed, and which I have never really thanked her for, let alone returning the favour with some splendid articles. I am offering my sincere apologies.

I also lied about the beauties from Barbados. In fact they were from Tbilisi, Bucharest, Geneva and my current hometown, the famous city of Witten (don’t ask).

I haven’t written a single page for British Expat in almost four months.

Which is about the same time it takes to travel from my current hometown, the famous city of Witten, to the home of famous British Expat columnist Mike Clark.

Mike lives in Caithness. That’s in Scotland. Or so he tries to make me believe. I personally believe that Caithness is located north of the Arctic Circle, in Alaska’s Yukon territories.

I can find no other explanation for the £500 which British Airways want to charge me for an Economy Class return ticket Cologne-Heathrow-Edinburgh-Wick, or for the incredible total of ten hours of air travel.

When it comes to the British Transport System, a German columnist who writes for a British website feels like Christmas, Birthday and Thanksgiving have arrived in one day. His day for pisstaking has finally come. This is Judgement Day. And don’t mention the war.

The inventors of the British Transport System were inspired by Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days. Nowadays, as aeroplanes can propel us around the globe in roughly 48 hours, the British Transport System will make sure you remain stuck in the UK for the remaining 78 days.

Britain. In the perception of some in the Conservative Party still an empire. In the perception of British Transport Secretaries a country whose border is defined by the M25. London to Frankfurt in one hour by plane, or London to Paris in three hours on the Eurostar train. £80 return. But London to Caithness? £300 return. Five hours by plane (taking stopovers into account), sixteen hours by train. And don’t get me started on motorways. Even Poland has more of them.

The fact of the matter is that no government in continental Europe would survive even half a term if it provided transport services like the British. Add to that the NHS crisis (can a permanent malaise still be called a crisis?), and you might end up with government terms as short as those in Italy in the 1980s, when national election cycles were averaging around eight months. A law for last calls at the bar at 11 pm would lead to street riots in Germany. And if Scotland were part of Spain, it would have its own version of the ETA terrorist separation movement. But the Brits, and for once that may include the Scots, are a remarkably indifferent species.

Apart from that, the Scots are the better Europeans. But because I am exceptionally sober while writing this article, I will not share on these pages a pub conversation I recently had with a good friend and British (English) expat in Germany, which culminated in the proposal to pull England another 1,000 miles into the Atlantic and make it the 51st State of the Union, whilst tying Scotland to the European mainland and introducing it to the Eurozone.

But I would, any time, support Mike’s bid for the premiership of an independent Scotland. In that capacity, he would have to visit fellow heads of state in other European capitals, one of which I will introduce in this article:

Paris, Texas

Oops. Look for Paris on Google search and chances are you will eventually end up in the backyard of Dubya’s farm. Paris, TX, “the best small town in Texas” according to its website www.cityofparistx.com. Our imaginative friends from across the other side of the Atlantic, after calling seventeen towns “Liberty” and twenty-three “Madison”, seem to have run out of city names and gave the name “Paris” to twelve towns in the US.

The cynic that I am, I immediately tried Google for “Caithness, Alaska”. I was expecting it somewhere in the middle between Liberty 12 and Madison 14. But, surprise, surprise, there was no Caithness to be found in the entire United States, only a dog race by the same name.

So, Mike, chances are that once you are Prime Minister of an independent Scotland, you can invite Jacques Chirac over for a bottle of Glen Ord without having to name the state and county. And if Jacques ever returns the favour, here is the guide to the domicile of the French President:

Paris, FRANCE

Writing a city guide for Paris on an amateur travel site is about as useless as attempting to cover London, New York or Tokyo in an article of 1,000 words. Since the arrival of the internet, any such metropolis is the theme of fantastillions (© Hajo) of websites, only exceeded by the huge number of porn sites on the web.

Thus a new approach is needed. I will lead you through a selection of Parisian sights and districts in the footsteps of famous writers. I will let them speak for themselves, and will add my own remarks here and there.

