Fantastic architecture in Antwerp, Belgium

Yesterday we hopped on the bikes and rode into the city of Antwerp. (Lots of photos... be warned!)

We haven't been on the bikes in over three months, so it felt good to get back to it. And Antwerp is so bicycle friendly, in fact the entire 7 kms (4 miles) from where Max is parked to the city center is all on dedicated cycle paths.

Booked some more flight tickets!

Bit of a quiet day yesterday. I hadn't had a good night sleep for a while, and I think it finally caught up to me. 

We did drive down to another overnight spot located about 6 kms (4 miles) outside of the city center of Antwerp with the intention of riding our bikes into the central area. Then, we were invited over to Bjorn and Freya's for dinner, but we ended up putting both experiences off until today.

Welcome to Belgium, country number 55

We had an interesting day yesterday!

The sun doesn't come up until about 7:45am, but as soon as it was light enough we set off to see a nearby castle. It's used as an event center and restaurant now, and unfortunately it was too early and we couldn't go inside.

Back on the road, and into Netherlands

On the road early, and on a Sunday morning there was no traffic at all. Very pleasant driving through the Germany countryside.

We made a breakfast stop at a forest parking lot for walkers, then we went for a walk ourselves.

Reunited with our motorhome Max!

When we left you on the previous blog post, we were sitting at the boarding gate for our early morning flight from Tirana, Albania to Dortmund, Germany.

They were telling us that our flight would be ten minutes late leaving, and twenty minutes late arriving. Not a big deal, since we had lots of time. Or so I thought!

Well Albania, it's been great!

What a fantastic time we had here in Albania and Kosovo. The first two weeks touring Albania with Helen and Tony, and the last two and a half weeks on and off with David and Mirsie.

But it's time to move on, and we're excited to be heading back to Germany and picking up our motorhome Max for an extended tour.

This time, we were successful!

We had made a rough plan to hike up the mountain opposite Lake Shkodra. I had a clear view of it out our bedroom window while I was sitting on the bed writing yesterday's blog post. I could see the antenna towers at the top.

Ruth and I had made a half hearted effort to get up there when we were here a year ago, but when we got to the first ridge it was really windy and actually a bit chilly so we had turned around without reaching the top. This time, we were successful.

The gorgeous village of Theth in the Albanian Alps

Ruth and I had spent a week in the village of Bogë at the end of May last year. At the time, we had driven part of the road towards Theth but parts were still under construction. Plus there was still a lot of snow up there!

Well the road is now finished, so yesterday we took Mirsie and David for a drive up into the mountains.

Back in Albania

We left Prizren at about 10:00am and made our way through the maze of inner city one way streets. What a circus. Finally got out to the main highway where there was very little traffic.

Not long after, we were at the border of Kosovo and Albania. 

High above Prizren

We published out October expense report earlier today. You can read it here.

Yet another gorgeous day yesterday. We've been so lucky with the weather. Ruth was mentioning that when we came through Montenegro last year around this time it was pouring with rain. 

Yesterday we climbed up to the Fortress that overlooks the city of Prizren.

October expenses. We kind of blew the budget!

We started the month in England, and ended it in Kosovo with a bunch of time in Albania in between. It was a great month!

But the expenses came in a fair bit higher than planned. We spent more than expected on both meals out and accommodation. But then after all, we were on holiday for the first two weeks of the month!

We spent a total of $2,872 CAD ($2,115 USD) during October.

We keep our expectations low so that we're not disappointed!

On Sunday, we drove from Pristina to Prizren. Not a long distance, so we asked our new host if we could get early check in, and that was no problem. An easy hour and a half drive, and we arrived in Prizren about 11:30am.

We're pretty low maintenance when it comes to accommodation. And you have to be when you don't want to spend a lot of money. 

It doesn't take much for things to get out of control

We decided to do a little day trip up to northern Kosovo.

I'm sure most of you know about the war between Kosovo and Serbia. The conflict has been ongoing for centuries, and even now is only stable because of the NATO peacekeeping forces that are in the area. There have been recent problems at the border regarding license plates, which sounds trivial... but it doesn't take much for things to get out of control.

