Tiger Tracks (European Ride) – UK – Alps – Balkans

[BigMark]

Albania is the one place that I have been given the most mixed opinions on. ½ the people that go hate it and tell you it is dirty and the people are rude, the other half think it's spectacular and the locals are very hospitable. Makes me wonder if this contrast is testament to the country or the traveller.  Albania has suffered a turbulent past going back throughout History and has been sieged and occupied by half the world and even endured many civil wars. Polished off with a nice dose of communism in past years led to a stagnant economy and a poverty stricken community. However, usually I am surprised by the people of a place and how unreflective they are of the "common" perception.

So we left Pogradec and headed South.





A quick stop in a local Auto Service for some fine adjustments



And onwards we go...





Of course you could stop at 100's of these bays along the way but the border was inland so we said our final goodbye to the Adriatic and headed for the hills.







A couple of photos just before the border (They get funny about cameras)



And we are In. (a few minutes at the border arguing over the V5, I just keep saying "English Log Book" then he gives up and let's me through.



Our first experience in Albania was all these people with nowhere to live so they just build little shacks next to the river.



An Albanian Bridge





The Highway was interesting too. Just a wide slab of Road with no markings or barriers and you just make as many lanes as you can and go as fast as you like, in any lane you like, with any vehicle you like.





I wish I had taken more photos here but as it is.... We filled up at this station and the owners "Two Brothers" then took us to the café next door and treated us to coffee, asking about our bikes, our jobs, our country and how they had a cousin that looked just like me but lives in the Albanian hills and wrestles bear!  "I don't know about that"



We eventually ended up in the City Tirane and the roads looked just like any other city roads.... Almost!





The back streets were slightly less maintained – en route to Hotel...







 Of course, no trip to Tirana would be complete without a trip to the National Martyrs Cemetery of Albania.  Here lies 28,000 Albanian partisans who perished during the second world war. There is a 12-metre statue of "Mother Albania" holding a wreath of Laurels and a star. Enver Hoxha was also laid to rest here briefly before it was decided that he should be dug up and moved to a more fitting and humble location in a public Cemetery.





That was about it....

[BigMark]

I don't know that I should post this diary entry but it's how I feel and everyone's entitled to an opinion...

We went into Tirane, spoke to a few locals who all asked the same thing "Why did you come to Tirane, you should go to Bajram Curri, Korce, Permet or the coast, Not Tirane!" I took it with a pinch of salt to start with but actually, and I mean this with no ill intent... There is nothing at all that I found interesting enough in Tirane to talk about so I just took this photo of the lake and we decided tomorrow we will leave.  



To sum it up I am not happy with my chosen direction in Albania and as a result of poor planning haven't really enjoyed it here. I will come back though and I will do some more research first! I think at this stage our relationship with Albania is on the rocks so best we spend some time apart... We look at the map and decide that Ohrid is our next destination...

[NeilD]

were you being overtaken by the horse and cart?! what do they feed their horses... ?  :D

[Hemibee]

I'm enjoying the report and the pictures!  Tirane may have not been much but you've been there and you got to see something different from what you would have seen at Bajram Curri, Korce or a host of other locations.

[Sin_Tiger]

I wonder what "KASTRATI" means to them?  :shock:

[BigMark]

@Neil – You Know me, nothing like a nice flower sniffing ride down the Motorway. I was going to point out which side of the road we were driving on, but that really doesn't make any difference in Albania.

@Hemibee – I didn't like what I see in Tirane, I am glad I went to figure this out though. The people were wonderfully hospitable and always happy to talk. They seem to have a Poker Face to start with. Very sincere and almost "tough guy" look but as soon as you nod, smile or attempt communication you realise that actually they are unusually friendly. We stayed in the Hotel Baron for two nights and when we left we got hugs from the staff and one of them came out to the car park and was praying for a safe journey. This was way outside the behaviour I am used to at home, but it didn't feel weird and certainly not uncomfortable.

