Bussing through the Balkins

Next up on our list were Montenegro and Albania. Actually...these weren't on our list at all. We had planned on bussing/training/flying/ferrying, whatever option was cheapest, directly from Croatia to Greece. Nicole had previously spent 3 weeks in Greece with a friend (shout out to Marielle!) and had a great time, and Kyle wanted to recreate a similar experience. However, based on the cost and convenience of making some pit stops while heading south, we decided to pull the trigger on experiencing some new, less-visited, and somewhat strange countries. This, not so secretly, had really been the plan in our hearts all along. So back to the bus we went.

While most of the fun we have had has been at each of the destinations we have visited, we have really tried to enjoy the actual in-between travel to each place as well. This has been a big challenge for Kyle (see also: walks too fast in cities, needs to know exactly how far into a book he is, etc.). The only real means of long-range travel between the Balkan nations tends to be via bus (or mini-bus or "furgon") for a couple of reasons. One, these countries are dominated by mountains which are not very conducive to trains (long, flat expanses work much better). Two, these countries have also experienced a lot of political, economic, and social turmoil and isolation which slowed their public transportation development when compared to other countries in Europe (particularly the West). So, of course, we bussed all over!

The bus from Dubrovnik to Kotor, Montenegro was fairly uneventful. Because we are now in shoulder season (we highly recommend traveling in Europe pre-June or post-August) and because, as previously noted, Montenegro isn't very high on most travel lists, our bus was mostly empty (hooray for having multiple seats to ourselves!). We arrived in Kotor hungry, so we dropped our stuff off at our hostel (this time we actually got to stay in the Old Town area, whereas in Crotatia we mostly stayed in the 'burbs and had to walk in) and grabbed a bite to eat. Our usual routine is walk around a few streets and narrow down based on price, but we were hungry enough to limit our search to 3 restaurants this time. Plus, for $4 per plate, why not?

After staying in comfortable, yet not-so-social accommodations thus far on the trip we decided it was time for a shake-up in Kotor. We booked a mixed bed dorm room at the hostel with the highest "atmosphere" rating we could find (i.e. party room in a party hostel). One minor advantage of this strategy is that you can find cheap places to sleep ($9 for each of our beds). The major advantages are that you get to, usually, be in the city-center, you get to meet awesome people, and there ends up being no shortage of awesome, random stories to share. Sure enough, we learned right when we got in that it was one of the hostel employees' birthdays that night (or maybe the next? It was hard to tell with the language barrier). After doing a quick - somewhat mandatory - walk around the city, we rushed back to the hostel to help partake in the celebration. In addition to all of the hostel employees (and owner), there were a bunch of their local friends, plus most of the people staying at the hostel. We met great people from Iran, Germany, Luxemborg, India, and others. The hostel set out plates of local meats and cheeses, plus a 5-LITER bottle of homemade Rakija and several bottles of wine. We were assured that homemade Rajika is the only way to go, and that the people drinking it RARELY went blind (even when consumed in high quantities). While our shot-every-5-minutes pace eventually slowed, the night was a success! We partied well into the evening, with tons of singing, dancing, and BSing with our new friends.

We woke up the next morning very hungover, but also very happy. The only disappointment was that we had our heart set on trying this awesome late-night pizza place recommended by the hostel workers, and we didn't end up going as the night got away from us (clearly). We decided that, rather than nursing the hangovers, we should have a productive day. We hiked up to the fortress overlooking Kotor, and the view over the bay was stunning. We actually went up the "free" route rather than spend the 8 euros a piece to hike the main route. The free route did involve climbing up a ladder and squeezing through a window into the fortress, but 8 euro is 8 euro. After the hike, we went to the green market to get fresh produce, meats, cheeses, and eggs for our next few meals (another bonus of staying in a community type hostel: they usually have a great kitchen set up for cooking your own meals). After that we got ready and bussed (of course) to Budva for another beach day! PS We did realize later in the day that we DID actually eat that slice of pizza that we had wanted...though the night was a bit hazy and it took a picture on our phones with slices-in-hand to remind us!