Paris has always been a home and inspiration to famous intellectuals, artists and writers:

Victor Hugo made Notre Dame his second home and the scene for his works. Honoré de Balzac wrote his Comédie Humaine in his sophisticated quarters at Place Vendôme. Existentialists Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Simone de Beauvoir took their coffee at the café Les Deux Magots on Boulevard Saint Germain. Françoise Sagan drew her last breath in her apartment on the Seine. And Georges Simenon’s famous character, Inspector Maigret, investigated murders around Place Clichy.

In the 1920s, the cream of American authors made their home in Paris, including Gertrude Stein and the group whom she named the writers of the “Lost Generation” – Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound.

Two American authors have each written a book exclusively about Paris: A Moveable Feast (Ernest Hemingway, 1960) and Paris (Julien Green, 1983). Henry Miller’s Quiet Days in Clichy (1966), however, deals less with this Paris suburb than with his own erotic fantasies.

Not to forget the British author Eric Blair, aka George Orwell, who in 1928 moved to Paris to live among the poor, material for his later novel Down And Out In Paris And London. If you read A Scullion’s Diary, his original work from which he later derived Down And Out, you will never want to eat in a French restaurant again.

A first glance of Paris with Victor Hugo

For a first impression of the city layout we consult Victor Hugo’s View from Notre Dame – from the Raven’s Perspective:

“At the centre the Île de la Cité, which we imagine as a giant turtle: under its roof-grey carapace it stretches its paws, the scaly brick bridges. To the left the solid, thorny trapezium of the Quartier Latin, as if made of one single stone. To the right the wide semicircle of the new town, relaxed by gardens and detached buildings. The three districts – Cité, Quartier Latin and new town, are veined by a network of alleys. And right through the middle runs the Seine [...], filled with isles, bridges and boats.”

This quote is of course terribly outdated. Today Hugo would maybe compare Paris to a black hole which absorbs everything around it. Paris constantly expands, and numerous districts have been added, but his orientation still applies to the city centre.

The top of Notre Dame is indeed a perfect place to overlook the roofs of Paris. Other spectacular panoramic views can be enjoyed from Montmartre, Tour Montparnasse, and the roofs of both the Centre Pompidou and the Musée d’Orsay.

Rather than exploring Paris from the centre, nowadays it may be more helpful to seek orientation in an east-west axis along the Seine, reaching from La Défense in the west (built 100 years after Hugo’s death) to the Bastille in the east, along the Champs Elysées and Rue de Rivoli. Add to that Place Pigalle and Montmartre in the north, and Saint Germain des Prés and Montparnasse in the south, and you have got your coordinate system for Paris.

Downhill from Montmartre with Georges Simenon

In his short story The Man in the Street, Georges Simenon takes us on a tour of the northern districts which lie below Montmartre:

“One detail struck Maigret: this exhausting ramble always followed the same course, through the same districts: between the Trinité and Place Clichy, between Place Clichy and Barbès by way of the Rue Caulaincourt, then from Barbès to the Gare du Nord and the Rue La Fayette.”

If you follow Inspector Maigret on his pursuit, this will lead you through the centre of Paris nightlife along streets filled with pubs and discotheques. Luckily he spared us Place Pigalle with its tourist bars, red light district and the cabarets like Folies Bergères, Moulin Rouge, and Casino de Paris which are now but a shadow of a frivolous past.

Towards the end of Simenon’s trail, you arrive at Rue La Fayette, which features Paris’s largest shopping centre, Les Galleries Lafayette.

Les Tuileries with Julien Green

Julien Green paints a dark picture of Le Jardin des Tuileries as he writes

“The Tuileries have been disgraced. Carrousels, a small railway for children, a large Bavarian casino, on the terrace of which a group of countrymen in leather shorts yodel to an audience of four guests. A little further, a loudspeaker blubbers a Mozart aria. [...] The Boulevard is crowded with Sunday promenadors who apparently don’t know what to do with themselves.”

Indeed the area around the Tuileries Garden, Place de la Concorde and the Avenue des Champs Elysées is crowded by tourists and those Parisians who want to see and to be seen.

I have never voluntarily spent much time in this part of town. Business trips to Paris sometimes force me to attend meetings around Champs Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe, but once I get out I rush to the nearest Metro station and head for a more authentic place.

Le Quartier Latin with Ernest Hemingway

The southern shore of the Seine was Ernest Hemingway’s favourite hangout.

