I’m writing this from our lovely hotel room in Prizren, Kosovo.
The good news – we love Kosovo! The people, the countryside, the towns – we are being made to feel very welcome. (More on that later).
The bad news – the only thing we can’t seem to get done here (which we really need) is some proper washing. It has been a little longer than we would like since we used a washing machine to wash our things. We really (really) need and want to now, but despite Matt’s best efforts traipsing around town with all of our things (really nearly everything, I was left behind in my bikini, a jacket and waterproof trousers) he has not been able to find a laundry that will wash our stuff (they are more set up for commercial dry cleaning etc) and it is not something that hotels seem to offer. So more hand/foot washing it is and let’s hope for the joy of a washing machine soon (it’s the small things).
Now I’ve got that out of my system there’s lots more to update on which might be a little more interesting!
I last did an update from Croatia, which now – a week and a half later – feels a lifetime ago. Since then we have been to Dubrovnik, crossed the border to Montenegro, then into Albania and now Kosovo. Quite the few days and quite the adventure!
Saying goodbye to Croatia
In the last post I might have mentioned that Croatia had its ups and downs for us. This was certainly true of our last couple of days there. Cycling to Dubrovnik was… interesting. Yet more evidence of a complete lack of cycling infrastructure, we ended up having to spend longer than we’d like on the main coastal road, followed by a 10km detour to a slightly less busy road to avoid a very busy road bridge.
The city itself (which we are lucky enough to have visited before) still made our jaws drop with its beauty but it is completely over-run with tourists (including us of course) and we had to wheel our bikes from gate to gate and through the crowds as cycling is not allowed within the city walls. We still enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere for an hour or so and treated ourselves to a coffee (the most expensive of the trip, even beating Switzerland!) to watch the world go by.
Departing the city was just as challenging with one way streets and more very busy coastal road. Arriving into our destination that night at Mlini was a huge relief.
It was here that we decided we needed a proper break, so we booked ourselves a little hilltop apartment in our next destination of Kotor, Montenegro for four nights. 100km later we were there having explored an old Yugoslav-era fort, crossed the border and cycled all the way round the bay due to the shortcut ferry being closed, as locals protested the move of the ferry from private into public ownership (no we don’t understand it either).
Kotor
Again, we’re fortunate to have visited the Bay of Kotor previously so there was no pressure to do lots of exploring or sightseeing. We could just enjoy the views whilst having a rest and reflect.
This resting was after we had found said ‘hilltop’ apartment which living up to its advertising was up the steepest hill I have ever (attempted to) cycle(d) up. Matt somehow did… with all of his luggage.
I still don’t know how as I think it was a 40% incline at points! The views were worth it though and it was lovely to have our own small space to spread out and relax (just no washing machine alas!) The photos maybe don’t do the place justice – if you get the chance, go. It is one of the most beautiful places in Europe we think.
Montenegro’s mountains
After four days of relaxing, planning, strolling, some cycling for Matt and a short run for me we were up and off at 6.30am on Monday morning with a big day of cycling stretching ahead of us. We weren’t fazed by the distance (100km) but we were a little nervous that the first 35km were all uphill taking us to nearly 1,600m above sea level (and we were starting at sea level!), with the latter part of the ride also involving some smaller, but not insubstantial climbs.
Luckily the climbing legs have had a bit of practice now and our early start meant we could enjoy the whole climb without having to compete with too many cars and no tourist buses at all. The road itself is a famous one with ‘serpentine’ hairpins taking you up out of the bay ahead of a steeper climb through the Lovćen National Park to the highest point of the day (and the entire trip so far) – which is also famous for being the resting place in a mausoleum of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (a Montenegrin legend who was a Prince-Bishop, poet and philosopher).
Motorcyclists were high-fiving at the top, and so we did too. We just didn’t take many photos as the rumbles of thunder and a plague of flies made us get back on the bikes pretty quick for the first part of the descent down to Cetinje, the old Montegrin capital and now a lovely small city, before a rougher descent to the river estuary of Lake Skader and then a narrow winding set of climbs/descents to Virpazar. A big day but hugely rewarding – with elevation that would have seemed out of reach with the luggage at the beginning of the trip.
After a slightly restless night’s sleep due to Virpazar’s barking doggo population we were up and off for more climbing following the Montenegrin side of Lake Skader. Another truly epic but challenging day, especially with a fierce sun. The last 20km were bliss on a slightly bigger but fairly quiet main road which was… actually quite flat, the first bit of faster cycling for what feels like a long time!
This road took us to…
Albania!
Somehow entering Albania was a bit of a mind-blown moment. We have been once before (backpacking) but actually cycling here (and realising this) gave us the tingles! For our parents’ generation, Albania was an out of reach place on the edge of Europe, and whilst it is of course ‘open’ now it still felt like we were entering somewhere more off the beaten track and somewhere you don’t find quite so many tourists.
This illusion was briefly shattered on our first night in the country as we were staying on the outskirts of Shkodër in a ‘proper’ campsite. I say proper as it was fully equipped with a pool, kitchen facilities, restaurant etc and was full to the brim of our old friends, Germans in motorhomes! We enjoyed a quick dip and some stunning views from the site of the city’s castle that evening.
