Albania – Part 3 – Elbasan

Our Albanian trip started in Durres. Then we slept two nights in a row camping after walking 20-30 km daily. The best part was that it's raining a good part of the day. That's why we were looking forward to our next stop in Elbasan where we'd spend (finally) two nights in a hotel.

That same day was lovely. Too bad that some hour before we could reach our destination the sky opened and some thousands cats and dogs poured over usJ

We were asked whether we’d like to stay – camping in the hotel’s yard or sleeping in the 4 star hotel. Can you imagine what we chose? When I got finally under the shower it felt like the best shower ever! The donkeys enjoyed the backyard of the hotel. And if you ask "How we're met at the hotel with all that caravan look" let me tell you that all of the hotel staff went out with cameras and all to take pictures and see. It was fun. 

Then we needed to get some dinner. This was the magic word. I easily forgot that I could barely walk – my blister resistant shoes actually caused me so many blisters that I walked like a duck for a while, and we went out. 

Elbasan is a lovely city. It has a beautiful central part, with an old but renovated castle. There was a very nice restaurant in the castle and a cafe. We enjoyed both of them.

Elbasan Castle.

  Walking on the side streets.

The city center.

An old church in Elbasan. 

  

Some Roman bath ruins. Which were preserved very well actually. You could even see some original paint on the walls.

An old church near Elbasan. Looking at its walls shows that the building was built by old cemetery blocks – there were different styles of crosses all over.

My favourite part - the Mercedes is all over Albania. You can see the whole history of the brand in this country. My absolute best was a pink Mercedes car which was carrying a fridge on its top. Too bad I couldn't take a picture of this.

We spent two nights in the hotel. If you ask me, I’d stay longer but we need to move on. However, the time was well spent. 

However, what I enjoyed most in Albania were the people - nice, hospitable people with huge hearts.