“I walked down past the Lycée Henri Quatre and the ancient church of Saint Etienne du Mont and the windswept Place du Panthéon and cut in for shelter to the right and finally came out on the lee side of the Boulevard Saint Michel and worked on down it past the Cluny and the Boulevard Saint Germain until I came to a good café that I knew on the Place Saint Michel.” (Just why does he use “and” so often?)

Hemingway’s route leads right through my favourite part of Paris, the Quartier Latin (Sorbonne university area), and the district of Saint Germain. Beside the great historical and cultural sights Hemingway mentions, this area is known for its bars, cafés, restaurants, antique shops, art galleries and small markets.

On Boulevard Saint Germain are the cafés and restaurants of the more expensive kind, drawing their image from the celebrity writers who used to frequent them. Although I usually prefer to go to less crowded places, I find myself at least once on every Paris trip sitting in Les Deux Magots, which used to be the favourite café of Sartre, Camus et al.

The small and cheaper restaurants can be found in the side streets, usually coming with an oyster bar. In France, oysters aren’t as exclusive a meal as elsewhere in the world, they are more or less a way of life.

Place Saint Michel is great to just stroll around off-season, but a nightmare during summer when it is as crowded by Interrail travellers as the stairs of Montmartre.

Just a few steps away is Paris’s largest park, the Jardin du Luxembourg, where I like to simply sit and read, or watch the children playing on the yard. To me Paris has never been a place to rush from one sight to another, but a place to relax, read, dine, and blend into the anonymity of Parisian life.

Epilogue

Having finished this article makes me long to do as Hemingway did:

“I closed up the story in the notebook and put it in my inside pocket and I asked the waiter for a dozen Portugaises and a half-carafe of the dry white wine they had there. After writing a story I was always empty and both sad and happy, as though I had made love, and I was sure this was a very good story although I would not know truly how good until I read it over the next day.”

The laws of physics have been contradicted. Airplanes can actually fly belly-up. The new Swissair/Crossair is once again aloft, thanks to a cunning plan developed by several Swiss banks. At the end of the process, a new Swiss flag carrier will emerge with a new name.

The puzzled traveller is left with a range of questions, such as:

• Does Swissair still offer the same renowned high quality of service?
• Is Crossair still the best regional airline in Europe?
• Will they both manage to survive?
• How will they merge to form a new airline?
• Are they cutting down on safety to save money?
• Will my tickets remain valid?
• Will my miles be worth anything in the future?

I will attempt to answer these questions in this article from my own experiences with Swissair and Crossair, having flown them quite often recently, and having followed closely their economic development.

Adding to my approximately twenty previous flights with them, I have travelled on Swissair and Crossair on ten flights in December and January 2001/2002. And because a lot has changed in the services they provide since the September turmoil, I will base my verdict solely on these recent flights. These were all short- and medium range European flights between Switzerland, Germany and Romania, plus two domestic flights in Switzerland. All these flights were in Economy Class.

The state of affairs at Swissair: downturn and resurrection

The old Swissair group may go down in the case books for History of Economics as one of the greatest failures in corporate strategy, and certainly as the greatest airline cock-up since the demise of Pan Am. For over five years, Swissair’s hunter strategy was simply to buy any available European air travel company, on the air or on the ground, no matter the cost. And the cost was high. Already in trouble throughout the first half of 2001, Swissair was unfit to accommodate the losses that came with the global downturn in air travel after 11 September.

Between 1995 and 2001, the former Swissair Holding Company SAir Group acquired stakes in a dozen of airlines, including Sabena (Belgium), LOT (Poland), LTU (Germany), AOM / Air Liberté (France), Volare (Italy) and South African Airways, thereby piling up huge financial liabilities and interest cost.

None of these airlines ever generated substantial profits. In fact Sabena, LTU, AOM and Air Liberté were more than once close to biting the dust, and Sabena finally filed for bankruptcy on 3 October 2001. By the end of the year 2000, the small Swiss regional airline Crossair was the only profitable airline in the whole group.