The next day we had a shorter day of riding planned as we were heading for a dead end as far as roads go, to Koman, on the south-western end of Lake Koman. Our lovely now ex-neighbours Maggie and Richard had recommended the Lake Koman ferry to us after their trip in their VW California to Albania a few years ago. It has been in our sights for a while as a result – as it felt like a logical way to travel through the mountains of northern Albania and the pictures of the ‘cruise’ looked incredible. Getting there was challenging but aside from one moment of frustration (from me, after one too many small climbs on the crumbling and increasingly very rough road into Koman) we spent most of the day being blown away by the natural beauty of the mountains and the welcome we received.
We spent that night about 2km from the ferry in the garden of a restaurant/guesthouse – any doggo noises drowned out by the arrival of heavy rain, our first sustained wet weather for some time.
I was disappointed as all of the photos of the ‘cruise’ I had seen involved blue skies and sparkling waters but this wasn’t to be for us. However, we still experienced the full Lake Koman ferry experience (not cruise, very important distinction). Which goes something like this:
1. Cycle (in our case) – for everyone else, drive or be driven – to the ferry quay through a long tunnel.
2. At the end of the tunnel pay a random man a €2 tax – obviously without any receipt provided
3. Emerge from the tunnel into complete chaos, an hour ahead of both ferries’ departure time of 9am.
4. The complete chaos involves the smallest quay on the planet which is full of men who all run the show walking around giving contradicting orders to one another, lots of (mainly German) campervans parked, being parked and being reversed onto the ferries. Wooden planks being put down/moved to enable said reversing. All in the rain.
5. We plough through it with our tickets bought the night before and being on bikes our embarkation is fairly straightforward. I get myself comfy on the ramshackle ‘inside’ of the ‘ferry’ (now needs to be in quote marks as we have now actually seen the vessel which appears to have been built piece-meal by hand by a man with a welding iron). Matt gets back off the ferry to walk amongst the chaos because he likes that kind of thing.
6. An hour passes, mini buses come and go with lots of foot passengers who luckily all board the other boat. More vans reverse on. It rains some more, the ghetto blaster on the ferry is warmed up to ensure full volume for the whole journey of Albanian hits. The toilet isn’t cleaned etc. One campervanner from Germany asks about life jackets. Haha!
7. Eventually we set ‘sail’ about three seconds after the other boat. Why oh why do the only boats of the day depart at the exact same time, causing this chaos, is a mystery we will never solve. We are lucky that all of the foot passengers are squeezed onto the other ferry whilst we have the luxury of a seat each and the ability to come and go inside/outside as the weather allows to observe the scenery which drops our jaws to the random laminated floor repeatedly on the 3 hour journey.
8. We arrive at the other end feeling like we’ve had quite the experience. Everyone else zooms off in their vans to who knows where, maybe back to the coast? We pedal… to the border with Kosovo!
9. Thank you Maggie and Richard for the recommendation 🙂
Kosovo
Our entry into this country was via a mountain pass which unfortunately we cycle up and over in torrential rain. It’s about the only dramatic thing about the crossing, aside from noticing a steady flow of GB number-plated cars on the run in. Initially we are surprised to be joined by so many British tourists all of a sudden, maybe we’re not so intrepid after all? To then realise that these GB cars have potentially not arrived here in Albania and/or Kosovo driven by tourists. We’ll leave it there.
Cycling down into our first town in Kosovo, Gjakova, is lovely – the rain clears, the road is smooth and quiet. Luckily no doggos arrive to eat me.
We spend a night in Gjakova in a brand new hotel in a shopping centre which feels like absolute luxury for less than the price of a campsite in Croatia. The old bazaar we cycle through on arrival is beautiful, if in need of some love and care, and the atmosphere in the cafes is fun with youngsters enjoying coffees.
All this means that Matt decides to get his haircut finally! This is the result – he claims the best haircut he has ever had, for €4!!
Delicious pizza for dinner and a fab hotel breakfast leave us feeling even more affection for this small country with a troubled past and to some extent present (the way to our hearts is always via our stomachs).
Yesterday we cycled from Gjakova to our current location, Prizren via a combination of ‘yellow’ roads (this is the colour they appear on our GPS units which is our shorthand with each other for ‘medium’ roads which we think might be quite quiet), a little bit of busier (orange) road as well as some quiet back lanes.
This combination of roads gave the perfect opportunity to be waved at A LOT by lots of youngsters walking home from school for lunch, lots of ‘hellos’, smiles, bemused looks and being made to feel even more welcome at every turn. It’s fair to say that we were the only tourists around, and likewise (nearly) the only people on bikes, aside from the odd older local cruising between coffee stops (or whatever older local Kosovans do in the middle of a weekday!) We also heard the call to prayer echoing round the valleys and just life being lived (what else would we expect to see, anywhere in the world?)
We rolled into Prizren along our first city cycle lanes since Slovenia(!) before some crazy cobbles in the drizzle and our second lovely hotel in so many days (I could get used to this!) The rest of the day (after the washing disappointment) will be a visit to a mosque, a fort and a Catholic Church before joining the locals in the cafes/bars (although no coffee for us in the evening… are they mad?!)
Immediate next steps after that are a big climb tomorrow, to the border with North Macedonia and the capital Skopje in a couple of days.
Another big thank you from both of us to all of you for reading this and our other posts (even the exciting one about our bikes!)
Sometimes being on this journey feels like being at sea, with no anchor. Which is great as it gives us freedom but also can make you a bit seasick (homesick?). Having you lot following us and encouraging us gives us an anchor – so thank you for the comments and the appreciation and the reminder to ‘keep on keeping on’. We are 🙂
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