Tirana

📌 We arrived back in Tirana and picked up a car to allow ourselves a little more freedom. First impressions were a little stressful though as this city was a chaotic place to drive!! We headed out of the city to go an explore the nearby town of Kruje. This was a hillside town with a nice bazaar and castle on the hill. There wasn't a whole lot to do there but it was worth a drive and visit.

📌 We headed back to Tirana which was a long drive with Friday afternoon traffic, the roundabouts and lanes don't really serve much of a purpose when driving in Albania so cautious driving was a must. We headed out for a local meal and enjoyed the space of having a comfortable high rise apartment for accommodation.

📌 The next day we set off early to the south, approximately 2 hours away was Berat, a UNESCO preserved ottoman town. The buildings were beautiful, you could see why the place was called the village of 1000 windows. We wandered through the streets, enjoyed some craft beers with a peaceful view and then eventually got some local lunch. The cruise back to Tirana was smooth, much less traffic on a Saturday but still chaotic driving, they weren't as aggressive as the Turks though which was a relief. Driving around Albania was interesting, waste disposal and burning rubbish is a big issue here, so many beautiful valleys lined with olive groves were filled with smoke.

📌 We spent the last night celebrating our 5 years, I had found a well rated steak house which served up a delicious meal with wine. It was a great experience and a beautiful celebration date ❤️Read more