I found a deal on Cellular data geared towards travelers in Europe

One of the things that we have to deal with as nomads is trying to get online in whatever country we're visiting. It's not so difficult when we're staying in rental accommodation because they usually have decent WiFi included. Not always though, and we've learned that even if the WiFi is working, it's not always working very well.

It's especially important when you do work online. So I always make sure that we have a secondary source, such as a good cellular data connection. 

Driving in Pristina. Every man for himself!

We've been really lucky with the weather here in Kosovo. Highs of around 20C (68F) with lots of blue sky and sunshine. 

But we better enjoy it while we've got it because it certainly won't be that warm when we get back to Max on November 5th! The long term forecast for that area in Germany is calling for highs around 10C (50F) and lows around 4C (39F).

We have no intention of settling down! And, new registration for Max.

It occurred to us the other day that we missed our nomadiversary! It was 15 years ago on October 15, 2007 that we took off in our motorhome Sherman for what was planned to be a two year adventure. You can read our very first blog post here... We're cookin' with gas now

Well two years went by and we didn't want to stop. So we just found ways to make it work. And here we are now into our 16th year!

The restaurant bears of Albania

Overall, a kind of a depressing story, but at least it has a happy ending.

It used to be a "thing" for several restaurants in Albania to keep bears as caged pets and to use them as a tourist attraction. The bears were always in ridiculously small cages, and not well looked after. 

Until the practice was outlawed in 2010. But even then, it took a couple of years for enforcement to take place, and then of course what to do with the bears?

Kosovo's love of the USA

We did quite a few kilometres of walking around Pristina yesterday. It was a nice warm day, with a high of about 25C (77F). But really hazy.

The city of Pristina is not a tourist hot spot, that's for sure. However, there are some interesting things that are worth seeing, one of which is the obvious infatuation with the United States.

Our huge apartment in Pristina, Kosovo!

It was moving day yesterday as we made our way from Peja to Kosovo's capital city of Pristina. 

I had sent a note to our new accommodation asking if could have earlier access than the standard 2:00pm arrival time, but hadn't heard back from her. So we just took off, hoping that when we arrived at about 12:30pm that we would be able to get in.

Last day in Peja, Kosovo

We needed a rest day, so we didn't even leave the apartment until after lunch. We never have a hard time keeping busy on the internet though. That can easily waste away half a day. There's always something to do, mostly involved with researching future travel.

And I'm watching airfares every day. I actually found a decent deal from Spain to Cuba. We were in Cuba way back in 2002, but it was only for a week and we'd definitely like to go back and explore a bit more than we did back then.

Gorgeous day hike on a small section of the Peaks of the Balkans trail

This week seems to have flown by. We probably should have stayed here two weeks! But, we've already booked our onward accommodation in the capital city of Pristina and so we head out tomorrow.

Yesterday, we made arrangements to do a hike with David and Mircie. We have a car, so they left their van at a secure parking and hopped in the car with us.

High on the cliffs of the Accursed Mountains

We had done a via ferrata route in Norway back in June and really enjoyed it. Myself more than Ruth, but she was sure proud of herself when she accomplished it. And we wanted to do another one. Again, myself more than Ruth, but although she was hesitant, she didn't say no.

So we met with our new friends David and Mirsie at the Balkan N Adventure location just at the entrance to the National Park where we rented the safety equipment for the day.

Puppies, waterfalls, caves, bats, and new friends!

We had a 10:00am rendezvous set up with David and Mirsie, a couple from Scotland who have been following this blog and are currently in Kosovo with their van. We were meeting at the parking lot of the short hike to the Withe Drin Waterfall.

But while the waterfall was nice enough, the real surprise was the nearby cave that we hadn't planned on!

Checklist to follow when you travel by air

Traveling by air is one of the most widely used forms of transportation for long distances. It's not only fast but also safe. The process of traveling is seamless when you plan properly. This guide will highlight some things to add to your checklist before your flight. 

