Jul 2, 2018 - Tirana

Unlike yesterday's drive to Berat the drive to Tirana was absolutely boring by comparison and therefore quite relaxing. The landscape was not all that interesting but passing through large fields of sunflowers certainly provided plenty of colour. We deliberately spent the final night of our 'lower Balkans & Greece' travels in a hotel near the airport rather than in the city to keep things simple for our flight connection the next morning. Great plan, shame it did not quite work out. Hotel breakfast and checkout …. tasty and easy. GPS...

Jul 1, 2018 - Berat

Yuk! …. what a terrible drive. It was fine until a few k's into Albania where the good road turned to a goat track and everyone seemed determined to avoid the slightest surface imperfection.....really an impossible task. Weather-wise it was near perfect but it was a great relief to reach Berat for our overnighter which was in a really comfy 'guest house' in the old town. Although not exactly easy to find because of road works we finally made it and all was good. Shopping was again on the menu but at least after a nice meal in the pedestrian...

Jun 9, 2018 - Tirana

The drive from Montenegro back into Albania was simple enough but the border crossing was one of the slowest yet. We had criss-crossed borders so many times we wondered if they thought we were up to no good and gave us an extra going over. With time in hand we made a visit to Tirana's Harley Davidson outlet but soon wished we hadn't. The overall presentation was terrible. Older model bikes, many covered in dust did not really appeal to us so we moved on to reach our accomodation for the next few days. If that hadn't been exciting enough...

Jun 5, 2018 - Shkoder

Our new stop now became Shkoder nestled on the edge of a huge lake. Not a pretty town, in fact quite untidy, but our hotel was great and we were relieved. There definitely was no relief when driving in that town as everywhere you moved there would be dozens of bicycles in your path. They roamed and ruled just like cows did on outer roads. Across the river things were better where eateries provided a degree of respite and decorum. The river was quite broad and pretty but had weird, decaying, concrete structures jutting into it. An...

May 13, 2018 - Korce

We had three options to get to Korce for our overnight stop but after re-living the GPS debacle a few days back where we were drawn onto seriously dangerous roads we decided on the longer route. As well we did for although it was a great road it did have a few safety issues so we could only imagine how bad the other options would have been. We were happy with our choice. We enjoyed an interesting trip through a number of villages along the Albanian side of Lake Ohrid although winding our way through people, vehicles and animals at a street...

May 11, 2018 - Gjirokaster

From Dhermi it was an enjoyable, leisurely drive to our next base, Gjirokaster, close to the border with Greece. A lunch stop on the way in Sarande was a tad dangerous, not for the food, for the shops. Finally, Gilli found herself a sunhat..... and all was good. 'All was good' did not last all that long. The GPS did it again. We took the recommended road towards our next home-base and followed it for around 18 kms until confronted with a lumpy, rocky, unpaved surface. Stuff that. We remembered our pact. We turned around, back-tracked, and...

May 6, 2018 - Durres

We taxied to the Durres beach area to check in to our hotel and enjoy a short break. Unfortunately our Albanian arrival stalled momentarily. Our hotel had overbooked and we were shunted to another. Not as good a location but a great property all the same. After such a fun 24 hours we figured we deserved to dine out so we picked a really nice restaurant and chose a verandah setting. We were on a roll again until we ordered wine to celebrate our first visit to Albania. Oh, no! this can't be true …. “you don't sell wine ? “ We were...

Jun 10, 2017 - Tirana

Breakfast at the hotel and a few pictures taken from the roof top of my hotel it is off to get my bus ticket to Prizren, Kosovo will be leaving at 6:00 am in the morning. Then off to explore the city of Tirana, this is the capital city for Albania, the main square is blocked off for a remodel and is to open today in the afternoon with a party. A stop for some lunch a Greek salad, then back to my room and let it cool down a bit. worked on pictures and my blog about up to date on both. After a bit of rest I head out just walking around the...

Jun 9, 2017 - Tirana, Albania

Was not as early of a start this morning the bus left Kotor at 8:30 for a 6 hour trip down the coast to Budva, Petrovac then headed to Podgorica the last city in Montenegro, then across the border into Albania. About a 30 minute wait at the border to check passports checked the on to Shkoder for a short bathroom and lunch break, back on the bus to Tirana passing by the Mother Tessa airport. Then on into Tirana getting into a bit traffic jam roads for three lanes of cars but at least 5 cars driving there (glad I was not driving) LOL Got to...

Mar 31, 2016 - Bus to Tirana

3/31 Woke up after 12 hour + 'nap' to Mare complaining about the Greek passport stamp being close to invisible. Bon looked at her and made the very astute observation, "Well, they've used up all their red ink on more important things!" The stamp was using a red ink pad, ha! Love it! Bus left right on time, 8:30 a.m.. The route out of Athens was accompanied by lots of road construction/expansion. In fact, all the way to, and some miles past the huge, beautiful Rion-Antirion bridge Info on Rio-Antirion Bridge...... ___ crossing the Rio...

Nov 18, 2014 - Change of Plans

The plan for today was to roam the cobblestone roads of Gjirokaster again. It didn't work out that way. The day started normally. I first explored the Gjirokaster Castle that looms over the town. It turned out to be a curious mix of Ottoman, World War II, and Communist Era artifacts. It's no wonder why there would be a castle here. High up at the top of the hill, it provides a commanding view of the entire valley. The earliest archaeological evidence points to an iron age settlement in the 7th century BC. By the 13th century AD, there was...

Nov 17, 2014 - Wandering the lanes of Gjirokaster

A town like Gjirokaster shouldn't be a quick stop on a tour bus. It isn't like Disney World where you rush from one attraction to the next. Indeed, there are very few “attractions” available here. It's best to wander its streets and absorb its unique history. My reservation for this hotel listed that breakfast was included. So, I walked into the dining room to see what I might find. The owners motioned for me to sit at any table. I sat and waited. Soon, dish after dish came out of the kitchen. First several slices of warm bread and rolls,...