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Albania 🇦🇱
  • Katharina Bo
  • Torsten Pe

Albania 🇦🇱

A 8-day adventure by Katharina Bo & Torsten Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 27, 2024
    Albania 🇦🇱
    21

    From being stuck to being on a farm

    September 27, 2024 in Albania ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Lesson of the day: sheep have the right of way here in Albania 🐑

    But let’s start this morning:
    Having a “private chauffeur” to get to the airport is nice, being stuck in an airplane seat for 2+ hours because the distance between two seats is exactly the length of your thigh… not so much. (And don’t get me started about the airport in Dortmund 😵‍💫👎)
    But we made it, got our car and… got stuck in traffic 🚗🚗🚗🚙🚗🚗🚗 (we are are in the blue car… actually … pictures of that tomorrow)
    At least, weather is nice ☀️🔥

    Once we cleared the city limits of Tirana, (equipped with enough snacks), the 3h journey to our first stop was quite enjoyable and we got the first glimpse of what looks like to be a beautiful country ⛰️🌄
    Just before arriving we found ourselves being stuck again. This time in a flock of sheep which clearly had the right of way! 🐑🐑🚙🐑🐑🐑

    Talking about the first stop… we are currently at “life on a farm” in a little house that looks like it should belong to a witch. 🧙‍♀️ The delicious dinner was home cooked by the owners grandmother 👵 and made of fresh produce from the farm.
    We can’t wait to explore the farm 🐄and the surroundings in the next days.🤠    Read more

  • Albania 🇦🇱
    3

    Short legs in a scary bunker

    September 28, 2024 in Albania ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Lesson of today: Komoot does not factor in leg length.
    After some much needed sleep and a breakfast in the garden we drove 🚙 to Gjirokastra.
    The selected hiking route connected all the highlights -UNESCO world heritage old town 🏚️, castle 🏰 , Ali Pasha bridge (aqueduct 💧), and stunning views- and was planned to be 2,5h…. ⏳

    What Komoot did not tell us was that we would find an old, dark and scary bunker which needed to be explored 👀 (at least one of us thought that way) and that it would take ~4h (see: lesson of the day) ⌛️

    The evening was spent on the balcony of our “maison des sorcières” (thanks google for translating “Hexenhaus”) listening to the sounds of the farm 🚜 (mainly the donkey screaming 🫏, the bells of the sheep 🐑 and “conversations” between cows 🐄 ) and another dinner from granny 👵 .    Read more

  • Albania 🇦🇱
    2Beate and a donkey

    On tour with Beate 🤓

    September 29, 2024 in Albania ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Lesson of the day: dogs who hike don’t bite ☝️

    Another day, another hike 🧗, but first a photo shoot with the star of the farm. The donkey 🫏 .

    Following a tip of our neighbours at the farm, we followed the river Vjosa and ended up in Përmet 🏘️. The city that has “everything but the sea” (their word, not ours), where we got a delicious lunch (best food yet 🤩-sorry farm granny 👵 ).
    Sufficiently strengthened we set off for the hike and were quickly joined by “Beate”🐕 (we called/ named her that way actually).
    She was chilling close to some abandoned buildings, was very happy to see us and decided to accompany us 🤷‍♀️🤷🏻‍♂️.
    First we tried to ignore her but she was persistent and ended up being with us the complete tour (~7km / +2h) 👩🏼‍🤝‍👨🏻🐕. Our short friendship ended shortly before the end of the tour, when a random dumpster 🚮 and some free range chicken 🐓 were more important 🙄.

    Today is the last night at the farm 🐄, todos for tomorrow:
    - getting the tire fixed (we have an additional screw 📌🛞 in our car, which does not belong there🙅‍♀️🙅🏻‍♂️)
    - figure out if there is a long forgotten Family history here 🤫👀 🏰
    - get the feed wet in the Mediterranean Sea 🌊    Read more

  • Albania 🇦🇱
    1
    1113

    On the road again, doing touristy things

    September 30, 2024 in Albania ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Lesson of today: a walk can become a hike if you take a “wrong” turn. 🥾

    Today we changed locations and scenery. From the "maison des sorcières" 🛖to the container. 📦, from farm 🐮to the beach 🏝️ , from mountain panorama 🗻to ocean view 🌊.

    On the way to the coast we made several stops:

    First: tire repair shop, for 10€ (who needs the local currency?💶) and without a check 🤑( who needs to pay taxes?🤷🏻‍♂️) we got the nail 📌out of the tire 🛞 and back on the road. 🚙

    Next: the blue eyes of Albania 💙A water spring with almost unreal clear blue water 💧and a discharge rate of ~6000l/s
    We walk the official route to the viewing platform but somehow decided to take a different route back. Hence hike 3 in 3 days… 🥾🤷🏻‍♂️

    After that a dinner was needed so we drove to Sarandë where we did not only get a “small bite” (we ended up not needing dinner) but (one of us) also completed the “getting feet wet im Mediterranean Sea” todo 👣

    Next stop and next point on the todo: check out the “Borsh (Borshi/Borshit different times, different names) Castle”🏰 .
    Originally build in the 4th century BC the last remodel was in the 18th century so unfortunately we could not find evidence in the ruins that there is family history 🤷‍♀️.

    The rest of the drive was just spectacular. Driving along the coastline in glittering sunlight with a view over corfu and the “heel” of Italy we arrived at “Livadi Beach” where we will stay the next days. 😴📖🌊⛱️☀️🌴😴    Read more

  • Albania 🇦🇱
    111

    Beach days

    Oct 1–3, 2024 in Albania ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Lesson of the last 2 days: life is better at the beach! 🏖️

    The last two days were spent at the beach doing nothing but reading 📖 , relaxing 💆‍♀️💆🏻‍♂️, getting annoyed by the conversations of other tourists 🙄 (of course- mostly Germans 🇩🇪….), watching sunsets 🌅 and taking the occasional dip into the Mediterranean ocean 🌊 .
    The biggest activity was walking to the neighbouring bay to get a chicken pita and ice cream. 🍦

    In short: living the best life! 😎

    But this is going to change. Another location and bad weather is on the horizon. ⛈️    Read more

  • Albania 🇦🇱

    “Big” City life

    Oct 3–4, 2024 in Albania ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Lesson of today: no matter how awesome the vacation destination was, your bed at home is the most comfortable. 🛌

    To enjoy the last bits of sunshine ☀️ , we decided to take our breakfast to the beach 🥣🌊.

    Afterwards we made our way back to Tirana. Since we were chased by the rain 🌧️ clouds we decided not to check out another bay or make any further stops.

    In Tirana we were once again greeted with heavy traffic 🚦but no rain ☀️. After checking in at our last accommodation (nice AirBnB apartment, but not as special as the last ones) we took a “free walking tour” to learn a thing or two about Tirana 🤓. Since the city is not that big we basically saw everything within the 2h tour but somehow ended up not taking any pictures 🤷🏻‍♂️.
    For dinner we picked a (recommended) traditional Albanien restaurant and had several courses of really tasty food, accompanied by local red wine. 🤩

    The way back home was delayed because of a thunderstorm ⛈️ over Tirana 🙄. Two hours later then anticipated we were picked up at the airport once again by a “private chauffeur” and now we can enjoy the comfort of our own beds. 😍

    In summary we definitely enjoyed our time in Albania 🇦🇱 . Spectacular views🗻, good food 🥘 , nice people 🧞‍♂️and perfect weather… ☀️☀️what more can one ask for. 🫶👍    Read more

    Trip end
    October 4, 2024
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