Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia

Nov 4-10, 2019
AC596 IAH-YYZ, AC878 YYZ-ZRH, Nov 6 OS562 ZRH-VIE, OS847 VIE-TIA, Nov 10 LH1455 TIA-FRA, LH440 FRA-IAH

As I was planning the push for 100 countries, the former Yugoslavia provided a number of new opportunities. We got some additional flexibility and another country by flying to Albania. From the time I booked the flight in June until we finally flew, there were a number of schedule changes and we adjusted our planned countries a few times. To get the three countries we needed to hit 100, we started in Albania and drove through Kosovo to North Macedonia.

November 6

With the various flight changes, after our overnight to Zurich, we required an additional connection in Vienna. It did allow us to shower and get some breakfast and lunch along the way. With the two connections, we didn’t get to Tirana, the capital of Albania, until almost 3:00 pm. Unfortunately we arrived in a rain storm that even on the weekend snarled traffic. Although it was only 17km, it took almost two hours to get to the hotel and was dark when we arrived. After we checked in, there was a break in the rain, and we made the walk to the town square to make the most of our limited time.

Park Rinia Fountain in central Tirana

Resurrection of Christ Orthodox Cathedral

One of the many buildings lining the large Scanderbeg Square

Opera House also lining the square

Carousal already closed for the evening, but still lit up

Golden doors of the Orthodox Cathedral

After our evening walking tour of Tirana, we made it back to the hotel without getting too wet, and found a nearby restaurant for dinner.

November 7

We had a bit of ground to travel, and knew how bad traffic could be in Tirana, so after breakfast, we headed out early and didn’t spend any more time in the city. As I knew we were crossing a few borders with the car, I’d done some research on the entry requirements, but unfortunately not enough. Crossing into Kosovo was pretty straightforward with little delays. Unfortunately, North Macedonia was anything but easy. North Macedonia requires mandatory auto insurance which I was prepared for, but I did not expect that they would accept only cash Euros, and I was a few Euros short. After some tense negotiations, I gave them some extra US dollars and bought our way in. The weather was still a bit unsettled, but we didn’t let it ruin our time.

Old stone bridge in Prizren Kosovo, our first stop

A statue commemorates the killed in action of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) in Prizren

Close up of the stone bridge and surrounding countryside

Shoreline with the towering SInan Pasha Ottoman Mosque and minaret built in 1615

Walls surrounding Church of Our Lady of Ljevis in Prizren

Church of Our Lady of Ljevis is a 14th century church used as a mosque until 1911, badly damaged by Kosovo’s Albanian population in 2004, along with other Serbian Orthodox sites.

On the outskirts of Pristina we stopped at Gračanica Monastery, completed in 1321 by Serbian King Milutin

Church graveyard

Now in Skopje, North Macedonia, Plostad Makedonija square is dominated by Warrior on a Horse fountain with our hotel in the background

Fountain of Olympia, Mother of Macedonian Alexander

Umbrellas adorn the Carsija old Turkish Bazaar neighbourhood, buf offer only limited protection from the light rain

Georgi Pulevski Statue, in front of the VMRO, or Museum of the Macedonian Struggle for Sovereignty and Independence

National Archaeology Museum

Mother Teresa Memorial House, built in Skopje, her place of birth, to commemorate her life’s work

After our evening exploration, we ended the evening in the hotel lounge taking time to toast to our 100th country. This was one of the only chain hotels we stayed at, so we took advantage of the benefits of my status, including the upgrade to the beautiful corner suite with a view of the square below, not bad for around 100 EUR.

November 8

We would have the full day in North Macedonia, and as we didn’t have a lot of driving planned, we got a late check out from the hotel, and had the first half of the day to continue exploring the beautiful capital of Skopje. Eventually, the sun even came out, and we saw some blue skies.

Macedonia Parliament with statue of Nikola Karev

Front of the massive Monument of the First Plenary Session of ASNOM statue. In 2014, the North Macedonia invested $700M USD in statues; this one alone was more than $2M.

