Getting There Ksamil (our last stop in Albania) is only about four miles from the Greek border. However, that didn’t mean getting to Greece was simple or easy. We ended up taking a taxi back to Sarande and, from there, catching a ferry to Corfu. In Corfu we needed to transfer to another ferry to take us to the Greek mainland. We landed in Igoumenitsa which was eerily deserted and seemed to be nothing but a port and a bus…
Getting (near) to Theth After a few low-key days in Shkoder it was time to set out on the adventure that had brought us there in the first place. At the crack of dawn we left our hostel and climbed into the van to Theth with several other would-be hikers. The ride was long and winding, though our driver had no problem tearing around hairpin turns on the edge of cliffs. We made one brief stop at a roadside cafe…
From Dubrovnik it was another long and winding bus ride to Montenegro. Our first stop was Kotor, a beautiful walled, medieval city located on sparkling Kotor Bay. Kotor is similar to Dubrovnik in many ways. The beautiful stone architecture hearkens back to the same era. There are narrow streets and alleys that make it impossible not to get lost. The old city walls limit the pathways in and out of the city to only a handful. Kotor is also the…
After Ljubljana we said goodbye to our friends Sam and Spencer. We were on our own again and free to go anywhere we wanted. Sarajevo wasn’t really on my radar but Dan had recently finished a book about the lead up to World War I. He was eager to see the site of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination. When we started researching how to get to Bosnia we got our first hint that tensions in the Balkans haven’t totally cooled. Despite having…
When we were putting this trip together the plan was always to spend most of our Europe time in Eastern Europe. We had heard it was much cheaper than Western Europe and we were excited to get off the typical European-vacation route and see some less touristy places. However, as you can probably tell from the posts up to this point, it took us quite a while to actually make our way east. Poland was our first taste of the…
When we started planning this trip I knew I wanted Ireland on the itinerary. My grandfather was Irish and even though I am part of the third generation born in the United States, my family has kept in touch with our relatives back in Ireland. I got to meet some of them when I visited Ireland for the first time five years ago. I couldn’t wait to get back and explore more of this beautiful country, this time with Dan…
Scotland made it on to our Europe itinerary mostly because my cousin was graduating from St. Andrew’s in June. We were pretty open as far as which countries to visit so we figured we would take advantage of the opportunity to spend some time with family. Dan and I arrived a week before the graduation so we’d have some time to explore Scotland on our own. We decided to start with the two major cities: Edinburgh and Glasgow. Edinburgh We…
The Algarve, Portugal’s southernmost region, is renowned for its charming towns, beautiful beaches and delicious seafood. It is a favorite vacation destination of the Portuguese and the rest of Europe so we were eager to see what all the fuss was about. Even though the weather was still cool and damp when we arrived, the Algarve did not disappoint. We had time to spend a few days each in three Algarve towns: Lagos, Tavira and Faro. Lagos Our first stop…