The Balkan Diaries Pt.2: The Road to Shkroder and The Great Discovery

Swimming spot by the bay in Kotor. 

Leaving Belgrade we jumped on a bus to Kotor, Montenegro. We were travelling on the cheap, so an overnight bus was the cheapest option (as well as cutting out the expense of staying somewhere overnight), but being that we’re both fairly tall, we got uncomfortable pretty quickly. After a few hours of trying to sleep I gave up and resigned myself to being a pillow for the next 18 hours, which then proceeded to drag by with a pace best associated with that of a sleepy snail.  By the time morning came and the bus crawled down the million bends toward Kotor, I’d sworn a thousand times over that I’d never again take an overnight bus. Never. Ever. Again. 

After sneaking in a swim in the amazingly clear water of the bay, we picked up Uli (a friend of ours who runs Zbulo), who we would be travelling with for the next part of the journey. 

The view over Kotor and the mountains from our friend Martin's terrace. He's a talented photographer from Slovakia who's working in Kotor at the moment. You can check his work out on his blog here.

We spent the night at Slovak photograher Martin Kmet's place, and he showed us through the old city the next morning before we got on our way to Shkroder. 

The passages through Kotor's Old City
provided no hiding place from the heat!
We came, we drank expensive coffee, we
left. Beware of tourist prices here!

Making it across the border into Albania was our next step and with a bus and a (less than legal) taxi we made it to Shkroder, one of Albania’s larger cities. We only had the evening to explore, but a walk through the city center gave us the impression of a vibrant city. One interesting thing we noticed here was how separated the men and women were. It was probably 8pm at night and there were hardly any mixed groups; the men sat at the outside tables drinking and smoking, and the women tended to stroll in groups (and very well dressed groups at that). 

We crashed the night in Shkroder and headed back to the bus station in the morning, feeling much more rested. It's amazing how much difference a good night of sleep makes! But it didn't prepare me for what was about to happen. Not at all. Ladies and gentlemen, with no further ado, i'd like to present to you: The Great Discovery! On the way to the bus station we wanted to stock up on supplies for the long bus ride from Shkroder to Gjirokaster (8 hours, completion of new road should bring it down to about 4 hours) Uli suggested we try byrek. Amazing suggestion. So so amazing. But of course i didn't know that yet. We bought a variety of different byrek, and hopped on the bus. I tried one, slightly sceptical at the mess of sweaty pastry in my hand. But it was love at first bite! The flavour explosion was intense and immediate, and i knew it was just meant to be. And do you know what's even better? At about 25-30 cents a slice, you can't really spend more that a Euro on a meal, even if you're a starving 21year old with hollow legs! You can get them filled with just about anything, from spinach and cheese, to yoghurt, ham, egg, or green lead veggies. Super tasty, and also super morish! Watch out, you'll get addicted for sure! 

Byrek: A gift to hungry travellers on a budget! (P.S this image is not mine, i stole it from Edita Alibrandi. Click
on the link to check out her stuff, it's great!

 

The way so far!

Before i sign off for the day, I thought i'd include a map of the way so far. Looks like a long way huh? We thought so too, by the time we got on the bus to Gjirokaster we were all so K.O that we slept nearly the whole way! 

As they say on TV: That's all we've got time for folks! Check back again soon for the low down on Gjirokaster, Albania's first Shisha bar under construction, and lost peace core workers! 

Balkans Diary Part 1: Belgrade

To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what to expect on this trip. We’d sort of roughed out a plan to travel from Berlin to Albania, visit some friends in Gjirokaster, and then back again, but it was all sort of “last minute get away” rather than “superbly organised master plan”.

The  first decent stop we had was Belgrade, Serbia. Maybe it was the [desperately needed] freedom from the cramped confines of the bus, but I liked the city straight away. I guess I’d heard the same stuff about the Balkans as a lot of other people my age, and had the same vague memories of hearing about the conflict in the ‘90s, and then not much at all in the last 10 years. So I suppose I expected to find sort of a run down, war torn rubble, like something out of a war movie. But while the region’s tumultuous history made itself known in the form of the occasional bombed out building, in general my first impression was of a thriving city. Maybe a bit slower, dirtier, and less chic than other Euro capitals, but thriving none the less.

Bombed out buildings still serve as a reminder of the less than
peaceful events the city has endured.

We had no real plan, and we’re both not really fans of the whole “guided bus tour” thing, so we grabbed a map from the accommodation and just sort of spent a couple days wandering. And what a great couple of days it was! Time and time again I was impressed by the flow of the city, from massive multilane roundabouts shared by cars, trams, pedestrians, and some very clever street dogs, operating totally without traffic lights (and miraculously without the honking one would expect), to the ever-present café culture and eclectic mix of styles . 

Aside from the super cool vibe of the city, our highlight would have to be the food (maybe this is a bit of a theme for me)! From excellent coffee, to fantastic (and well priced) main meals, we ate our way around the city!

Gnezdo Organic: treat yourself to a coffee
or lunch at this great little place!

One spot definitely worth a visit is the bakery on the big roundabout between the city center and St Save church (also worth a look). It might not look like much, but the smell as you walk down the stairs and into paradise should give you a hint of what’s to come. Do yourself a favour and one morning go get yourself a chocolate croissant. While the pastry isn’t maybe up to your typical French standards, the finished product, filled with decadent chocolate, is mind blowing. 

Our swimming spot in Kotor, Montenegro

Another great find is the newly opened Gnezdo Organic. While it’s on the expensive side for Belgrade, this cool café has a funky vibe, good music, and friendly staff. The coffee I had there was top notch, and the meals looked great too. Tucked away in a great little location near the bridge on the western side of the city, it’s absolutely worth a visit. 

After Belgrade it was back on the road for us, heading to Kotor, Montenegro, to meet up with a friend and enjoy some swimming in the bay, before we got on the road to Albania.