During the end of August and the beginning of September this year several shows were organized in Ohrid, Macedonia. Ohrid is a very old town, close to the border of Greece. According to UNESCO it’s also on the list for world heritage, so of course we had to go there! This time nine people and two dogs planned to go there and show at these shows during three days. We landed at Alexander the great airport in Skopje. After we had made the money exchange we went to our transfer who waited for us, and he then drove us the three hours it took to reach our destination. When we arrived at our hotel our puppy buyer Helena from Serbia was there and waited for us on her balcony. It was so nice to meet each other again. One of the shows started four o´clock in the afternoon and we were already late. We were driven to what we believed was the hotel were the show was to be held, but it was not the correct hotel. When we got hold of a cab and finally got to the showground it was more than five o´clock, but lucky for us the show haven’t started and when we had organized and paid for the entries the show began. It was very nice and warm there, 28 degrees, but the show were carried out close to the Ohrid lake so it was very nice and cool there. It was situated on the lawn in front of a large hotel. The judging started and we had a Serbian judge for our breed. Our gang did very well!
Emma won Georgian CC and BOB and Malte got Georgian CC and BOS. In the finals Emma also won the group! While we waited for the second show it was very relaxing to just sit in the shade and feel the cool breeze. There were many exhibitors at the show from different countries. Most of them from Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Greece but also from Moldova, Russia, Azerbadjan and of course our group from Sweden. Show number two started and this time Malte won and both dogs obtained the Georgian champion title! Since it was evening it became darker and darker, but it was still very warm. The organizers enlighten lamps and spotlights for the honorary ring, and when the finals started it was completely dark. The judge for the group was completely unknown to us, but it went great. Three dogs were taken out and Malte was one of them. He also went all the way, winning the group! When it was time for Best in Show, our breed judge went into the honorary ring, Pero Bozinovski from Macedonia. This was the same judge that we had showed Monique for earlier this year and he made her BIS in Bitola. In the flash from the lights he carefully went through all of the dogs, and when he finished all dogs left the ring. The music started to play, Queens “We are the champions” and the placements began! 3rd place, then 2nd place, and finally when it was time for BIS, they called for Bichon Frisé! Malte had won BIS at a show organized by the Georgian Kennel Club! Really nice rosettes were handed out and all of the judges came out and congratulated us. It was lots of fun and such an amazing merit for our kennel.
During Thursday it was an International show. We had a judge from Georgia that judged the bichons. He was very kind and gentle, and gave BOB to Emma this time, and Malte won BOS again. Both won CACIB, Macedonian certificate and obtained the Macedonian Champion title. In the group he gave Emma a very good 3rd placement! In the afternoon we walked and saw the sights in old town! It was very beautiful there and the streets were in marble! Helena were the perfect guide and also helped us a lot since she could translate the language for us, ordered nice and exclusive wines and classical dishes from the Balkan area, and not to forgot her invaluable help at the shows! What a lady, a true star!
In the evening at the hotel we had a real nice dinner, and it was also a large party there when they had organized music and a great singer with many songs from Balkan.
Friday contained two shows, both of Azerbadjan Kennel Club. The shows went very well for us. Emma won BOB and both shows, and Malte BOS, both obtained the CCs and became Azerbadjan Champions! In the group Emma became 2nd in the group!
During these shows we also met another lady from Sweden, Alexandra. She was so kind and gentle, showing her chinese crested to both champion titles and group placements. She helped us also translating the critiques and were standing by the ring when the judges gave their critiques! Love people like this, kind gentle down to earth persons.
When the shows were finished we made sure we had a great stay in Ohrid. One of things that is worth mentioning was genuine Ohrid pearls were bought from one of the two acknowledge families that have pearls as their work. Truly beautiful they were. We also attended a trip in a small boat with the dogs sitting and watching while crossing the Ohrid lake! Beautiful to the divine. We also saw the residence of former president of the Yugoslavia, Tito. We had wonderful lunches and dinners with our good friends in Macedonia.
Before going home we went to the capital in Macedonia, Skopje. Our hotel was situated in the middle of the centre, close to Alexander the great square. We also saw the magnificent fountain in the middle of the Square, impressive! When we were there, all of us also went through the streets and crossed the old Turkish bridge and went to old town. We had the possibility to visit the market and I and my father got a close shave by a barber with a razor, fist time for me actually, and it was so nice. Next day it was time to leave this beautiful country and its wonderful people. With help from our Macedonian friend we came to the airport in time. All went well and we had a safe trip back to Sweden.
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