After returning from Budva and cooking dinner, we made sure to avoid the evening festivities (maybe we are finally getting old) as we had an early bus out booked for the next day. We woke up around dawn the next morning, quietly got ready (okay, so one down side to a dorm room in a hostel is trying to not disturb the others in the room late at night or early in the morning), and headed to the bus station. Our next stop was Tirana, the capital of Albania. Actually, our next stop ended up being the border. Because we were in countries not fully included in the European Union/Schengen agreement, our border stop between the countries involved getting off of the bus, showing passports and Covid documents (hooray for vaccination, we felt sorry for the people who had to be tested at the border), and waiting for customs to search the bus for any stowaways. After getting off of the bus, we had to do the exact procedure again 30 seconds later at the entry point of Albania (the first time was for exiting Montenegro). In Albania, our bus driver actually took all of our passports and walked away (scary moment for us), but then came back and had another random tourist re-distribute them to the bus to laughs from everyone. From there on, the bus ride through northwest Albania was fairly smooth. One thing we did notice, was that the roads, infrastructure, trash, and housing in this new country tended to look more depleted than our previous stops. This could owe to the fact that Albania is just in it's infancy as a free, open country. Until 1991, the country was ruled by a regime that kept it completely isolated from the rest of the world.

We arrived in Tirana hungry again (another long bus ride without food). We dropped our bags off at our place (this time a bedroom right behind a small market, it only took an extra 30 minutes of walking, 18 peeks at Google maps and 6-7 arguments to find!), and went to find some food. We sat down in the first restaurant we saw (no exploring a whole block or even 3 places this time). The restaurant only had locals inside, and the menu was not in English, which we were excited about! After asking, they did end up having a very poorly translated menu, so we ended up just asking the waiter (actually, the waiter had to find another waiter who actually spoke English) what some traditional dished would be. He brought Nicole peppers stuffed with rice and onions, and Kyle a plate of sizzling Tave Kosi....which is a roasted yoghurt and lamb dish. Both were great, and with water and soda came out to less than 5 euro total! On side note: Albania has their own currency (Lek), but almost everywhere also accepts Euro. There are very few places that take credit card, and the fees at ATMs are extremely high, so bring some money to exchange if (and when!) you visit here. We spent the rest of the evening exploring Tirana's town square (so many high rises! It almost made Kyle miss work...almost...) and prepping to head to the mountains the next day.

The next morning involved showing up at 4:50am at a random bus stop hoping (maybe also praying) that we would actually be picked up by our mini-bus. Our next three days were planned up in Valbonna and Teth national parks in the Albanian Alps, but access to these locations is tricky at best. Yes, we could have rented a car, but it would not have worked with our planned hike (more on that in a moment), plus there was conflicting information on whether a standard (non 4x4) car could actually make it to the location(s) we were going. So, we opted for a mini-bus. A mini-bus that led to a ferry. A mini-bus that led to a ferry, that led to another mini-bus. Both of the busses and ferries were actually great experiences. They weaved through the Alps and onto the amazing Komani lake (honestly, the ferry through the lake alone is worth a trip to this region!). We stayed, this time, at a guesthouse which is basically a bed and breakfast. One thing we did not realize was that the actual "town" of Valbonna was actually just guesthouses with no markets, restaurants, etc. that were available to the general public. This probably explained the look on our host's face when we told her we were "going into town to grab dinner" that evening. After wandering aimlessly for 2 hours trying to find somewhere that would serve us dinner, and deciding that we might have to hike 13 miles the next day without, we were rescued by a family that heard us asking at our final attempted dinner place (note that they'll still serve you beer at all of these places, so not all is lost!). The family popped open their trunk and gave us their leftovers from a café many miles up the road. This included some leftover byrek, which must have been divine intervention because that was the number 1 Albanian dish that Kyle wanted to try (and wouldn't shut up about) since we crossed the border. Since that evening, the meal has been affectionately known as the "trunk byrek dinner." Thank you for the random kindness strangers!

