This is the second installment of my daughter’s and my trip to Kosovo, Albania, and Montenegro in August 2026.

On the second day of our trip, C and I woke up in Prizren, Kosovo, ready to head out on the next part of our journey. When I was first planning our trip, I thought we would visit only Kosovo and Montenegro. Yet, as I looked at the map and the places I most wanted to visit, I realized it would make more sense for us to drive through northern Albania to get to coastal Montenegro from Kosovo. Otherwise, we would spend more time backtracking and driving over some of the same ground.

Back in 2000, I had planned a trip to Albania from Macedonia that had not gone quite right. Though I had then planned to visit Tirana and Durres, not northern Albania, and had instead ended up with a hilariously strange three hours in Sarande in the south, this still felt like righting a past travel wrong. C, always keen to add another country to her belt, was definitely up for it.

We first needed to fill up on gas before entering Albania and tackling the 2.5-hour drive. This led to a humorous stop at a petrol station just outside Prizren. With my non-existent Albanian and the attendant’s broken English, I managed to get the car filled up and the fuel paid for. Then we were on our way. The border with Albania is only a 20-minute drive from downtown Prizren, though I made it take longer due to finding an out-of-the-way petrol station and taking a wrong turn or two. I had no idea how long it might take at the border and was very surprised to find that it took no time at all. Neither the Kosovars nor Albanians paid our car any mind. Though I stopped at the window to hand over my passport, the three immigration agents were engaged in a conversation amongst themselves and waved me through without a glance. This was wildly different from the difficult time I had with Albanian immigration in 2000.

Our first hour in Albania went smoothly. The A1 Highway to the Kosovar border was wide and smooth. The views as we drove through the mountainous area were stunning. Then, I received a notification of a serious accident where the A1 met the road north, which would lead to delays of at least an hour. Having already departed Prizren later than expected and then losing time due to my fueling adventure, I was not eager to delay further. I turned off the A1, hoping the small roads would get me there. Oh, they did, but it still took a bloody long time.

We rolled into Shkodër, Albania’s main northern city, around 1:30 in the afternoon. Unfortunately, it took about 30 more minutes to figure out the hotel parking. Google directions kept leading me down a very narrow back alley that turned into one way (the opposite direction) just before reaching the gated parking area. In the other direction, one had to drive a short way down a pedestrian-only road, then hope the bored parking attendant was in his little booth (he wasn’t at first) and then crawl behind him as he walked the 200 meters to the parking lot and unlocked it. Nerve-wracking!

We quickly checked in and headed out to a late lunch. After filling our bellies, we went for a bit of a sightseeing stroll. We felt like melting as we walked along the pedestrian street. It was 103 degrees out; a heat wave was sweeping southern Europe. We did not last long in the heat and decided to duck into the Marubi National Museum of Photography. It is a small but interesting display that marries the history of a family of Albanian photographers (the Marubbi), celebrates the art of photography, and displays a period of Albanian history captured in photographs.

We cut short our midday walk, defeated by the heat and the fatigue of having been in the car four hours that morning. When the temperature dropped a little at the golden hour of dusk, we stepped out again for another short stroll. Then we returned to our hotel, just across from the Ebe Beker Mosque, and rested up for the next day’s adventure.

On our second day in Albania, we woke up a little earlier so we could drive west, into the wonderfully-named Accursed Mountains to the picturesque hamlet of Theth. Having spent so many hours driving to Shkodër the day before, I was not overly thrilled to get back in the car again for another long drive. I had spent the night before researching other options, but nothing sounded anywhere near as appealing as Theth. So, Theth it was!

I am so grateful that we elected to stick to our plan. The weather cooperated magnificently, and the drive delivered stunning vistas around nearly every turn. The road, though narrow and often capable of giving some drivers vertigo as it clung to mountainsides, was well-paved. I would, however, not want to make that journey in bad weather or at night. After two hours, we arrived in the hamlet at the heart of Theth National Park.

The small hamlet of Theth has a population of perhaps 300, though I cannot imagine many of them remaining in the isolated valley through the harsh winter when that winding road is impassable. Yet this stunning location draws some 5,000-10,000 tourists during the summer months.

We parked beside the very popular Pizzeria Jezerca, which fronted a small bathing beach and the Theth River. It seems that nearly all the visitors that day were at the Pizzeria. We had a great lunch and then went down to the river. Though the heat wave continued, the temperature was a few degrees cooler in Theth, maybe 95? But that river was ice cold! So cold it felt like pins prickling our skin. But oh, how beautiful the setting! And I even watched a striped snake swim nearby, slipping beneath the rocks.

After our dip, we wandered down into the hamlet to visit its most famous landmark: the simple yet striking 1892 church. While charming in its own right as a piece of architecture, what truly sets it apart is its setting — nestled in a grassy, fenced-in field and surrounded by the towering Albanian Alps. We circled the church slowly, alternating between quietly taking it in and snapping photos.

I’m mindful that my teenager might only tolerate so much quiet admiration of historic buildings, but C seemed just as captivated as I was. After a decent pause, we continued on to the 400-year-old Reconciliation Tower — a stout, two-story stone structure once used to mediate blood feuds. Those accused in local conflicts were locked inside for protection, giving the community time to cool down and resolve tensions before resorting to violence.

By this time, the heat was again getting to us as we meandered our way back to the car. We had debated about doing the recently added zipline, but ultimately decided it made sense to begin the drive back. Although we had not really experienced any jet lag, I did not want fatigue—whether from jet lag, long driving, or the heat—to become an issue on that mountainous road. And, there was more for us to see!

Just outside Shkodër stands the Mesi Bridge, a stone relic of the Ottoman era built in 1770. It was designed to span the Kir River — though when we visited, the riverbed was bone-dry; there was not a trickle in sight. Yet even without water beneath it, the bridge remained an impressive and beautiful monument to Ottoman engineering. The Mesi Bridge is the longest Ottoman bridge in Albania, and one of the best-preserved in the entire region

To wrap up our amazing day, we next headed to the ruins of Rozafa Castle. Located on a stony promontory outside Shkodër proper and overlooking the confluence of the Drin and Buna Rivers, the ruins of the largely Venetian stronghold (though also used by the Ottomans) are a popular place to take in the sunset.

We parked in a small lot in the front yard of an enterprising family who happened to live just across from the lower entrance. The man of the residence took time to criticize my parking, but it was in such an amusing way that I took it in stride. We then made our way up the steep stone driveway to the top entrance; I am so glad that we parked where we did, as the upper lot was small and most definitely full.

We easily spent an hour at the ruins. The area is quite extensive, and there were a surprising number of tour groups, yet except at a few very photogenic spots, it did not feel crowded.

I would have liked a little longer at Rozafa, but we had been on the go all day. It did not feel possible that we had done so much, seen so much in a day. Our stopover in Albania had been perfect, but it was time to head on to our next destination.