After negotiations with banks and the Swiss government failed, Swissair sought a moratorium for debt repayment at the courts on 1 October, and ceased all flight operations on 2 October, only to resume them the next day with a reduced schedule. But most travel agencies no longer issued tickets for Swissair, and other airlines refused to accept them. Swissair appeared to be bust.

In the months since October 2001, we have become witnesses to a brilliant act of financial engineering and business planning. Under the new structure, the former subsidiary Crossair has been recapitalised by two major Swiss banks to take over parts of Swissair’s operations without assuming its liabilities.

According to the “Phoenix Plus 26/26″ business plan for 2002-2004, a new Swiss flag carrier will be formed this year, the name of which is still undecided. It will operate 26 short range and 26 long range planes from Swissair’s previous fleet, along with the complete previous Crossair fleet of 77 regional aircraft.

What does it all mean to you?

1. You can book Swissair and Crossair tickets again. Travel agents are issuing them again and, should a flight get cancelled, other airlines will accept your ticket as usual.
2. You can trust in their continuing operations, even if you book a ticket for a date much later in the year. Current load factors and revenues exceed the numbers stated in the business plan, making the banks’ and the government’s effort to save the Swiss airline a promising and trustworthy venture.
3. You will like them. In a huge effort to regain your business, Swissair and Crossair will do almost everything to keep you happy whilst on board their planes. In five years of flying with them frequently, I have never seen their staff acting as friendly as now.
4. You can save a lot of money. Flying with a quality airline in Europe has never been so cheap (leaving aside the huge increases in airport taxes and security fees). Bargain offers from Crossair and Swissair are all over the place.
5. Your “Qualiflyer” Miles retain and gain in value. Swissair has never been so generous in throwing away bonus miles. With a bit of cleverness at exploiting their mileage offers, you can now secure your free holiday flights for the next ten years. And the “Qualiflyer Group” alliance appears to be secured, although with fewer airlines than before.
6. But you should expect some flight disruptions. Flight delays, cancellations and baggage delays are currently the rule, not the exception. And the ground handling operator, Swissport, appears to be in a real mess.

The new fleet & network: a fine balance

Following the consolidation of Swissair and Crossair, the two airlines now operate with a reduced fleet of 52 Swissair planes and 77 Crossair aircraft. Together they operate one of the youngest and most modern fleets in Europe.

Swissair long haul:
11 Boeing/McDonnell-Douglas MD-11
15 Airbus A330-200

Swissair short & medium haul:
26 Airbus A319/A320/A321

Crossair short haul:
8 Boeing/McDonnell-Douglas MD-82/83
19 BAe/AVRO

Regional Jets 85/100
18 Embraer Regional Jets 145
32 Saab 2000/340 Turboprops

A cut in Crossair’s charter flight operations has allowed them to take over most of the European routes that Swissair no longer serves. Thus the decrease in continental destinations and flight frequencies is rather marginal. Swiss domestic and intercontinental flights have suffered instead, particularly with a large reduction of flights to North and South America, the Middle East and Central Asia.

For the Economy Class passenger, the joint Swissair/Crossair fleet comes with the largest seat pitch available worldwide. An amazing 35 inches are more than some airlines offer in the Business Class cabins on board their short-haul aircraft. I have always felt comfortable on board Swissair – even on a middle seat you can still stretch out. As you may or may not expect, all seats are made of real leather, soft and shiny.

On top of that, Crossair’s fleet in particular is made up of aircraft with rather large cabin width, allowing them to install wider seats without losing capacity. There is also no discomfort from the usual noise and vibrations in Crossair’s turboprop aircraft, for the Saab 2000s are fitted with an “active noise reduction system” which works amazingly well. Yet Crossair plans to replace all turboprops with Embraer 145 Jets by 2006, and the AVRO Jets with the brand new Embraer 170 as of 2004.

On the whole, full points for Swissair and Crossair on comfort, interior and fleet.

Meals & in-flight service: a smile in the skies

“A smile in the skies” is actually the slogan of competitor Austrian Airlines. But it describes best my experiences on board recent Crossair and Swissair flights. Whilst Crossair staff have always been among the friendliest in the air worldwide, Swissair has now followed suit.

