It Took Three Countries to Get to Albania
I left Abu Dhabi refreshed and rested after our two-day stopover, which any seasoned traveler will tell you is precisely when everything goes wrong.
I was so excited to get going. Tirana was on the other side of an eight hour flight and all we had to do was get through a brief layover in Rome.
We landed, I turned off airplane mode, and there it was in my email. Our flight was cancelled. I was holding out hope it was some kind of mix up, so we rushed to the help desk, where they confirmed it and told us we'd been rebooked onto the next available flight. What we did not expect was that the next available flight went to Frankfurt first. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't livid.
Spending an entire day in an airport is a personal hell for me. But then I remembered we had lounge access, which felt like a small mercy right up until every lounge turned us away, because you have to wait a certain amount of time before they'll let you in, and once you're in you get two hours. So we had to be strategic about it.
I spent that time sulking. My husband spent it writing a very stern email seeking compensation for our inconvenience. By the time we'd both got over ourselves we made our way into one of the lounges and had a glass of Prosecco to soothe our nerves.
For the record, Frankfurt was the only option that got us to Tirana the same day. The absolute worst option, but an option, so we took it.
We landed in Tirana at midnight. Then our Airbnb host forgot to leave the key, so we were calling him at 1am, and when he couldn't get hold of the property manager to unlock the door he relocated us to another one of his properties, which did not quite meet my expectations. We were too exhausted to do anything but make it work, though I was very certain I'd be up first thing in the morning to get us back to the original place.
I wish I could say we took it all in stride. After a day like that there was just silence.
But we slept long and hard, and woke up recharged and ready to put the whole thing behind us.
Tirana was really only ever a pitstop before the rest of the country. During the day you might not expect much of the place, and then it turns out to have far more going on than you can see at first.
What I found real comfort in was how much they appreciate a slow morning. There's not a lot of hustle and bustle. We spent ours drinking deliciously rich coffee and people watching, no agenda, just being. Stylish Albanian ladies sitting down with their morning coffee, or their morning cig, chatting with a friend or two. Old men walking leisurely with their hands behind their backs, while others played dominoes in the park, a game I haven't seen in a long time.
We stayed in Blloku, which was an easy base to explore from and turned out to be the trendiest part of the city. Cafes and shops everywhere, restaurants from all over, and a nightlife that goes properly late.
What I did not know about Tirana, and Albania at large, is how much they LOVE sweets. Bakeries on every corner exploding with Trileçe, which is their version of tres leches, and baklava drenched in gooey honey syrup. I went to a bakery called Elinikon Bakery more times than I'm prepared to count, alternating between savory and sweet treats each day. Any attempt I had to un-big my back came to an abrupt end in Albania.
To compensate for the insane amount of sugar, I walked. A lot. Through and around Tirana Lake Park, then over to the opera house in Skanderbeg Square, then out to the New Bazaar, which had all the local fruit and veg, plus souvenirs and trinkets, and was ringed by restaurants doing local dishes and fresh seafood.
The New Bazaar is also where I got to reunite with my good good friend Ariana, who I met in Medellín a few years ago. She's the reason Albania jumped up our list at all, because she'd recently moved to Tirana. Seeing her felt warm and familiar, like picking up exactly where we left off. And I got to see the city the best possible way, which is through the eyes of someone who lives there. Tirana was still new to her too, so she was showing me a place she was only just working out herself.
The next day we took a taxi from the city centre out to the lower station of the Dajti Ekspres in Linzë, about 25 minutes, then rode the cable car up Dajti Mountain.
That cable car gave me a whole new perspective on Tirana. It's expansive, with lakes scattered across it, and if you've been following me for a while you already know my favourite thing in the world is where city life meets nature. Going up into the mountains like that, looking back down on all of it, felt like looking at another world entirely.
We hiked on from the top station toward the viewpoint overlooking Bovilla Lake. It was overcast for most of the walk, then just as we reached the top the sun slowly peaked out and revealed this glacial turquoise water below us. It was breathtaking. We found a seat on a rock and just marvelled at it.
The horses were the other thing. They were loose in the forest all along the trail, lingering peacefully, completely unbothered by the few of us walking past. It felt like a scene from a Disney princess movie, and it reminded me exactly why I love being out in nature.
That night we had a deliciously hearty dinner at Restorant Traditë Shqiptare. Lamb shank layered over potatoes and rice with some kind of shredded cheese on top. The hosts were so warm that it felt like eating in their home rather than a restaurant, and they sent us off with a sweet honey cake.
Afterwards we met Ariana again at Hemingway Bar, hoping for live jazz and getting someone's random Spotify playlist instead. Great drinks and better conversation regardless.
Here's the thing about Albania. I knew almost nothing before I landed. That it's in the Balkans, and that it spent most of the last century closed off from the rest of the world. I knew there was buzz building about what the country had to offer, but nothing prepared me for actually being there.
Albania is for everyone, but it is a nature girlie's dream. From the coastline to the Albanian Alps, you will not be disappointed.
And the people. I initially found them quite reserved, but only initially. A warm smile turned out to be the best icebreaker, and behind it were some of the kindest people I've met.
We wrapped up our first couple of days and headed for the Albanian Riviera.
Any guesses where?
If you go
Stay in Blloku. Trendy, walkable, cafes and restaurants everywhere, nightlife that goes late.
Get around with Patoko for taxis, or take the bus for 40 Lek, about 35 cents.
Get a Vodafone SIM. We took the tourist unlimited data package and it worked well country wide, not just in Tirana, and lasted us nearly a full month.
Carry cash. Card is widely accepted but plenty of places are cash only.
Eat at Restorant Traditë Shqiptare for a proper Albanian dinner. Pastries at Elinikon. Drinks at Hemingway Bar, though don't count on the live jazz.
Order Trileçe, the Albanian tres leches, and baklava drenched in honey syrup.
Do Dajti Mountain. Taxi to the lower station in Linzë, about 25 minutes, then the cable car up, 1,500 Lek return, roughly $17. From the top it's about an hour's hike to the Bovilla Lake viewpoint, easy rather than strenuous. Hardly anyone up there and horses loose along the trail. Go even if you don't think you're a hiker.
Give it three days at least. That's what I had and I could happily have stayed a month. It's an easy city to find your place in and get comfortable.
We went mid May. Overcast for most of the Dajti hike, then the sun came out right at the top.
Know that mornings are slow and that's the point, and that people seem reserved for about a minute until you smile at them.