More of the statue that dominates Zena Borec Park, across from the parliament

Defenders of Macedonia Statue

One of a number of docked boats in the Vardar River, with the architecture museum in the background

Perspective on Macedonia Square, dominated by the Marriott hotel; our beautiful room has three sets of windows in the centre on an upper floor

Powerful exhibit at the entrance to the Holocaust Memorial Centre

Phillip of Macedon Warrior Monument

An artful display outside the Temov craft brewery in the old town

Mustard Pasha Mosque

Telekom Arena and surrounding area

Walls of hilltop Skopje Fortress with the city and surrounding mountains

More of city from above

Lower fortress walls

Statue Divers near the Stone Bridge

Making our way through the mountains to Ohrid

Despite the rain catching up to us, we are still able to enjoy the fall colours

Fountain square in Ohrid’s old town

Resorts and lake front restaurants along Lake Ohrid

Catcher of the Cross statue on the lake shore commemorates the Catching of the Cross on Ephiphany

Looking up at the old town of Ohrid from the lake

Cobblestone streets of the old town

Ohrid Roman Amphitheater

Church of Sveti Jovan at Kaneo cliff side 13th century church

The view of the lake from the church grounds

Car Samoil’s Fortress towers over the town

Back to the Roman Ampitheatre after dark, now lit up

The Church of Saint Sophia, one of many in the old town

After our evening walk we found dinner in the old town before turning in for the night.

November 9

For our last full day of the trip, we headed back across the border to Albania to explore further. After suffering through the traffic of Tirana on our first day, we spent our time exploring other areas of the country with a focus on the Unesco World Heritage town of Berat. Unfortunately the crazy drivers were everywhere in Albania, where road signs and laws were merely a suggestion for the locals. Thanks to Tom’s skills and quick reaction we avoided any accidents and made the most of our time.

Back in Albania, looking back over to Ohrid, before descending the mountain

13th century outer walls of the Berat Castle

The National Iconographic Museum in maze-like streets of the castle walls

Arches of the National Iconographic Museum

Surrounding countryside of Berat

The bust of Constantine the Great, in the castle walls, honours Flav Valer Constantine, the Roman emperor of Illyrian origin, who was the founder of Constantinople

Holy Trinity Church towers above the new city, surrounded by colourful mountains

The Church of St George was originally a monastery style church surrounded by stone walls. This was taken over in the 1980s as the government tourist residence and the upper part of the church demolished to resemble a typical Berat style house.

The Osum River cutting through the hillside town of Berat

The newer old town of Burat hugs the hillside bellow the castle

Looking upriver at the surrounding mountains

Faith Mosque in the seaside down of Durrës

Tree-lined street of Durrës leading to the Adriatic sea

Durrës Roman amphitheater

Monument of Partisan in Durrës commemorates the Albanian partisans who fought in World War II

Statue of the Illyrian god of the sea in a roundabout at the beginning of the Adriatic promenade

The Adriatic Sea was a little blustery, but we finally validated in-person that “Albania, Albania, you border on the Adriatic!” We did not validate what the chief export of the country was, however.

Fisherman sculpture at Vollga Waterfront Promenade

After finishing our tour of the city, we grabbed a nice seafood dinner along the Adriatic, and managed to get back on the road to Tirana before the rain caught up to us again. As we had an early morning flight, we stayed at the airport.

November 10

Our scheduled flight back was before 5:00 am. Although I was headed to Houston and Tom to Toronto, we were originally traveling together through Vienna with me taking the late flight to Houston. To get home a little earlier, I had been searching for a better routing and ultimately found a connection through Frankfurt and non-stop to Houston that got me in 10 hours earlier. I had been wanting to travel on the 747-8 for a number of years and took advantage of the opportunity, and left Tom in Tirana to travel home through Vienna. The upper deck of the new 747-8 made for a very comfortable ride home.