Three Countries Six Border Checks

Hi Everyone, just checking in with you!

Durres, Albania

Driving through Montenegro

We have been a little busy the past few days. We drove from Dubrovnik, Croatia through Montenegro and into Albania. Don's post will describe the details of driving in Albania (which is fair since he does ALL of the driving--that was our deal after all). We spent less than 24 hours in Albania, but we drove to the former capital city--Durres (on the coast), and it was quite a push--about eight hours in the car.

The Hotel Nais was decent, but the highlight for me was walking along their boardwalk and taking shots of the sunset from the point.

A monument on the waterfront in Durres

Sunset over Durres

We then decided to spring for a decent seafood dinner and went to the restaurant recommended by the hotel--The Piazza. They had an menu in English, we ordered our main fish courses and a bottle of wine--and then the waiters just took care of us. They brought us a little appetizer, mussels, and after the main course, dessert. We were rather tense from the drive, so it just felt good to relax. The meal was reasonable--about $40 US, and we left a big tip. It was just nice to have someone bring stuff to us where we didn't have to figure out the menu and the prices, etc. The service was excellent, and the wine glasses and carafe were sparkling. It wasn't much money to tip a little more in a country where people don't tip as much as they do in the US, but it made them feel good, and we wanted to show our appreciation. They understood that we weren't rich people who didn't understand how much money we spent, but that we really appreciated their hospitality and service. Lots of shaking hands on the way out,

Albanian Countryside

We followed this train all the way through eastern Albania

The white blossoms are Almond trees. We loved the haystacks!

Albania, for me, was a real study in contrasts. Driving in we went through some incredible mountain scenery (okay I probably appreciated this in retrospect because I kept putting my heart back into my mouth and clenching the door handles as yet another crazy Albanian driver did something unpredictable-these Albanians make New York drivers look like wusses). We drove past women in scarves who looked like pictures from the 1930s, men driving donkey carts (with big trucks passing them), and cities that looked like bombed out Beirut. Gas stations appear to be a business that people think will take off--and there are huge gas stations every few miles. Much of the county appears to be very backward, and yet you get the feeling that it is on the move.

Our hotel tariff included breakfast. When Don and I went down the next morning, we had our suspicions confirmed--we were the only guests in the hotel that night. The charming young girl had a huge feast laid out for us and wanted to make sure we tried the local specialties--there was so much food. Well satiated with food and the hotel staff's gentle hospitality, we felt much better about making our way into Macedonia.

Ohrid and Skopje--Macedonia

The walk up to our hotel

This church was located on the best property in Ohrid on a point overlooking the lake on one side and a fishing village on the other.

Don declaiming (hamming it up) on the stage of the ancient Roman amphitheater.

We spent two days in Ohrid--which is an old cobblestoned city on Lake Ohrid (one of the largest lakes in Europe). The weather has been sunny and in the sixties--perfect for sightseeing. We booked a four-star small hotel that had a veranda overlooking the lake. We had to park the car a good ten minutes away, get our luggage up a high-incline cobblestone street, and then go three floors to our room. It was a bit of a hike, but it was worth it.

Another small church with incredible icons

The 900-year old Plane Tree, a community treasure

The most vicious peacock at Sveti Naum Monastery--seriously the guy collecting church entrance fees told us that he attacked a child who tried to pat its tail. Apparently peacocks don't bother adults because they are too big...

Sveti Naum Monastery

This spiritual place contains lots of old churches: it's very tourist friendly, so we followed a map and just visited the churches and the town gate, and a roman amphitheater. It was all cobblestones (no cars allowed and very steep). We then drove 30 kilometers to the Sveti Naum Monastery, a Byzantine structure that houses the tomb of Sveti (St.) Naum. If you put your ear to the ground you are supposed to hear his heart beating; I must admit that I tried that but didn't hear him :(  The Monastery is on a cliff and the most amazing thing to me is that there are peacocks running wild in the monastery and in the gardens. They are the most beautiful birds; I couldn't get one with his tail open, but I took several pictures once I got over my fear that they might chase me or something (I find birds a little scary sometimes and these guys were pretty big and ran fast). We'll make sure we post a picture with one of the peacocks. We're traveling at the right time--apparently you can't walk the streets in Ohrid in the summertime without being crushed--so we are able to enjoy everything without the crowds.

The definitive (so far) cappuccino - doesn't it just make your mouth water....

The city had many of these tourist-friendly walkways--and they needed them because it was a lot of up and down!

The view from our terrace of beautiful Lake Ohrid. I don't think we'll ever get tired of these views!

And now for tonight--we are in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. We drove about three hours to get here--and it actually rained a little while when we were driving. Again, we climbed up mountains, and the vistas were stunning. The trusty GPS hasn't been too reliable in Albania and Macedonia for some reason; we couldn't get it to register on the coordinates. We rented a one-bedroom apartment on booking.com, but we had a bit of a time finding it. I'll just say that people have been very kind when we ask them for help. Our directions were to park in a Holiday Inn, find a pizza joint, and then the manager of said pizza joint would take us to the apartment. We got a bit switched around, but I stayed with the car and Don found the pizza joint--he is nothing if not persistent. It worked out just fine--and we had kebabs at the local joint--Destans (in business since 1913) which was recommended by our Lonely Planet guide and walked around the old city. Coffee and dessert in the main square's Trendy Cafe watching the huge fountain in the square's light show (one block from our apartment) finished off another nice night. Once we load the pictures from Skopje, we'll post them.

Before I log off, I'm going to bow to a friend of mine who encouraged me to write some travel tips, so I'm going to give just two:

1.  Get a vest with pockets that zip on the inside and outside. I threw my L.L.  Bean vest into the suitcase at the last minute, and as you can see from the pictures, I'm wearing it almost everyday. I'm not carrying a pocketbook--everything I need fits into the vest.

2.  We are away for 12 weeks. I have a 26-inch checked bag as well as a small carry on. I thought I was packing light (especially since I left the small bag with friends in Slovakia). I'm pretty much wearing the three pairs of jeans and two turtlenecks I bought before the trip - so the lesson is, even when you think you are packing conservatively, you are most likely not.

That's all for now. Tomorrow we head to Sofia, Bulgaria for at least two nights. I apologize for any typos. I'm just banging this one out because I want you to know where we've been. We still haven't mastered posting the pictures quickly, so I'm going to stop now. We miss you all, and we are having a great trip so far.