@Sin-Tiger – Seriously?  The Kastrati are an Ancient Albanian Tribe and they still exist today!  I don't really expect you to know that of course. I imagine most people think it is the Oil supplier but I happen to know that this is BP Oil.

Did I tell you guys about the Demon Squirrel & the Walnut yet ???





Dam these photos take some uploading.  There will be more today.

[BigMark]

2nd October. East "Neim's Place

Now Neim is a motorcyclist who owns a small Restaurant/pension  in Ohrid. He is fairly widely known in the Balkans and pops up from time to time in Ride Reports and conversations regarding the area.  That sounds like the place for us! We have no address just know that he is in the City of Ohrid which is a very small City with a very big lake. So we say our farewells to the Hotel Staff and head out east to cross the mountain range to Macedonia.





Why wouldn't there be a place called Mullet City ?





They are fairly relaxed about the location to dump vehicles.



Finally, the hills were upon us (well, more the other way round actually) I feel so much happier when I am high up on the side of a hill. I must have been a Goat in a former life. Emma thinks more likely a Yeti...







This shit running down the road wasn't water. It was Uber Slip lotion.. Dam that was scary!



Luckily we got through OK and made it to the top.  







The Local Shop was open



Overlooking Elbasan.



Of course what goes up must come down. This time down into Elbasan..



There was no shortage of orange stalls.



Welcome to Elbasan



This was a short place, before I knew I had entered we were already out the over side.  



Not the typical Albanian house.



This was the last photo just before the border



And into Macedonia we trundled for a view of the massive lake Ohrid



On our way to Ohrid





We struggled to find our way to Neims place we knew it was centrally located in the Town but couldn't find our way in.







So we followed the locals who looked like they may be heading to the Town centre.  Only problem was they used the pedestrian zones – As did we.... At least we found the Town Centre..



Moments later we see the sign for Neim.. Perfect.



Then we parked accordingly.



As it was barely after noon we decided to wander down to the lake through the Old Town. Which is when I photographed the Demon Squirrel



Some of the vehicles, again, are real old clonkers



An old amphitheatre









We reached the lake Ohrid.









My favourite view of the Lake.



Following refreshments we walked up to the Fortress of Samuel. And on the way ...











A Few from the fortress as the sun went down.











It wasn't just us appreciating the view.






Then back to Neims for his unique Secret spiced chicken and bed.. View from our balcony...

[BigMark]

Surprising how the days pass obliviously..

Done very little today, spent the day milling about Ohrid and riding up and down the mountains to the east. Was great fun but I forgot to charge up the camera batteries so photos are a little limited.

It was very quiet in Ohrid today as the tourist season has passed and mostly life has returned to normal for the locals..  

On our way down to the lake we come across this statue



Then out on the old collapsed Jetty to soak it all up before we leave tomorrow heading North.









We also went up the hill for another angle of the lake which is when my battery went flat and I run out of photos to keep your eyes busy..

[BigMark]

We watched the weather last night and realised that the late Summer was briskly turning to Autumn Winds, Rain and plummeting temperatures. With the impeding weather front we decided that it was time to make a bee line home and call it a year.  
We knew we would be passing Skopje, it is unavoidable. We also knew the founder of the ever popular Moto Mariovo Tour lived there and "Benny" being a typical  Balkan Biker chap would always welcome a fellow biker and help arrange a Hotel or similar.  So I called Benny who told me to "Screw the hotel, you guys are staying at my home"  That couldn't have worked out better for us. Benny gave me some directions to Skopje via Debar and the Mavrovo National Park.  Benny is one of those TV Chef types and has an afternoon slot so wouldn't be about until after 4pm so we took the long way as he suggested..

Well almost as he suggested, we did manage to get lost a few times.

We headed out of Ohrid to the West until we found the sign which says "Debar" then turned left. All good so far.  Then we took the next left as instructed and that's when we figure this must be the wrong way.

