The Albanian Alps
October 4, 2023 - View on Valbonë valley from Valbonë-Theth pass viewpoint, Albania After Hungary a.k.a. Magyar, it was off to Albania a.k.a. Shqiperi. (Wouldn't you think the names we call these countries be what they, themselves call it? Still odd to me.) The plan was to break Albania in two parts, hiking in the North and the beaches in the south, with a trip to Kosovo in the middle. We didn't initially plan much time in the Capital city of Tirana because I was anxious to get up into the mountains for hiking before we got any later into the season, but we both quickly realized that it was a place we wanted to try to circle back to later in the trip. In Tirana, we discovered that we are big fans of Albanian food and drink. Not only is it super fresh with lots of veggies and salads, but there is also cheese with just about every meal. I love cheese. It is also very affordable, with a drink of the local brandy, Raki, or a huge glass of wine with your meal for 100 lek ($1). We d