How My Travels Became a Book -The true story of the voice that made me start writing, and the journeys that turned into 50 cities across Europe.

There’s an anecdote about a young man taking his driving licence. I’m not sure how it works in your country, but here, before you get your license, you first have to pass a medical check to confirm you’re physically and mentally fit. Among other things, there’s also a psychological questionnaire. Our protagonist is sitting in front of the form and comes across a question:

“Do you hear voices?”

At that very moment, an inner voice whispers: “Say NO! Please, just say NO.”

Hearing voices is considered a first sign of schizophrenia, and nobody wants to admit they hear something others don’t. But here I am—publicly admitting that I’ve heard voices too.

Especially in difficult times, in moments when life didn’t go as planned, when everything felt like a dead end. And then, from out of nowhere, that voice would appear:

“Write a book! Write a book!”

And I’d be confused. “A book? About what? What am I supposed to write?” You don’t just sit down and write a book. You need a theme. You need inspiration. A muse. Something that stirs you, that won’t leave you alone until you’ve poured it out on paper.

I didn’t have any of that. So I ignored the voice and kept living my life. But the voice was persistent, and from time to time it would reappear:

“Write a book…”


The beginning of the journey

The other side of the story is our travels. My husband and I have been traveling since our first year of marriage. Actually, even before we got married—our first trip together was a day trip to Thessaloniki in Greece for shopping.

But we quickly realized we’re not good at shopping. Instead of wandering through stores, we found ourselves wandering through the city like real tourists. And we loved it. That’s how our journey around the world began.

It is interesting that for over 30 years and dozens of trips, I never wrote a single text. I’ve had Facebook since 2009, but never posted a photo or a status. Sometimes Angel would post a picture or two, and that was it. As for me, I never even considered sharing my travel impressions publicly.

We’d come home, meet with friends, share stories over coffee and laughter. That’s how we traveled back then.

Sicily — the turning point

And then came Sicily.

That was the turning point. That’s where it all began.

We went to Sicily for about ten days, planning to visit several cities. The first stop was Agrigento. We climbed all the way up to the cathedral—the highest point in the old town.

From there, the view was breathtaking: in the distance, the Valley of the Temples, and beyond that, the sea. Just two or three kilometers to the temples, maybe seven or eight to the water.

And there I stood, looking out… and a strange sadness washed over me. So close to the sea, and yet not so close. No proper seaside. No charm. No promenade.

A voice inside whispered:

“What a pity for this city. To be close to the sea, and yet not so close.”

That was the first sentence. The first spark. Such a strong impression—I simply had to share it.

Back at the hotel, I wrote the text and posted it on Facebook.

The unexpected response

And then—something unexpected happened.

Messages started coming in. Likes. Comments. Shares. Everyone was amazed. They told me they’d never read anything so poetic and real about Agrigento.

People reacted strongly. But in the comments, I sensed an expectation. People were waiting for more. They wanted me to keep writing about the next cities.

And me? What could I do?

I told myself: “Alright. Now you have to do it. You’ll write about every city.”

It was no longer just up to me. The train had left the station.

And so—day by day, town by town—I wrote my travel reports from Sicily. Sometimes from the train, sometimes late at night after walking all day. It was exhausting, but beautiful.

I knew that someone out there was waiting, eagerly, for my next post. As if I were telling them a bedtime story.

Returning home

When we returned to Ohrid, people were thrilled. Some even followed a map to track exactly where we’d been.

It was a pleasure to hear their impressions, and I was especially glad that they all enjoyed my writing. This came as a surprise to me because I didn’t expect that my simple writing would evoke such beautiful feelings in them.

I was truly surprised.

Portugal and the voice becomes real

Then came Portugal. Another trip, another series of travel stories. And once again—the same enthusiastic response.

After Portugal, everyone I met told me the same thing:

“You have to write a book. You really must write a book.”

And there it was again—the voice. Only now, it wasn’t just internal. Now it was coming from people around me. Voices of encouragement. Of support.

And I finally said to myself:

“This is it. This is the book I have to write.”

Now I had a theme. I had inspiration. The muse was wide awake.


The book takes shape

Of course, Sicily and Portugal alone weren’t enough for a full book, so I sat down and wrote about all the other destinations too.

Luckily, I have a good memory. Everything came out easily, straight from the heart.

And that’s how this book was born.

When I finished writing about all 50 cities across Europe, I suddenly realized that I hadn’t written a single word about my hometown or my country.

I had been writing about and praising other cities across Europe, and yet, not a word about my own.

Ohrid is also a tourist city, full of history that deserves to be told. hat’s how the report about Ohrid was born—and with it, the story of Macedonia completed the impression of Europe.


Why the English edition

But that wasn’t all.

The next thought that came to me was: Why not turn all of this into something more? Why not publish the book in English as well, so people from different parts of the world can read it?

I knew that for many Americans, visiting Europe is a lifelong dream, and I wanted to encourage them—to give them a little push to start their journey now.

To make travel a priority and finally live out that dream.

I thought maybe I could also help break the prejudice that travel is complicated and difficult, and inspire people to travel more easily and with more confidence.

That’s how the Foreword and Afterword of the book were born—where I tried to explain that everything should be simple and free from prejudice.


A deeper intention

But there’s also another precious moment in this part of the story.

Everyone who knows me personally knows how much I love my country and my hometown. My country is small, but with a very rich history.

Deep in my soul, I believe that we Macedonians are a special people, with so much to share with the world—about lightness, kindness, faith and hope, courage and beauty, love.

And the world should hear about these things.

That’s why I wanted—and hoped—that through my book, people would also get to know my country.

I believe my readers will be curious. When they read about Macedonia, they will open the map of Europe, and on the Balkan Peninsula, they will find a small dot. They will find us.

And I still deeply believe they will want to learn more.

So with the English edition, I wanted the book to become a kind of ambassador for my country.

I know my contribution is small, and I don’t know if my intention will succeed, but I want to offer it—as a gift to my homeland, to my people, to humanity, and to the world.

And I sincerely hope it will be received that way.

Because where there is love, there is everything.

To be continued…