It was nearly impossible to drive through the very narrow streets of local villages. But finally, we brought our truck to the remote village situated close to the Greece border. Brajčino is pristine and picturesque, sitting on the edge of Pelister National Park, just 6 kilometers from Lake Prespa. Its idyllic location is away from the hustle and bustle of city life and is protected by the Baba massif and with a view onto Lake Prespa. It has good access to the glacial lakes atop the range and from there to Pelister summit. We parked just in the middle of the village and got to the only small shop, where they also served local beer and wine. We had a great evening with locals, who shared the whole village story with us and we shared with them our Czech cheese. Formerly a rich trading village, Brajčino still has a small population of mixed ages despite the emigration of many of the villagers in the middle of the 20th century to Canada and Scandinavia due to a lack of employment or in order to escape communist persecution. The departure of most of the business know-how from the village has left it in hard times, even more so since the break-up of Yugoslavia which has taken its toll on the village’s formerly prosperous apple trade.
Parking location – Brajčino: 40.9068889N 21.1586969E