Day 74 : Korça

After a missed flight, and then having to rebook flight the next day to Tirana which goes through Istanbul with a transit of 5 hours, and then another 3 hours drive from Tirana to Pogradec, I finally see Clemens again! 

We've corresponded over the last few weeks about catching up in Albania, especially since he had stayed in Albania for a number of months and he will be spending the next 7 to 10 days showing me around Albania. 

A German showing a Singaporean around Albania, what a funny combination! But it's nice to have company on the road. I will also be seeing a lot more in Albania than I originally planned, since we will have a car to move around in. 

1st stop was a short drive away to the National Park of Drilon, which was just 10 mins drive away from Pogradec. 

This is probably the smallest national park I've been to, as it was easily walkable within 10 mins. 

We then drove just a few mins away to Tushemist, a yet an even smaller town. 

And then we made our way to Korça, with a detour to Lake Prespa, which share the borders with 3 countries - Albania, Macedonia and Greece. The landscape around this area was really pretty with the snow capped mountains and farm lands and the lake. 

It was about 3pm by the time we got into Korça, where Clemens had booked a nice 2 bedroom penthouse apartment and with a fireplace! 

We quickly got round to exploring the city where he showed me the Cinema, the Katedralja Ortodokse "Ringjallja e Krishtit", the town centre and a climb up the Panoramic Tower with a great view of the city. 

I thought the Andon Zako Çajupi Theatre looked really cute with the design of the faces on the outside. 

We then walked to Pazari i Korçës, which was once a grand bazaar but now a really cool looking area with restaurants, bars and some shops. 

There was this shop that had knick knacks on the outside but the shop was closed! I am surprised no one had taken anything from the outside yet. 

It was also the first time I see an ATM on wheels! 

We later ended up having dinner at Liceu Restaurant which seemed to had some dishes local to the area in the menu. 

It was nice to be able to order numerous stuff to share!

Liceu Salad

Petull E Fshire (Korça Pancakes stuffed with cheese) 

Qofte Piskavica (Minced Beef Patties) 

Role Gici Farre (Stuffed Rolled Pork) 

It's a cold night in Korça, at about -2°C by the time we finished dinner and so we got back to the apartment and got the fire at the fireplace going - so fun seeing a fire getting started in the fireplace!