Finally, we got to our pinnacle in Albania: the Valbonna to Theth hike! We both love hiking and were itching to get some in after all of the beach time. The hike from trailhead to trailhead is ~9 miles, but since we stayed a little bit farther out from the trailhead, and since we did not actually have a ride, our final hike distance was actually 12.75 miles. The first part of the actual hike (not our 3.75 miles up the road) was through a washed out riverbed that is typically full of either snow drifts in the winter or water in the spring. Because of this, the hike actually isn't allowed October through April. From there, it was an extreme ascent through a forest, followed by a less steep, but still steady, ascent through the rugged mountainside to the Valbonna pass. We had left most of our luggage at a storage facility in Tirana, and by this point we were extremely glad we did! Although it was difficult (and Nicole was bit under the weather...but we're not going to blame it on trunk byrek) the views were well worth it. Similar to the Rockies, the Alps are full of jagged peaks, steep drops, and drastic landscape changes, which makes them perfect for pictures. From the pass, it was an easy (but long) descent into Theth where we ready for a shower, hot meal (we ate at our guesthouse this time as we like to learn from previous mistakes!), and rest. The next morning we took a furgon (a group ride in a van, slightly smaller than the mini-bus) back to Tirana. The furgon driver was a super friendly local guide who was driving in place of his brother (who owned the van) that day. In true Albanian fashion, he even made a pit stop at his parents' house to say hi, and his mom gave us a big plate of carrot cake!

We spent one more night in Tirana after that. We wandered for a long time trying to find our hotel room, but it took some intervention from a local to finally find the surprisingly well hidden place (Google maps, Maps.me, and even our barista couldn't pinpoint it). When were arrived, they had overbooked our room (they said it was a water issue, but we know better). They told us we could either pay for a different (larger and more expensive) room or find somewhere else to stay. After some haggling and frustration with the situation, we needed up staying the in the more expensive room, albeit at a reduced rate. We walked off our frustration, and when we got back another person was in a similar situation. Our room actually had an extra bed, so we offered it to him and he gladly accepted. However, this is apparently a big NO-NO in Europe as accommodations are booked per person. After some more "discussions" with the manager, our almost-roommate was kicked out and sent elsewhere. At least we tried? After that, Kyle really wanted to go to a "bunker bar." Albania has thousands of bunkers that were built during their isolation period (1940s through 1990s) for an imminent war or nuclear fallout that never actually happened. Some of these bunkers have been renovated into bars, restaurants, AirBnBs, etc. The one we found was NOT one of those cool, domed bunkers, but actually a basement pool hall full of cigarette smoke and grunge music that we were immediately persuaded to leave by the local-only guests (not our first TripAdvisor failure, but a memorable one). Apologies to our random almost-roommate who we told to meet us there...hopefully you're still in one piece!

We are so extremely glad that we did not miss these two Balkan pit stops. The insertion of partying, culture shock, and a good hike was exactly what we needed to endure the 15-hour bus ride (see: travelling on a budget) from Tirana to Athens that we had the next day. Our bus took off at 5am the next morning at we were there right on time! The only issue was that there was exactly one other bus leaving at that time as well, and also going to Athens, although via a different route and definitely not via the company we paid with. We, of course, got on the wrong bus and didn't find out until they checked tickets 30 minutes in. The bus driver was exasperated, but he called the other bus and they met in a random town to exchange us! We had to play the "dumb American" card and luckily they obliged. The ride involved another border crossing (2.5 hours this time, with real bag checks, and a Covid test), almost losing hats and a kindle, and timing our meals with the bus driver so as to not get left behind. Next stop, Greece!

A couple of additional notes about this region: the busses, ferries, and furgons all cater to the locals. Our furgons stopped several times to pick up local passengers (and sometimes even whole families) who would BS with the driver and often get dropped off in a place slightly off the actual route. This even happened several times with our ferry, where it would pull up to random spot on the shore to let off passengers/cars.....there are many public restrooms that don't actually have sitting-style toilets in the stalls. They, instead, have hole-in-the-ground style, even though there is still a flushing system involved....the accommodations can be difficult. Two times our booked rooms were actually oversold or not ever available, and rather than giving us an upgrade or any help, we had to rebook on the fly. It was fun for us to experience, and definitely should not keep you from visiting, but something to keep in mind when coming from the customer-is-always-right USA.

Levi's shirt count update: since we were in the mountains most of the trip, our count didn't rise much. The total is up to 94.