Our first day in Albania was filled with coffee, unexpected adventures, local hospitality, and plenty of laughs. From hunting for outlet adapters while hangry to enjoying homemade byrek from our Airbnb hosts, this was the perfect start to our Albanian adventure.

Busy first day in a place where we don’t know the language. 🤣

It smells of jasmine, and the city center is busy, and yet not. Cafés are where people sit and talk at all hours, and everyone seems to never be in a hurry (unless you’re driving… then we seem to be in Monte Carlo).

Finding an ATM and exchange place with the best rate has been like playing the stock market, with rates changing by the minute.

Outlet adapter hunting before our phones died was first priority today—even before coffee and food. It’s an adventure I do not recommend when two people are lost, hangry, and sweaty.

Speaking of coffee… I may develop SVT because I can’t stop drinking it. It reminds me of Spain. 💓

And the food???

It was $3 USD for a huge panini that will last two meals, and that was in a tourist area. (Again, trying to fix the hangry situation ASAP. 🤣)

Albanian Hospitality at Its Finest

Our Airbnb hosts made some local cuisine for us, so we’re excited for this bit of kindness so far from home.

A local yogurt drink (dhallë) and a HUGE pan of byrek were brought to us.

It smells amazing! It’s going to take a week to finish it all. ☺️

🤓 Mostly, the fillings are:

• Cheese (djathë)
• Spinach (spinaq)
• Meat
• Leeks (presh)

Byrek is also sold at little stands in slices or twists, like a pretzel, for about 50–80 cents.

Well, we are off to devour this lovely dinner, beat the exchange market rate today, and look for some of the live music we’ve heard about.

(And maybe more coffee. 😉)

Update

Raki has also just been delivered, along with instructions to sip it slowly after eating byrek. 🤭

Cheers to new adventures, local hospitality, and figuring things out one coffee at a time.

Have you ever arrived in a new country without speaking the language? What was your first meal? Let us know in the comments!

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