With Crossair, the positive impression continues with Economy Class meals. That’s if you don’t travel in the morning, for the “breakfast” consists of a plain dry croissant without topping. But for lunch and dinner your receive the best rolls and sandwiches in the air, with such choices as “Bündner Fleisch” (a delicate Swiss kind of smoked ham), French herbed cottage cheese, different kinds of Swiss cheese, plus fish. Still only rolls, but considering that most Crossair flights don’t last longer than an hour, that’s fine with me. Throughout the flight, you get served numerous kinds of sweets, Swiss chocolate, candies and fruits. Coffee and cold drinks are served in china and glass respectively, none of the typical Economy Class plastic wrappings here. The frequency of servings throughout the flight reminds me of the Business Class Service of other airlines.

On board Swissair, little has changed on the medium-haul flights, although there are no longer two options of warm dishes. The main course is quite edible, always cooked to perfection and appealing in taste. Worth a mention are the salads as a starter, these are by far the best and largest Economy Class salads I have come across. As on board Crossair, once again loads of Swiss chocolate and sweets throughout the flight.

On both Swissair and Crossair, no meals are served on Swiss domestic flights in Economy Class. But considering that none of these flights last longer than 45 minutes, this can be forgiven.

Swissair has opted for the most awkward choice of in-flight entertainment on its short and medium haul fleet: video without audio. And since (understandably) money is being saved on this service, I have seen the same two programmes on all flights: one series of sketches, Just for the laughs, and one cartoon, Pink Panther. Money is also saved where it’s needed least: November’s Swissair Gazette, the in-flight magazine, can still be found in the seat pockets in January.

Altogether, this makes for a quite positive impression of Swissair’s and Crossair’s meals and on board service in Economy Class.

Ground handling, flight delays & baggage losses: old pains at new heights

Whereas Swissair and Crossair have always played in the premier league of service in the air, I have never liked their ground service operations. The staff of the group company Swissport, in an attempt to make all clichés about Swiss arrogance come true, typically do it all by the book. And if your particular case isn’t mentioned in the book, then it’s not meant to exist. Thank you and goodbye. On one occasion in the past, when I complained about ground service delays making me miss my onward flight, I received the answer that I should fly Lufthansa if I didn’t like their service. I happily followed this advice for the next two years. But I was prepared to approach them without prejudice when I started flying Swissair & Crossair again this winter.

With regard to delays, baggage and ground service, the result of these ten most recent flights is anything but positive:

• · 5 of the 10 flights were delayed more than 15 minutes, including one delay of one hour and another one of 45 minutes. Whilst waiting in Zürich, I also heard far more delay announcements than should be normal.
• · Swissair and Crossair together lost my luggage twice. Considering that these ten flight segments were flown on five connections, that makes for a quota of 40 percent. Whilst one baggage loss was caused by a delay, and thus a short connection, the other one happened after a two-hour stopover in Zürich, enough time to process baggage in transit.
• · On all occasions, I was denied an overnight body care set, let alone a voucher or compensation offer to buy some clothes. Swissair’s ground agent in Bucharest, Globe Ground Romania, said they had no information about compensation plans, and I should contact Swissair in Zürich directly. In Düsseldorf I was told (in a rather harsh tone) that I was not entitled to anything because this was my place of residence and not an outbound destination. I am still in the process of negotiating both cases with Swissport headquarters.
• · However, in both cases Swissair/Crossair flew in the lost baggage with the next plane and delivered it promptly to my doorstep.
• · On several occasions – booking tickets, checking-in, boarding, or claiming lost luggage – I have observed ground staff complaining in front of passengers about bad working conditions, delays and the high number of passengers’ complaints. I regard this practice as highly unprofessional.

Thus the old picture of Swissair & Crossair remains: great in the air, but mediocre on the ground.

Flight safety: “Zürich, we have a problem…”

Swissair and Crossair were once seen as two of the safest airlines worldwide. But a series of fatal crashes in the last four years has left a big mark on the airlines’ safety record:

• 2 September 1998, flight SR 111: a Swissair MD-11 en route from New York to Geneva crashed off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, killing all 215 passengers and 14 crew members. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but believed to be connected to a short-circuit in the aircraft’s in-flight entertainment system.
• 10 January 2000, flight LX 498: a Crossair Saab 340 crashed shortly after take-off from Zürich to Dresden, all seven passengers and three crew died in the accident. The cause of the accident remains unknown.
• 14 November 2001, flight LX 3597: a Crossair AVRO RJ100 from Berlin crashed from low altitude during its landing approach towards Zürich. Of the 33 people onboard, only twelve passengers and two crew survived the crash. The accident is still under investigation, although the lack of an Instrument Landing System (ILS) on Zürich’s Runway 28 may have contributed to the situation.

