And for our first weekend getaway D.. D.. D... Durres

Weekend of Sep 22nd & 23rd 2018

Liz, Mark and I decided to go to Durres, a beach town about 45 minutes by bus from Tirana. We met around 9am and made our way to eagle square which is where all of the domestic buses in Tirana depart from. We were in Durres by 11am and were able to make it to our hostel in about a half hour on foot. The hostel was really cute with a big outdoor cafe space and an indoor communal lounge/kitchen space.

The rooms were themed and ours was named after Ernest Hemingway. We dropped our bags and set out to explore. My boss had recommended a seafood restaurant about an hour walk from our hostel so our plan was to walk along the ocean and leisurely make our way toward lunch. Our first stop was a small corner bakery with delicious looking treats. After each of us enjoyed a chocolate, we continued along toward the ocean.

Once hitting it we wandered along the beach and came to a boardwalk with a lot of shops and restaurants.

We chose a Mexican place with a big patio. We ordered margaritas (sidenote: I've tried twice to order margaritas at bars in Albania and have come to the conclusion that they just aren't good here, so I've stopped ordering them. However, since this was a Mexican restaurant, I figured I had to try again. Third time was definitely not a charm and I won't be ordering one again until I return to the states). We also ordered a plate of nachos. We were super excited for the guacamole, however, the wait staff informed us that they couldn't make it because they were out of a special type of salt. We tried to communicate with them that we didn't need a special salt in our guac and that they should still make it but they weren't having any of it. The guac-less nachos were still delicious but very different from traditional ones. They were made with these cheesy chips and this special sauce that was quite good.

 We continued along the beach until we came to a large restaurant with picnic tables and beach access to chairs with umbrellas. We wanted to inquire about rental prices for Sunday, so we sat down and enjoyed a beer while we scoped out the best seats for sunning. The last leg of our walk was tiring as it was mostly uphill and in direct sun. However, the views of the beach from this restaurant were gorgeous so the trek was definitely worth it.

The restaurant was really crowded when we got there though, so we ended up sitting at a table for over half an hour before we got any drinks. We ordered some dishes to share and found that everything was quite good. At Albanian restaurants, instead of getting your check at the end of the meal, the waiters bring you a new check each time you order a dish. It gets a bit confusing by the time the fourth or fifth check is placed under the ash tray, but we were expecting this so we thought we had everything settled up by the end. We were about 20 minutes away from the restaurant when we were flagged down by a car. Our waiter was catching up with us to let us know that we had not paid for our wine. What? Well where was the wine check? Umm... He was upset because he had forgotten to give it to us and because we never asked for it. Well... we had four checks that were all in Albanian so we assumed our wine was included in those. Guess not. After a little bit of back and forth we paid him and continued on our journey back toward town. We sat in some chairs on a more secluded area of the beach and figured we would watch the sunset from there. However, when we headed up to the wooden shack that they were attached to in an attempt to order drinks we were met with bartenders who were barely able to see over the counter. They were 13 or 14 years old, tops. There was no way I was ordering drinks from these kids, so we wandered down the beach a bit to a restaurant with an outdoor terrace overlooking the ocean. Our waiter was a much more appropriate age, so we ordered some drinks and enjoyed the view from the padded outdoor couches. The sunset over the water was very beautiful.

One of my and Liz's colleagues, Esther, has a house in Durres. She invited us to come by for drinks after sunset. The only problem was figuring out where she lived. Again, we ran into the problem of addresses not existing, so Esther told us to head to a local hotel that was down the street from her house. She met us there and walked us back to where she, her husband and son lived. They had a nice big outdoor space with snacks and drinks. Esther's husband even brought out some Albanian moonshine for us to try. I stomached a glass of it whereas Mark seemed to quite enjoy the stuff and had more than a glass or two (if you know what I mean). Esther's son went down the road and picked up pizzas for everyone. At the end of the night, we headed back to our hostel in a taxi and went to bed in anticipation of a beach day tomorrow.

Sunday we got up and had breakfast at our hostel, which included hardboiled eggs, cheese, cucumber and tomato. We set out toward the beach but first had to stop and see the amphitheater, which was built in the 2nd century and was used for performances in Durres.

We also went to see the Roman baths which are mostly ruins.

Walking further down the street we saw a sign for 'Aldi' so Jimmy we're hoping this means you'll come to Albania :)

Next stop: lounging in the sun on some beach chairs.

After enjoying a delicious late lunch (I had Albanian fish soup and salad) we made our way back toward the buses so that we could be in Tirana by dinnertime. On the bus ride back we met a really nice local Albanian girl who showed us where to get on the buses that would take us from eagle square to the zoo. It was a really fun weekend and I'm so glad we got to explore one of the beach towns before the weather turns.

