Southeastern Europe Travel Diary Part Four

17.11. 21:01
Another day done and dusted. I woke up early this morning, had a meeting, and then worked. I checked out at 10 and worked from my car till 1 p.m. Then I went to the beach to say goodbye to Ulcinj and Montenegro. It couldn’t have been a better moment. It was super windy and therefore the sea was wild. I love to watch wild waves. It was still comfortably warm, so I walked a little up and down and even discovered two swings. Yes, you guessed right, if you thought that I went swinging. It felt amazing.

I started to think about my next destination, which made me realise that I still struggle to enjoy the moment. I thought to myself,’Why do you think about the next place? Why don’t you enjoy the present?’ So I tried to do just that and put in some music and sang as loud as I wanted because I was pretty much the only person for kilometers, and the wind was very loud anyway. It was really fun and then I walked back to my car. I started to head for a place I marked to visit, just 15 minutes away, but when I arrived, it turned out that Google Maps wasn’t right and the place was not reachable. So, I made my way to Albania. It wasn’t far to the border, and driving through Albania was the first time that the drive was exhausting. This was due to heavy traffic. There also wasn’t beautiful scenery like in the previous countries and I had to be very focused. Finally, I arrived and I was starving as I only had breakfast so far and it was already 4.30 p.m. The apartment I booked was ok, but it turned out that the kitchen wasn’t something I would call a kitchen. It only had one gas stove, which I couldn’t figure out how to use. I tried several minutes until I gave up. There wasn’t even a water heater, so I had no chance of boiling noodles. So for the first time of my trip I decided to go to a restaurant. It was raining, but not too bad, in my opinion. I headed for the beach area, which had plenty of restaurants, according to Google Maps. As I walked down, the rain turned more into a storm. My umbrella was no use anymore because the wind was too heavy. It almost became unbearable, and I had to look for a shelter.

I waited there for a few minutes before the rain was getting a little better. I walked along the beach, but almost all the restaurants were closed, and the ones that were open looked like sports bars that wouldn’t offer more than a snack. I noticed in every country so far that betting seems to be a big part of the culture. Every place has countless sports bars with betting machines, and I’ve seen loads of “Admirals” (gambling stores). But I’ve only seen men inside all of those places. In general, I don’t see many women walking around. Anyway, I continued my search, and after some time, I decided to go back and look for takeaway. It took some time but finally I found a place and when I arrived back at my accommodation I was soaked. I changed and had dinner.

Albania is the first country that doesn’t feel sympathetic to me. I realised that very soon after the border. I guess the drive, the non-existent kitchen, and the weather all contributed to not making the feeling any better. But I’m trying to stay positive. I also try to listen to my feelings and intuitions, so I spontaneously decided to leave Albania a day early and extend my stay in Greece. I requested an early check-out and booked a ferry to Corfu. But tomorrow, I’ll check out Durres and maybe even Tirana as it isn’t too far from here, and see what it will be like during daylight (and maybe better weather).


18.11. 14:49
This morning, I woke up early, and after breakfast, I went to explore Durres. There were a few nice spots, but the sea here is very dirty.

Whether that is due to the fact that there was a storm yesterday or it’s always like that, I can’t say. Durres hasn’t much to offer, I was done in less than an hour and drove to Tirana, the capital of Albania. The traffic was absolutely insane. I don’t know why Albania’s streets are so crowded compared to Montenegro or Bosnia. When I look at people, cars, and houses, Albania seems richer than the other two countries, yet the streets are the worst I’ve ever seen in any country. Even Bali’s streets are in a better condition than Albania’s. Countless holes and completely uneven, it’s an up and down like a rollercoaster. When I arrived in the capital, the first thing I noticed was that it was very crowded with people, especially school classes.

I started to check out the city and was looking forward to the National Historical Museum. Unfortunately, it was disappointing to me. There were hardly any translations, most of the signs were in Albanian. I was also missing a lot on recent history. Almost everything was about medieval times.

After the museum visit I went to a streetfood place opposite the museum. I’ve already noticed since Bosnia that all of these countries hardly accept card payments, which is super annoying. I don’t want to get cash in the local currency as I’m only staying one or two days in every place, and it kinda forces you to spend everything you withdraw. I mean, they do accept cash in Euros, but the change will be in their currency, and here in Albania, they only accept notes, no coins, which I find super frustrating. One more reason I’m looking forward to going to Greece.

After about two hours in the capital, I’ve pretty much seen it all and was already super exhausted. So I made my way back to my accommodation in Durres, once more the drive was draining the last bit of my energy. All I could think was that luckily, it would be my last drive in Albania before continuing to Greece. I can only hope that it will be better there.

But that’s the thing about travelling: You never know what to expect. I still feel grateful that I’m able to make those experiences, and now I know that Albania is definitely one of those countries, I do not have to see again.