Michael and I have long said that the Sassi di Matera — the ruins of a vast, ancient city — is the most fantastic place we’d never even heard of before arriving in nearby Matera, Italy.

Well, we now have another contender for the I-Can’t-Believe-We-Hadn’t-Even-Heard-of-This-Amazing-Place! crown.

The town of Ohrid, North Macedonia, which is located on the shores of Lake Ohrid.

We’ll have lots of coverage of this beautiful place in the weeks ahead — along with our thoughts on Belgrade and Novi Sad, Serbia, where we spent the previous month.

In the meantime, here are some pics of Ohrid.

In other news, we’re thrilled that our newsletter was recently chosen to be a “Substack Featured” publication. A warm welcome to our many new subscribers!

And a hearty thank you to the guy who nominated us, non-fiction history writer Neal Bascomb who recently wrote a great profile on us for his newsletter — the terrific Work/Craft/Life, which we also highly recommend:

Work/Craft/Life

Illuminating stories of people and the work that shapes their lives. One profile, once a week, that will inspire, move, inform, or just make you say wow! A newsletter by NYT bestselling writer Neal Bascomb

By Neal Bascomb

Incidentally, if we haven’t said it lately, we love our subscribers! Thanks for supporting us.

Here’s all the content you may have missed in the last month:

Is Rotisserie Chicken the Perfect Food? Michael wrote about his love affair with a certain cooked poultry.

Is the Airbnb Backlash Fair? Everyone’s suddenly hating on Airbnb. Should they be?

Debate: Has Travel Change Our Feelings About Islam? How has living in Muslim-majority countries changed us?

Rafting the Coldest River in the World “It’s perfectly safe,” Michael told himself. And then someone almost died.

What the Great Duvet/Top Sheet Debate Says About the Generational Divide I never thought I’d be alienated by the younger generation. But I kinda am.

Sarajevo is a Great Place to Visit (but a Lot of the Locals Don’t Want to Live There) We got to know a lot of locals in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Here’s what they told us.

The Shocking Thing I Found in a Turkish Hamman It’s not what you think.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Green Moss Some of life’s most interesting destinations don’t have signs.

Kelton Wright Moved to a Cabin in the Mountains (and Now She Can't Stop Breaking Her Teeth) Nomading isn’t the only way to lead an unconventional life.

The Thrill (and Occasional Disappointment) of Movie-Location Tourism Objects may be smaller than they appear on-screen.

That Time I Got Drunk at a Serbian Winery In trying to liven up Novi Sad, Michael had a little too much fun.

Weird Travel Facts! Central Europe Edition Where did the Pied Piper lead all those children anyway?

Finally, reserve a spot for our next (free) video chat! On Thursday, September 29th at 11 AM EST, Michael and I will be discussing and answering questions on one of our favorite cities in the world, Istanbul, Türkiye!

Goodbye until our next hello!

Brent (and Michael)