There has been widespread speculation about possibly lax safety procedures, particularly at Crossair. But in June 2000, an independent expert commission, albeit identifying some weaknesses in Crossair’s flight planning and organisational structure, certified a high level of aircraft maintenance and flight safety. If we are to believe the official announcements of Swissair and Crossair, the two airlines are doing their utmost to prevent further accidents, which includes applying the industry’s strictest safety measures. They also keep saying that the airlines’ cost saving measures will in no way affect flight safety operations.

A remaining concern, at least for this year, will be a safety problem at Zürich Airport. In 2001 the Swiss and German governments negotiated new landing paths for late night hours, which require flights landing after 9pm to descend towards Runway 28. This runway has no ILS, and will only get one in 2003. At times of bad weather and visibility, a manual approach can bear a potential risk.

Thus for the time being, until the accidents are fully investigated and the ILS installed, a little doubt over the safety of Swissair and Crossair remains.

Prices & Qualiflyer promotions: does anybody still pay for their flights?

Having said all this, you may ask why I have chosen the new Swissair/Crossair as my preferred airline, for the time being. The answer is because of both price and a warm shower of extra miles into my “Qualiflyer” account.

Most European destinations are currently offered from almost anywhere else in Europe at below £200, all included, for a return flight in Economy Class with a weekend stay. Considering that ticket prices have increased immensely throughout the industry due to new security fees and higher airport taxes since 11 September, these prices are now among the lowest offered by any European quality carrier.

Another great incentive are the current mileage programme promotions, which offer double and triple miles, plus significantly reduced award tickets, almost throughout the entire network. It has never been so easy to secure your free flights with the “Qualiflyer” programme. And because the restructuring efforts appear to be successful, Swissair & Crossair, and most of the other Qualiflyer airlines, will manage to survive. For the time being, your miles are safe, and growing.

On top of that, Swissair and Crossair keep sending out special mileage offers to selected longstanding customers. They are offering literally hundreds of thousands of extra miles, depending on the number of flights and class of service. My four paid Economy flights in December (i.e. one round trip Düsseldorf – Zürich – Bucharest) gained me an enormous 26,000 miles – that’s more than one free round trip flight in Business Class in Europe. Even better, their latest offer will gain me 240,000 !!! extra miles for the mere investment of £600 in paid tickets. If they stay in business, I won’t have to pay for my private flights for the next five years.

Thumbs up and fingers crossed for the new Swissair and Crossair, plus a slightly mileage-biased 7 out of 10 points in the Hajo’s World airline rankings.

(continued from Part 1)

A ride into the unknown

I knew that I had arrived in the right place when that girl asked me, “Do you work for some international organisation?” In Europe’s new democracies, there aren’t many tourists, and foreigners are mostly expats working for UNDP, the World Bank, the EU, IMF, or some NGO. This shows that new economic potential is being developed, and I have always liked to be a part of this process. But this time I had to answer, “No, I’m simply travelling.” Simply Travelling, once again thanks to the beautiful Alba from Albania, known to readers from other articles on this site.

As it is with Alba, all she told me was to meet her on 30 December, 8.00pm, in the lobby of the Palace Hotel in the city of Ohrid, 200 miles south of the capital Skopje. And no idea how to get there.

Guardian Angels

A good indication that we are pursuing the right path – in life as well as on our travels – is that good things seem to happen by themselves without much of our own effort. And so it was that on my journey to Macedonia, the heavenly forces appeared to have placed a guardian angel at every location, whom to ask for the way.