Amazing history and paintings at the Patriarchate of Peja Monastery

Another gorgeous blue sky day. Would have loved to go up into the mountains again, but we're here for a week so we have lots of time. Besides, we needed to give our legs a rest from the hike the day before. So we decided to stay in town and see what there is to see. That still involved some walking, but at least it wasn't uphill.

First stop was the Rugova Canyon visitors center. They have four different via ferrata routes in the canyon and we want to do some of them. We really enjoyed when we did the via ferrata in Norway and have been looking forward to doing another one.

What a great welcome for a couple of tourists!

It was after 10:30am when we set off through the city of Peja and up into the hills behind the city.

There are sooo many hiking trails to choose from. We're going to have an active week here! But we haven't done a decent hike in quite a few weeks, so we figured we'd start off with a fairly short one. It didn't turn out that way though!

Welcome to Kosovo, country number 54

It was a long driving day! We were on the road just after 8am in order to get up to Tirana airport to drop off Tony and Helen for their flight back to England. Then at the airport we were switching cars (more on that below) and then doing the three hour drive from Tirana, Albania to Peja, Kosovo.

But first, a quick stop at the beach!

Wonderful day trip to Osumi Canyon

This was the third time Ruth and I have been to Osumi Canyon. The first time, we did a river rafting trip. Then the next day, we drove back to explore the top of the canyon. It's a really pretty part of Albania, and we wanted to show it off to Helen and Tony.

And, it was a beautiful blue sky day!

Hmm. This is kind of creepy.

We managed to get out for a nice walk in the hills behind Berat despite the threat of rain. And in fact it did rain for a fair bit of the afternoon. It looks like that is all done with now though as the sunshine and blue skies have returned for the next week.

5 Essential Practices for Safer Travels

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Here's where we're going next!

Yesterday was supposed to be a rain day, and actually it was... it just didn't start until later than they forecast. So we did end up walking up to Berat Castle with Helen and Tony and showing them around a bit before Ruth and I headed back down for our 11:00am dentist appointment.

Nobody likes going to the dentist. But if you have to go, this kind of experience makes it a little more likeable.

Return to Berat... but where next...?

Yesterday morning we did the three hour drive from Gjirokaster to Berat. Mixed weather the whole way with a few rain showers and a high of about 22C (72F).

Ruth and I have spent quite a lot of time in Berat. We were here for two weeks in the spring of last year and almost three more weeks when we were here with Max last November.

Upcoming travel decisions

Yesterday was a busy work day, so Ruth and I didn't even leave the house. Which was okay in the morning because it also started off being a rain day! Helen and Tony managed to get out for a walk around the village though.

Besides doing some internet work, I was also doing some future travel research and planning. The problem is that we can't decide where to go!

Busy day with some beach time

We were up and on the road just after 9am Monday morning. Lots of exploring to do. They were all to places Ruth and I had been to before, but we wanted to show Helen and Tony some of these attractions.

It was about a 45 minute drive through the mountains to the popular Blue Eye. Ruth and I had been here in April of last year and it's an interesting natural geographical feature. What a lot of changes in a year and a half though!

Tepelena and the Peshtures Waterfall

Ruth and I had visited the Peshtures Waterfall a year and a half ago. It's known as the most beautiful waterfall in Albania, and both the drive up and the hike to get to it are pretty spectacular as well. 

We were worried that we might get up there and there wouldn't be any water at this time of year!

Gjirokaster, and dinner with the lamb master!

Really enjoying the weather. Beautiful high of 27C (81F) in Gjirokaster yesterday, although in the morning we drove up into the mountains at 4,000' and it was certainly a bit cooler up there.

Ruth and I had done a drive and hike up the mountain when we were here last year. The views are spectacular, and the mountain road is a fun drive.

We love these kinds of travel experiences!

We woke up to absolutely perfect blue sky and sunshine and it stayed that way all day. With a high of 27C (81F). No complaints here!

It was supposed to be a relax day where we just went for a walk in the area, and it pretty much was except for one detour Tony and I took to go investigate an old monastery well hidden in the forest.

