SOUTHWEST BALCANS
August 2021
Summer road trip around Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania. We start our route from Montenegro, where we stay in Kotor bay and explore the Durmitor National Park. Next stop was Kosovo, the newest country in Europe and the only one with a majority Muslim population. We visited Visoki Dechani monastery which is guarded by the KFOR, also we visited the bear sanctuary in Pristina and enjoyed Prizren and his best cultural festival, Dokufest. Once we crossed the border, we entered Macedonia, where we enjoyed its peculiar capital and the amazing lake Ohrid. Our last stop was Albania, the country that was locked up for 40 years under the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha (1944 to 1985). We visited amazing cities like Berat, Girokaster and Tirana, but the most shocking thing was discovering all the details of communism and Hoxha's madness.
Balkan gastronomy deserves a specific point because it is truly magnificent.
Bears playing (Bear Santuary, Pristina, Kosovo)
TRAVELMAP & DAILY DETAIL
Day 1 - Podgorica
Day 2 - Kotor bay
Kotor old town & wall / Perast
Day 3 & 4 - Ostrog & Durmitor NP
Ostrog monastery / Sv. Dorde Monastery / Dobrilovina Monastery / Tara canyon / Black lake / Zminje lake / Trekking in Durmitor NP
Day 5 - Peć
Visoki Dechani Monastery / Peć old town
Day 6 - Pristina
Pristina old town / Bear santuary / Gračanica Monastery
Day 7 - Prizren
Sinan Pasha Mosque / St. George cathedral / Prizren Fortress / Dokufest
Day 8 - Skopje
Mª Teresa church / Makedonian gate / Main square / Stone bridge / Old bazaar
Day 9 & 10- Ohrid
Sv. Jovan Bigorski Monastery / Sv. Jovan Kaneo / Old town / Lake
Day 11 - Berat
Berat kalaja / Old town
Day 12 & 13 - Gjirokastër
Cold war tunnel / Gjirokastër kalaja / Bazaar / Ksamil beach
Day 14 - Tirana
Enver Hoxha Bunker (BunkArt) / Albanian parlament / Main square / Old town
Day 15 - Shkoder & Podgorica
Shkoder Old town
HIGHLIGHTS
FOOD AND RESTAURANTS
7,5
Podgorica, Montenegro.
Brasserie restaurant with traditional food. Excellent service. Good place to taste the Kačamak. 8eur/pers.
8
Prizren, Kosovo.
Central hotel restaurant serving Albanian food with show cooking. Beautiful terrace decorated with a large vine.
8
Prizren, Kosovo.
Unpretentious riverside restaurant since 1960 with excellent kebabs. 7eur/pers.
9,5
Skopje, Macedonia.
Magnificent restaurant to taste local food. It is a great success to let the waiter advise you. 13eur/pers.
7,5
Skopje, Macedonia.
Located in one of the main streets of the old bazaar. You can only choose between 3 dishes: Kebab, shopska salad and Tavče gravče (bean stew). 6eur/pers.
Ohrid, Macedonia.
9
Located by Lake Ohrid with great views of Sveti Jovan Kaneo. Very good grilled fish and a great variety of local wines. 16eur/pers.
Ohrid, Macedonia.
8,5
Pizzeria located in the center of the city (next to the Santa Sofia church). The pizzas are really really good. 11eur/pers.
Berat, Albania.
8
Small restaurant with homemade and traditional Albanian food. He has only 4 tables located in the backyard of his house. Lili will carefully explain each of the dishes through a blackboard with photos of them. 5eur/pers.
Girokastër, Albania.
7,5
Traditional Albanian food restaurant in a traditional house located in the center. Very good place to taste the Qofte and Speca me Glizë. 9eur/pers.
Tirana, Albania.
9,5
Excellent Albanian restaurant with original decoration and exceptional customer service. Let yourself be advised. 6eur/pers.