As these things happen, the plane from Munich to Skopje was overbooked and Lufthansa upgraded me to Business Class, so that I got to sit next to my first guardian angel: Mustafa, an ethnic Albanian pharmacist from Tetovo, who now works in Germany and was flying home to see his family. Throughout the three-hour flight, Mustafa let me into the know about recent developments in Macedonia. Once landed and past the usual crowds of taxi drivers, Mustafa gave me a ride to the city, showed me where to buy the bus ticket, saw me off on the bus and left his mobile number for cases of emergency. First hurdle taken, and handover to the next angel.

The bus ride lasted five hours, but time passed quickly thanks to a very kind girl who talked me through the complete history of her country in perfect English and German. Her set of the 20 most important phrases in Macedonian language, scribbled on the back of my otherwise rather useless Lonely Planet Eastern Europe, proved indispensable.

The guardian archangel was to be Pasco, the only German-speaking taxi driver in Ohrid, and a real celebrity with all those German soldiers of the Kosovo contingent who used to go to Ohrid for the weekends. Pasco became our driver, guide and friend for the next week. He led us off the main roads, gave us hints on the best meals and deals, and invited us to his home where his wife served what must be the best cake in all of Macedonia. And as for reimbursement, Pasco asked for so little that I wonder how he gets on, and refused to take more. A real bargain, this angel.

Sunrise in Sorrento, St. Moritz, and eventually Ohrid

Awaking to bright sunbeams and Alba’s sweet kisses, I felt like the protagonist in the fine novel The Following Story by my favourite Dutch author Cees Nooteboom. He finds himself awake in a hotel room in Lisbon, although he went to bed in his flat in Amsterdam the night before.

Ohrid presented me with the same surprise. I had gone to bed in a run-down ex-Yugoslav enclave with the petrol smell of Yugo cars, Tito’s version of the Lada, crowding the typical wide avenues with the infamous kiosks on each side.

But when I first saw the city at daylight from our balcony, I didn’t trust my eyes. Lake Ohrid spread in front of me, resembling the Bay of Naples from a hotel room in Sorrento. And as I turned my eyes to the snow-white mountain peaks, I had to think of skiing holidays spent in the Swiss Alps.

This mix of settings remained with us throughout the entire journey: alpine and Mediterranean surroundings, the underlying dust of the former Yugoslav empire, and monuments of the old and new Macedonia.

A sacred atmosphere

Ohrid is built around the old city hill, on top of which the castle ruins offer a wonderful panorama over the city, lake and surrounding mountain ranges. On your way up to the castle, a Roman amphitheatre represents the only archaeological remainder of classic times in Ohrid. It is currently being restored with the help of EU subsidies. The old town is also home to numerous nice small restaurants which have plenty on offer for lovers of fish and Balkan cuisine.

The whole old city exudes a sacred atmosphere, as it hosts over two dozen churches, basilicas and chapels. Two of them, Sveti (Saint) Sophia chapel and the Church of Sveti Bogorodica Perivlepta, also known as Sveti Clement Cathedral. They share an interesting detail of history with the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul:

Like the Hagia Sophia, Ohrid’s Saint Sophia chapel was turned into a mosque during the short Ottoman rule. The locals removed the remains of Saint Clement, who was buried in the chapel, and took them to the Church of Sveti Bogorodica Perivlepta, from which this one received its second name Sveti Clement. Sveti Clement is Ohrid’s largest church, and holds some beautiful frescos and icons.

A particularly picturesque walk will lead you on a small path around the whole hill to a fishermen’s village at the lake. Now you have arrived in Italy, for this little quarter comes as close to a small Sicilian fishing harbour as it could possibly get. Further along the path, you reach Sveti Jovan chapel. Standing on a cliff 30 metres above the lakeshore, this is a beautiful place for romantic sunsets or a picnic among pine trees near the water.

The place to see and be seen in Ohrid is the lake promenade. One-and-a-half miles long, it stretches along the gardens of the ugly Intourist-style hotels. But if you keep facing the water, you can catch scenic views of small fishing boats on the lake in front of the 2,300 metre-high mountain peaks.

The lake promenade links the historical Ohrid with the town’s modern part. With around 80,000 inhabitants, modern-day Ohrid hosts many posh bars and clubs, and the nightlife scene is very active. On our New Year’s Eve party in a local club I was to experience the friendliness and open-mindedness of the local youth. So much indeed that in some secret moments I wished I had travelled to Ohrid without a girlfriend.