Long scenic drive to our next destination!

We were up and out of our apartment at 8:00am yesterday morning. It's only 235 kms (146 miles), but most of it is on a twisty windy narrow road leading through the mountains. And there is no direct way. So it's about a five hour drive!

But we broke it up with a couple of stops along the way, including a long lunch break in the town of Permet.

The three borders area of Albania, North Macedonia, and Greece

Yesterday, we hopped in the car and did a day trip to the area where the borders of Albania, North Macedonia, and Greece meet. 

The actual border point is located in the center of Lake Prespa.

Day trip to North Macedonia. Country number 53

There is a monastery complex located just across the border between Albania and North Macedonia that Helen and Tony wanted to see, so we drove the short distance to the border, and walked across. 

We could have driven the rental car across, but we would have had to pay €40 extra for insurance coverage so we didn't feel it was worth it.

It's always good to stop and smell the roses

We were all up early as we looked forward to sitting on our balcony patio to watch the sun come up over the mountains.

Pogradec is a popular beach town in the summer, even though the beach is on a lake and not the sea. Beach season here has pretty much passed though because Pogradec gets a little cooler by October whereas the seaside is still warmer.

We're on holiday for the next two weeks!

Sunday morning, we were up at silly o'clock (3am) for the two and a half hour drive from Tony and Helen's place to London's Gatwick airport in order to make our 9am flight to Tirana, Albania.

What a great day to be leaving England. It rained most of the way to the airport and was pouring down as we got on the plane.

We had a fair bit of travel expenses for the month

Well, another month has gone by and here we are at October 1st!

Just a recap... we started September in Nova Scotia and then flew to Ottawa for a ten day visit. From there, we flew Montreal to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to London. We spent 4 nights in London, then took the bus to Leeds where we bounced around for just over a week. Then took the bus to Bristol and spent a week in the village of Keinton Mandeville.

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We love visiting castles!

So with our new English Heritage pass in hand, Helen drove us all over to Old Wardour Castle near Tisbury, England. 

Just to give you some basic history of the building... Old Wardour Castle was built in the 1390's. It was partially destroyed and abandoned during the English Civil War of 1644. 

What's a castle without a moat?

We had been to the town of Sherborne before... when we visited Helen and Tony way back in 1987. But that was 35 years ago! So we wanted to return.

Tony is still working this week, but Helen took us for a drive. Our first stop was the old castle ruins. We have a few photos from when we were there in 1987, and it probably hasn't changed at all, but we like castles.

The cliffs on England's Jurassic Coast

England's Jurassic Coast is a 95 mile (153 km) stretch of cliffs on the south western coast of England. It is so named because of the number of fossils and rock formations that date from the Jurassic period around 150 million years ago.

There are a lot of walking trails in the area, in fact you can walk the entire 95 miles if you wish, staying at accommodation in villages along the way. 

Good news, and glorious views!

We'll get the good news out of the way first! The tax refund credit for our new laptops that we bought in Norway finally came through. 

One of the reasons we bought our laptops in Norway was because we could claim back a credit of the big 25% tax rate there. It turned out that because of the forced involvement of a third party company (Global Blue) that supposedly makes things easier, you only get back a portion of what you should have got back. But it was still enough to make the final purchase price better than what we would have had buying the same items in Canada.

Great food and lots of laughs

Sunday was roast lunch day, so we spent the morning visiting with Helen and Tony and their son Stu and his girlfriend Harriet. Then their daughter Kelly showed up with her boyfriend Wayne.

The roast pork was smelling delicious and we were all hungry when lunch was served!

I had just about given up

On Saturday, we did the long bus ride from Leeds to Bristol. But first, we had to get from the village of Wyke back to the city of Leeds. So at 9:45am we said goodbye to Steve and Glen, and their daughter Claire and her husband Richard. We had a great week, thanks again for having us! We wonder when and where we will meet up again!

Our bus came on time and it was £2 ($2.95 CAD, $2.20 USD) each for the one hour ride back to the Leeds city bus station.