The weather turned excellent as I arrived in Albania, but it was quite the journey to get here. It’s only 160 miles that separate the two capitals from Pristina, Kosovo to Tirana, Albania. There are no flights for the short distance as it is just too close. This travel journey is done by bus, and there are lots of choices, more than a dozen a day. I chose Arditi Tours, they seemed as good as any.

I got to the station and all seemed just fine, what I didn’t plan for as we got going, was travel sickness. The roll of the bus and the bounce of the wheels didn’t sit well with my morning breakfast. It was a dispute with my stomach that I struggled to manage. I counted down the eight sets of 30 minutes as the 4 hours bus journey rumbled.

Long Bus Journey Over The Border

People continued to board the bus as we stopped on the way. Until such a point that the Arditi bus did not have a seat to spare. It surprised me that so many people were making this journey on a random Tuesday morning! I counted off another set of 30-minute segments as my stomach rumbled again.

We got to the border and the guard stepped on our bus. I’ve never seen how this works as I’ve never crossed a border by bus, but he took everyone’s passport or ID card and went to inspect if there were any issues on board. I sank in my seat knowing that Johnny Foreigner would be the prime questioned target of morning suspicion. The bus moved through and on, but my passport had not come back. My heart had palpitations and I could feel it running faster. What I had not seen was 40+ passports or IDs had been passed to the bus driver through his window. The passports were handed back and I had a huge sigh of relief.

I believe I’ve now done passport control in all possible forms – driving, bus, walking, airport, with a tour guide, without a tour guide and even crossing a border when there is no actual border, like Liechtenstein or Vatican City.

The bus and my stomach rumbled some more, I could feel the sickness rising. I had to survive, or I think I might die of embarrassment. Then from over the horizon Tirana Airport shone, I jumped up with haste and breathed the fresh air, it was idyllic. Here. The eighth segment of the journey ticked by and without a gut explosion. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Off to my beautiful hotel not far from here. The Arditi Bus was functional but I could use some TLC.

The MK Hotel was indeed excellent and I needed a place to crash, the long journey had taken it out of me.
With all the flights and moving on, I have not yet gotten over jet lag, it has been a constant thing. Tomorrow I get a hire car to go South and explore Albania, before coming back to Tirane and having more time.

A Drive to Berat & Durres

A while back when I was investigating Albania these two places jumped out, both had great reports, particularly Berat. It’s a 75-mile journey down to Berat, not far, but the roads are not fast, so it takes 1 hour and a half. When I got to Berat my heart jumped with joy, this place reminds me of Kotor in Montenegro, and I love that place. It would make sense given Montenegro is not a million miles away. Berat is beautiful.

Up to the castle… along the cobbled streets, it’s a tough climb.

The views from the castle make that steep walk well worthwhile.

Berat, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Albania, is renowned for its unique Ottoman-era houses set into the hillside.

A Perfect Lunch Time

I spent four hours in Berat, a walk up to the castle, and inspect those wonderful views. Down the winding cobbled streets the area of Gorica and walking the bridge. and wander to Mangalem. At Mangalem I decided to have lunch in a spot that caught my eye. It’s up a little winding cobbled street on the far side of the Gorica River. I’ve picked some good places on this trip, but this topped the lot, or at least as good as Pristina, it would be close. Amalia Homemade Food in the area of this picture is fabulous in every way – food, service and price.

What a picture book place Berat is. I’m so glad I came.

Onwards to Durres

In theory, this would be easy, it’s all the way right back up the road we came on. Unfortunately, the driver (me) doesn’t deal well with directions, and roads don’t look the same in the opposite direction. That said, I did notice that we went wrong, not sure how, not sure where, and certainly not sure why. It’s early afternoon this will figure itself out. I said this as I was on some random back road, and had absolutely no idea where we were.

Onward my friends and I rolled into a recognizable path, and back on familiar ground. The main road was busy as we got closer to Duress, but when I took that turn into Duress, the traffic level went up several notches. I expect a quiet picturesque season side town. There were some aspects of a cute coastal coast town, that I expected, but it was not quite what I had hoped for. Durres was ok, but is not a patch on Berat!

The Durres promenade though is quite the walk along, I enjoyed that a great deal, after fighting through the traffic to find parking for the car.

I’m still not sure what is on Durres beach – answers on a postcard please?

You can’t beat the walk along Durres promenade. Durres used to be the capital in Albania, once upon a time, but has now been replaced with Tirana..

I headed back to the hotel for sunset!

How Good is Tirana? Very!!!

On my next day in Albania, I took my hire car back and returned to be on foot as I went to the capital of Tirana. By returning my car early in the morning I was able to get the 8am $4 Airporter Luna bus to the city.
This is a great service and one I used in both directions!

I wasn’t sure how to map out my day, but I arrived at 8.45am and knew there was a 9am Guru Walking Tour from the main square. Given the success in Yerevan I thought this would be a good choice to do once again.
I have done Guru Walks so many times! It would be almost impossible to be as good as loanna in Yerevan, but we came close. It was another great walk for 2 and 1/4 hours with a group of ten of us enjoying the sun, fun and facts. I could not be more impressed with how Guru Free Walks knit these all together.

Skanderberg Square

The tour starts in the imposing Skandergerg Square, it’s the main Plaza that is named after the national hero of Albania. It is the place of the National History Museum showing a fine example of the story of Albania.

House of Leaves

The House of Leaves in Tirane is the museum of the Secret Service.. It served as the Sigurimi’s headquarters during the communist era. It is a fascinating insight into the world of surveillance, and has you checking over your shoulder, not only whilst you are in the House of Leaves, but when you get back on the streets!

The Bustling Streets of Tirana

After my museum tour, I spent the rest of my day touring the streets of Tirana. The traffic is interesting, but after visiting both Nepal and India it is pretty normal here, sort of. The streets, market stalls, and of course I found myself in a bakery! Balkan Bakeries is just what you need. Why are Albanians not overweight?

It’s a captivating city, a captivating country. So pleased I came here. The weather has been beautiful.
I ended with a Korca beer and some people watching. at a local bar on the roadside of the bustling city streets. It truly is great here!