Trips Around Tirana

Weekend of October 12th, 13th & 14th 2018

This weekend Mark and I decided that we wanted to experience some of the local sights and sounds of Tirana, the capital city of Albania, where we are currently living. Friday night started with a beautiful view of the sunset from our balcony and a toast with our favorite local beer, peja. We left our apartment and stopped at one of the outdoor cafes overlooking the lake for another celebratory peja. The beers are 50 cents so let's be real we had to do it. The night was beautiful so we continued our walk through the blloku neighborhood and toward skanderbeg square. The outdoor scene in Tirana is vibrant and alive, no matter the time of day. We walked by a strand of indoor/outdoor Albanian eateries. One of the waiters was incredibly friendly and motioned for us to come over. He told us that his eatery was the best and quickly got us a menu in English. He then brought us into the indoor part of the shop where the meals were made and showed us the different meats, cheeses and sauces on display. He let us choose right out of the case which things we would like to eat. We had chofta (Albanian meatballs that look more like sausages because they aren't in ball shapes), smoked sausages and spicy sausages and some tzatziki with homemade bread. These are traditional Albanian foods and damn were they delicious (and cheap!) Sitting outside enjoying the night air, the buzzing conversation of the locals and the smells of cooked meats wafting by made for a perfect Friday evening.

The next morning Mark, Liz and I treated ourselves to breakfast at Duff's, a local bar that we have come to love. It's named after the beer company on 'The Simpson's'. One of the waiters here even has a 'Bart' tattoo. They have a really delicious American brunch. Mark and I shared a croque monsieur and a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich with some amazingly well cooked oregano seasoned chips on the side.

However, Albania is a country that brings each dish out as it's made, so not everything will make it to the table at once. Because of this our sandwiches were long gone by the time we got our chips. After finishing our delicious meal, we started our walk to the Dajti Mountain bus. Our first stop was BunkArt, a mix of a history and contemporary art museum built underground, inside one of Tirana's largest bunkers. Getting to the bunker almost feels like time travel-- you walk through this very long, cold, underground tunnel.

Once you've passed through to the other side you continue walking alongside an active Albanian military base until you reach the actual bunker entrance. The bunker has iron bars and three huge concrete doors that seal it off from the outside world.

Once you head inside you're able to explore three floors worth of Albanian history-- the private rooms built for Enver Hoxha and his elite staff, the assembly hall for large gatherings, the original sketches of the bunker layout and even a room that simulates a mustard gas attack (we were assured that the gas coming out of the room was completely safe and non toxic...) The museum shows the history of Albania from the Italian invasion in 1939 to the overthrow of communism. I would say it's a must see for anyone in Albania.

After exiting, we continued our journey up the hill to get to the Dajti Ekspress, the longest cable car in the Balkans, that would take us to the top of Mt. Djati. A roundtrip ride costs 800 lek per person and includes a 25 minute ride in a small clear pod hanging off of an overhead cable.

The view is incredible but was very hard to capture via photos because most of the windows in the pods are really scratched.

Once we were at the top we decided to have a look around. We passed by tables with bebe and paintball guns that you could shoot for a fee, in addition to many horses that the locals were trying to entice us to ride.

We continued walking and encountered some cows at the top of the peak and then a security guard blocking a path that went deeper into the mountain. There are two restaurants, plus a 360 degree rotating bar at the top. We wanted to check out the bar first and grab a drink before dinner but it was so unbelievably hot in there that we couldn't even last through our order. We chose to head back out into the sunshine for a cocktail and dinner. Luckily for us the restaurant had a big outdoor observation deck where we were able to stand and look down on all of Tirana.

Our table was also situated right alongside the glass window that overlooked the city below, so we were able to enjoy the view for our entire meal. We ordered a cheese and meats plate that had a fantastic variety of flavors. Each of us ordered a traditional Albanian dish for our main course and shared with one another. Mark got meatballs, I got noodles with beef and Liz got a soup with cheese and meat. All three were absolutely fantastic, but I liked mine the best :)

Watching the sun go down was lovely, but the darkness on the mountain meant very chilly temperatures. We decided to hop on the cable car and head back down to the base where it was significantly warmer. We ended our evening at a restaurant called Cioccollat Italiani, a dessert restaurant that multiple people here in Tirana have recommended. It definitely lived up to the hype! I had gelato drenched in hot chocolate with a scoop of salted butter cream on the side (they won't swap out the vanilla gelato with the salted butter cream for some reason). Mark had a 6 scoop sundae that came with a miniature cone filled with melted white chocolate and Liz had an 8 scooper with two mini cones filled with melted chocolates (Mark and Liz were adamant that I clarify that the scoops are Albanian sized, not American sized) I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone with a sweet tooth. I know Mark and I will certainly be back!

On Sunday we treated ourselves to massages at a spa that's right across the hill from us. Not only was the heater turned off partway through which resulted in my lips turning blue, but the amount of time spent on my feet compared to my back was incredibly disporportionate. At one point, I saw a bright flashing light and then felt one hand move slowly away from my body while the other stopped moving and rested limply against my leg. I opened my eyes to my masseuse on her phone! To top it all off, it ended with a 15 minute stomach rub. That's right- a stomach rub. Needless to say, the massages in Albania don't measure up to the ones in Asia or the states, but we'll certainly keep looking.