Mountains, Monasteries, and Bomb Shelters

An obligatory excursion will lead you from Ohrid twenty miles southwest around the lake, to the Albanian border and the monastery of Sveti Naum.

Like Saint Clement of Ohrid, Saint Naum built a small monastery, the monastery of the Archangel, around 900 CE, and was himself buried there. And like St. Clement’s it was destroyed and later rebuilt as the monastery of Sveti Naum. The current church dates back to the 16th century and with its heavy pillars and few windows resembles the atmosphere of a cave, although the shiny gold-plated frescos lighten up the scene.

Saint Clement and Saint Naum have carried Ohrid’s name far into the Slavic world. For together they founded a literary school and created the Glagolitic alphabet, which later became the basis of Cyrillic.

The ride to Sveti Naum is scenic and full of sights and insights. Ever new bays of Lake Ohrid open up spectacular views, and small villages along the way invite you to a break. One of these villages may be the perfect place to try the local speciality: the famous Ohrid trout.

The local wisdom, “The deeper the lake, the better the fish”, is definitely true for Lake Ohrid. At 300 metres, Lake Ohrid is the Balkans’ deepest, and the second deepest lake in Europe. The trout from Ohrid are huge, they easily feed two. And they are delicious, although I am not too fond of the local way of serving them: stuffed with red pepper. You’d do better to go for a plain grilled trout.

There are also several spring water sources on the way, the largest of which has formed its own small lake above Lake Ohrid next to Sveti Naum monastery. And if you like the scene and wish to stay, Sveti Naum has its own pretty hotel.

Only a hundred metres from the monastery, Macedonia borders with Albania. The view across the Albanian border provides for a powerful, if depressing impression: dome-shaped bomb shelters, of which Albania is full, lined up along the border with a mere fifty metres between them. Testimony to Albania’s disastrous and depressing period in the twentieth century. But Albania is a different story, sometime sooner or later on this channel.

Practical Information

Security

Whilst travel to Macedonia is generally safely possible despite the travel warnings issued by the various foreign ministries, overland travel over long routes is currently not advisable. This goes in particular for the bus route from Skopje to Ohrid leading through Tetovo. The border regions to Kosovo and the northern part of the border to Albania should be avoided. Travel in southern Macedonia, however, appears to be safe.

Getting there safely

Air travel to Macedonia is currently limited as several western airlines, including BA and Lufthansa, have cancelled their flights to Skopje. Flights with Macedonian Airlines, Avioimpex and Air Service are strictly to be advised against, due to their old fleets of Soviet-built aircraft and some Jurassic Boeings.

Of the safer European airlines, Austrian Airlines, Turkish Airlines and MALEV Hungarian Airlines still fly into Skopje. The best pick may be the flight with the modern Slovenian carrier Adria Airways, a partner of Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines. Besides flying to Skopje, Adria Airways also offer a daily flight to Ohrid from Ljubljana, with reasonable through-fares via Frankfurt, Munich or Vienna.

As for land routes, southwestern Macedonia can be safely reached from Tirana, Albania, and Thessaloniki, Greece, with daily buses to Ohrid from both cities.

Accommodation in Ohrid

If you plan to arrive at night, then accommodation should be booked before arrival, but not for more than a couple of nights. Once you are there you can look for a hotel or B&B to your own liking. If you arrive during the day, you can spare yourself the advance booking and find a place upon arrival instead.

Private accommodation is available from £5 per person per night, good hotels can be found at around £25 per room per night. Stay clear of the deceptively-named Palace Hotel – it’s one of the worst hotels I have ever stayed at. A much better choice is the Park Hotel, which is situated directly on the lake shore two miles outside Ohrid.

Further Information

There is currently no dedicated travel guide available for Macedonia, to my knowledge. The only one which covers Macedonia is the Lonely Planet Eastern Europe (6th Edition 2001, £14.99), which has 17 pages on Macedonia, including Skopje and Ohrid. But I can’t really recommend the LP, for the Macedonia section is the weakest in the whole guide.

A much better source of information is the website Ohrid at your fingertips which covers everything from history and culture to city maps, events, accommodation and dining.