Our instructions tell us now we should be riding a nice wide flowing fast motorcycling road . I realise opinions are just that but surely this was not the way!











Eventually we came out on the side of a hill alongside a river and our instructions defiantly involve following a river so finally I felt I was on track.  

The road hugged the edge of the hillside



And followed the path of the river and man-made lakes all the way to Debar







We just about skimmed the edge of Debar on our way North and with the blink of an eye we were back in the hills following the river once again.









At this point we joined the Main highway and to spare you the details it started raining and we got our head down and arrived in Skopje just in time to meet Benny in the Town Centre where we went back to his house for dinner and then onto the town where I experienced the Skopje Custom Bar (M/Cycle pub) Boza and some Tulumba.

[BigMark]

A few Days To Get Home

As the weather was pretty poor and the forecast looking pretty Grim the next few days were mostly about avoiding the rain and squeezing in one last location. "The Serbian Taster" as we are going to call it. We really wanted to explore Serbia but not so much now that the cold & wet weather has settled in for probably the next 4 months. From what we see of Serbia I am drawn to go back and explore some more. It is extremely clean in contrast to the other surrounding countries and everyone we met were very happy, friendly, helpful and generous.  I met a Serbian chap in France who was concerned that in "deep Serbia" where we were heading of course! We may not be very welcome due to past problems I am tied to because of my Nationality. I have to say that I found nothing at all but smiles in Serbia. From the person that hand makes and bakes your Burek for breakfast, to the person that fills your bike with petrol, absolutely all of them more approachable than most of the Natives at home.
 We happen to know a chap in Kraljevo and despite the abysmal weather a warm welcome would certainly be guaranteed so we headed off the Highway some 80 miles or so to the West Central region of Serbia to say "Hi".

I don't generally share photos of private hosts but needless to say the generosity of our hosts on this trip has been  a step beyond anything would have imagined... We spent two days around Kraljevo enjoying the fabulous local restaurants and wonderfully well kept surrounding countryside.  I was going to pinch some photos to post because nobody wants to see the rainy wet cloudy photos I managed to take. Instead just Google Kraljevo and enjoy...

We left Kraljevo well fed and well taken care of heading toward home and back to reality... We made it to Bled in Slovenia and found a Hotel there to rest up the night before continuing further toward home. The Next morning the sun was shining and although a little cold we decided that we would make an Iron Butt Ride Attempt to cover 1600miles in 24 hours and get us home a little earlier than scheduled so we can make the Iron Butt Ride To Eat scheduled in Canterbury 30 hours from now.

The Fog lifted very quickly as we headed out of Slovenia



Within no time we were in Austria and met our first obstacle.. Tunnel Closed..



Luckily this was a short lived problem and we were soon enjoying the warmth of a beautiful day riding on wonderfully smooth wide open Austria roads.





But then we crossed into Germany.



 I swear this place has the worst traffic in the world (at least when I visit) We spent hours filtering through endless queues of traffic for the entire 3/400 miles of German roads before escaping to the very amicable French Toll Roads as the sun went down.



Something went crazy wrong with my rear gunners photo skills as we clicked through 16, 17 & 18 hours into our days ride.



Just as well we were all but done. Here we after our 19 hour 1680km Iron Butt Ride (Subject to Verification)



All that remained was to get some sleep and then get to Canterbury for the IBA meet.

I hope you enjoyed the Ride Report. Thanks to everyone for helping, hosting and reading..

[ourade]

Excellent ride report.
Thanks
Ade.

[NKL]

Nice report Mark, I am planning a similar tour for this year, has inspired me with places to visit. Thanks
Nigel

[BigMark]

Thanks guys.

Here's to 2011.

I have a few shorter rides planned (Approx 7) to share during 2011 which it may be worth hanging around for (or joining me on) :lol:

Failing that Tiger Tracks (or similar) 2011 is being planned and who knows where that will take me.  :shock: