Sep 27 2026

Podgorica, Capital of Montenegro

Podgorica, Capital of Montenegro

When we were first confronted with the Schengen Shuffle option, we planned to stay a month in Albania, followed by a month in Montenegro and a third month in Bosnia/Herzegovina, after which we could go back to Portugal and work on our permanent residency paperwork. In hindsight we could have stayed the entire three months in Albania since TJ with her US passport was allowed to stay a full year without Visa requirements and Han with his Dutch passport could stay 90 days without questions. We didn’t know, so Airbnb arrangements were made in advance and Podgorica, the capital of the 20 year young Balkan nation Montenegro became our next four week destination.

First thing we noticed upon arriving was that Albania is substantially cheaper than Montenegro, especially for food, drinks, accommodation, and daily travel expenses. Dining out and buying groceries in Albania typically cost about 30% to 50% less than in Montenegro. Important to know in this respect is that Montenegro’s currency is the Euro, in anticipation of the country joining the European Union in 2028.
As recent as 20 years ago, Montenegro separated from the old Yugoslavian part of Kosovo, to become its own country. With a total population of about 626,000 people, the capital Podgorica, reportedly the wettest capital in Europe, claims already almost 30% of that population. From there it is easy to calculate that most people in Montenegro are urban dwellers as the country is very mountainous.
The name Montenegro stands for “Black Mountain”. It comes from the Venetian and Italian words monte negro, matching the native Slavic name Crna Gora. The name describes the dark, pine-covered appearance of Mount Lovćen and the surrounding Dinaric Alps as viewed from passing Venetian merchant vessels during their medieval voyages down the Adriatic coastline..

Our Airbnb apartment

View from our Airbnb balcony

Arriving at our Airbnb apartment in the northern city expansion of Zagoric, we quickly checked in but were unfortunately not very impressed with the cleanliness and smells of the dwelling. Also a unit four floors up with several floors above us, quite often means a lots of neighbor noise. Well this one was worse than we had ever experienced. At all times of the day or night it sounded like someone was moving furniture over a wooden floor and in the dark hours of the early morning, high heels clappered across the floor as if someone was nervously pacing back and forth between the make-up mirror and the coffee maker. Another big nuisance was that nothing was marked with instructions, so when we turned off a bright red light switch in the hallway, we had inadvertently turned off the hot water heater.
Our other grievances are probably pinpointed at the owner’s lack of communication and commitment to the Airbnb process and procedures, as the apartment was nice and comfortable enough and the location was a short taxi ride to the city center, with several restaurants in all price ranges close by, a nice little supermarket, drug stores and pharmacies in the immediate vicinity and great access to affordable taxis and public transportation.

The whole concept of “reviewing” an entire country as if it were an attraction or a business just feels incredibly absurd in my personal opinion, especially when “my honest review” seems to have become online code for irrational complaints these days. You spend literally one sentence discussing the scenery, mountains and sea, (you know, the actual stuff that most tourists are interested in when they go to a place like Montenegro) and then everything else is just complaining about your personal specific grievances. In our opinion, Montenegro is in the beginning of the process just trying to find its way into a “new” world as a small country in a big world. It helps that it’s blessed with some beautiful sceneries, but the fact that its capital city was bombed into smithereens during the last days of World War II leaves little of a historical value and the “new” country is so young that modern infrastructure still needs to be built.

Many travelers apparently treat Montenegro’s capital Podgorica as a transit stop between the coast and the mountains, which is a bit unfair as the city deserves some consideration as a new wave capital city offering some interesting cultural past mixed with modern efficiencies. A free walking tour is one of the best ways to find this. The shortest routes take around 90 minutes and cover what’s left of the Ottoman old town and new city center.

Podgorica’s History

The river coming from the mountains
Providing beaches to the towns people
Flowing underneath old Roman Bridges
The Niagara Falls of Podgorica during normal seasons
More beaches for the locals
Ruins of the Roman Forum entrance
Roman City of Doclea (Podgorica)
Witness of the Roman time

Podgorica has carried several different names since the Romans named it Birziminium. In the 12th century it was named after the local river Ribnica and in 1326 it was first recorded as Podgorica, meaning “under the little hill Gorica”. Podgorica was bombed more than 70 times by the allies in the final days of World War II, as it was claimed to be an important supply center for retreating Germans, at least according to the Yugoslav Partisans who asked the allies for the bombardments. 90% of the Old Ottoman city was destroyed, so today it offers a strange mixture of modern architecture with semi high rises, some communist area apartment buildings and a small old town (Stara Varos) almost nonchalantly flung right in the center of it all. As a sign of respect for partisan leader Marshall Josip Tito, who created the Yugoslav nation after WWII, the city’s name became Titograd until 1992, when the Balkans got rid of communist control. Yugoslavia incorporated the six former socialist countries: Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia.
After 1992 they all returned ( some of them through violent warfare) to independent democracies, adding a seventh one Kosovo, which actually incorporated Montenegro until 2006, when it became independent.

Our plans had involved several trips around the small nation, which has a beautiful, mountainous countryside and some amazing old beach towns. A couple of reasons why that didn’t happen. The continuing high temperatures above 100°F and the resulting forest fires that produced a miserable air quality, not conducive to much walking and discovery.

Instead we went into the city on two different occasions and explored a bit and spent other days to learn about the Adriatic shore attractions via the internet.

The first taxi ride into town took us to the medieval clocktower (abt $3 ride) from where we walked into Old Town (the old Stara Varoš neighborhood), along the river road toward the Union Bridge. Crossing the bridge we noticed on the left some heavy construction going on at the Embassy of the United States, with lots of security personnel and signs that informed us of “No Pictures”. We smiled at the guards and walked on as the pedestrian path took us away from the Boulevard of the Revolution towards a series of parks and a number of government offices and the main University hospital.

Statue of Jelena Petrovic Savoy, wife of Victor Emmanuel III and Queen of Italy

There was a curious bend in the road that confirmed what many had warned us about: that Montenegrins are bad drivers. The curve misses quite a few chain posts as the picture shows. In the square is a statue of Jelena Petrović-Njegoš, the sixth child of King Nikola I, and later married Italian King Victor Emmanuel III to become Queen of Italy from 1900 to 1945.

We continue our walk on until we see the Capital Plaza in the distance, where we take our first refreshment break. Walking around in this multi purpose complex Han has a momentary flashback to Atlanta, Georgia architect John Portman in the 1980s and his work in downtown Atlanta from those days. Very modern and utilitarian, with lots of glass. It shows that Podgorica is a city with old roots, before it was opened up by the allied bombardments during the last phase of World War II. Pretty much like Rotterdam in the Netherlands or Leipzig in Germany. Not much left of the old cities. As we keep on walking a bit down the street into a wide open field we see the massive Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, built between 1993 and its consecration in 2013.

Inside the orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ

Further on the agenda are a visit to two adjacent shopping malls a late afternoon dinner at Walter’s, a walk to INDEPENDENCE SQUARE and finally a taxi home. This last one was easy, even in a country where the language does create some confusion and misunderstandings. But…we only had to mention Gastro Pub-Restaurant Protokol, which was located in our building and everyone knew where it was. We ate there at least a handful of times and every time was delicious, large portions and very affordable prices. Possibly the best Caesar Salad variety ever. For cheaper, local food varieties we had Moloko and Stella Cucina for take out, both in the apartment building as well.

Old Clock Tower in Podgorica
Osmanagić Mosque in Podgorica
Old Town Street in the heart of Podgorica
Stara Varos, Podgorica
Orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ
Church art in the cathedral
A kickback reminder to Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom TV
It has something to do with the local soccer club
Government and International Embassy Parks
Mastering this curve seems to be a problem!
Modernistic Capitol Plaza
Capital Plaza Interior development
Capital Plaza Outside Shops
2 City shopping malls Next door to each other
St.Peter of Cetinje Blvd Shopping Street
St. Petar of Cetinje Monument
City Roundabout in Podgorica
Independence Square in Podgorica

On the topic of food we made several observations in the Balkans. First of all Pizza is apparently on every restaurant’s menu. Furthermore regular lettuce was almost impossible to get, both in restaurants and supermarkets and most restaurants offered an international cuisine menu with lots of stew/casserole choices. Excellently flavored however.

Our second trip downtown was a week later when TJ wanted to visit a secondhand store in downtown, close to the restaurant and nightlife quarters in the city center.

From the store we walked through the quaint pedestrian tree-lined lanes until we found a cool terrace for refreshments on Njegoseva Street. People watching, even in Montenegro’s capital is a pleasant time pass. A little while later we crossed the Millennium Bridge over the Morača River, as TJ had made a late afternoon surprise reservation at Marsala Art, the city’s best Indian Restaurant, for an authentic dinner experience. (Note: While walking directly on the Millennium Bridge is completely permitted and safe, many visitors also recommend the nearby pedestrian-only Moscow Bridge (Moskovski most) just parallel to it for a quieter stroll and a full photographic view of the Millennium Bridge structure itself, which opened in 2005.) The bridge has become a symbol of Podgorica’s modernity and progress. On the other side of the river we found the playful statue of Russian poet-singer-songwriter Vladimir Vysotsky, who visited Montenegro in the 1970s and wrote a famous poem/song expressing deep affection for the country.

The surprise at Marsala Art was exactly as described: a wonderful treat to the palate and a true Indian experience. Our taxi driver back home was a friendly, talkative chap who had lived in Rimini, Italy for 22 years, mainly during the Balkan years of chaos and violence in the 1990s. and had close friends and even family in the Netherlands.

Njegoseva Street in pedestrian downtown night center
Partisan's Monument
Podgorica Municipal building
Millenium Bridge in Podgorica
The Moscow Bridge in Podgorica
Russian artist Vladimir Vysotsky statue

We had wanted to visit the “Niagara Falls” and water rapids south of the city, together with the famous Monastery, but were told that the consistent high summer temperatures had dried up a lot of the river flow, so the falls were not really impressive to actually non-existent.

Other plans had included day tour visits to Kotor and Budva near the Adriatic shorelines, but somehow this summer was not conducive to traveling around a lot during the ongoing heat waves. At one point we couldn’t even seen Little Gorica mountain from our apartment balcony through the wildfire smoke. So we settled in to living like the locals. Air conditioned and with a stocked refrigerator. Just grateful for good internet as we could do a lot of searching and learning and writing.

Kotor

Bay of Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor is a traditionally fortified town on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast, in a bay near the limestone cliffs of Mt. Lovćen. Characterized by winding streets and squares, its medieval old town has several Romanesque churches, including Kotor Cathedral. It’s also home to a Maritime Museum, which explores local seafaring history. Sveti Đorđe, one of 2 tiny islands off the ancient town of Perast, features a centuries-old church.
Kotor is generally considered nicer for history, dramatic fjord-like mountain scenery, and a romantic medieval atmosphere. Kotor and the Bay of Kotor are a UNESCO World Heritage site, recognized both for its history and for its geography (Kotor is one of three UNESCO sites in Montenegro and the only UNESCO site along the coast). Kotor offers a nice visit but it is also a harbor for cruise-ships. I have no problem with people vacationing on; we have done quite a few ourselves. Most port of calls are well equipped to handle thousands of cruise visitors a day, but some towns suffer from these masses. Kotor seems to be one of the towns that suffers. The problem is that these cruise-ships not only bring people but also excessive money to town, which rather quickly destroys the attraction.
Kotor is still widely considered the most beautiful town in Montenegro due to its dramatic fjord-like bay and well-preserved medieval old town.

The Port of Kotor
Kotor-Old-town-Montenegro
Cathedral in Kotor
The walled city of Kotor

Budva

Budva is the true resort town in Montenegro on the Adriatic Sea. Part of the Budva Riviera, it’s known for sandy beaches and extended nightlife. Stone walls built by the Venetians surround the narrow streets of the medieval old town (Stari Grad). This historic district is home to a seaside citadel and religious sites such as the Church of Santa Maria in Punta, established in the 9th century. Budva is considered nicer for sandy beaches, nightlife, and a classic resort vibe as many Mediterranean Sea resorts possess.

Budva is also quite built up. The whole bay is lined with an array of high-rise hotels: some super fancy, some on the decrepit side. Large yachts are usually moored in the marina next to the old town. For a lot of people Budva might be their dream vacation: the weather is nice, there are lots of sandy beaches (most beaches in the Balkans are rocky). There are tons of cafes and restaurants, lots of high-end stores where you can shop. There’s an Aquapark and a few large casinos. If you like all those things you’ll love Budva. Explore the old town and visit the Citadel. The views from the top are the highlight of the old town and worth the 5 Euro admission.

 

Budva Old town
Stone Alley Budva
Hotel Slovenska Plaza, Budva
Avala-Resort-Villas, Budva

Our Daytrip Departure to Sarajevo, Bosnia

Vladimir was our DayTrip driver to East Sarajevo. 37 years old, born and raised in Montenegro on a farm outside Podgorica and set to get married on November 17. DayTrip has become our favorite mode of transportation when it comes to travel between adjacent countries. You learn a lot from the drivers and how they negotiate life in their respective countries. Vladimir was an absolutely great driver and friendliest chap we have met sofar. The 5 hour trip with him was amazing although a bit much for TJ who had claimed the backseat for this trip through the mountains.
Getting out of Podgorica we noticed that there was a lot of police activity on the road north. Turned out that there had been a shooting in north Podgorica where a Russian emigrant had taken the gun from a shooting range and shot three people before killing himself. Tragedies happen everywhere these days, at least this one had no connection to visitors.
After this we took to the mountains-about 230km for a 4-1/2 hour drive with a lunch stop near the Bosnian border. If you like mountain roads with lots of tunnels, lakes and a magnificent Tara River Canyon – the deepest in Europe they claim – with lots of rafting and mountain climbing, then this is your paradise. Clearly it was not TJ’s, who at one point whispered in desperation: “I will never take this road again”.

Lots of Mountain Tunnels
Between lakes and rivers
Criss crossing the Tara River gorge
Great rafting and canoeing
Crossing a one lane bridge constructed by Army engineers
Expect a lot of lose cows on the roads in the mountains
Crossing the border with Bosnia

Aug 05 2026

Tirana, Albania – Unexpectedly Beautiful and Affordable

Skanderbeg Square and Gov’t Buildings

Flying in from Milano/Bergamo Airport, we land in Tirana’s Mother Teresa International Airport a little after seven o’clock, together with a couple of thousand other travelers and prepare ourselves for a long wait to clear customs and immigration. Lo and behold it took maybe 30 minutes, probably less, to process all these people and get us on our way. Remarkable and a good sign.

The moment we step outside the airport, we see all the popular car rental company offices that you see lined up anywhere in the world’s major airports. This immediately set off some bells with us as we had heard that it was difficult to rent cars in this country because of the facts that credit cards weren’t accepted for security deposits and huge cash deposits were required to secure warranties. Well soon we find out that all alarming and threatening information is severely outdated.

Modern international airport

TJ walking out of Tirana’s Airport

Tirana, Albania International Airport

Albania is a small country that came out of a communist dictatorship in the early 1990s, but has since been on a fast track to modern times. Coming from the US with a valid passport now allows you to stay a full year Visa free in the country. EU citizens can only stay up to 90 days though. Credit cards are accepted everywhere, especially in all coastal tourist cities and the capital. The Albanian people are some of the nicest, friendly and helpful people we have encountered on all our travels and our evening taxi ride through the capital showed accessibility and an international flair that is completely disarming. The 35 minute taxi ride from the airport to our Airbnb in an incredibly luxurious Chinese made BYD (Build Your Dream) car was quoted at $25. We gave a $6 tip and the driver almost got tears in his eyes. One thing we learned during our stay here is to put your destination address in your own Smartphone with Google Maps. Many destinations do not have a street name and number as GPS reference, but an Electric Box number, especially in construction areas. Show the taxi driver your phone when you need a ride “home”.

Our Airbnb in Tirana

Our Airbnb was located up in the hills, southeast of Tirana, in a suburb called Farkë e Vogel, where better-to-do Albanians are currently building their portfolio homes in beautiful landscaped neighborhoods and gated communities. As construction moves up in the hills, services such as grocery stores, coffee shops and mosques follow quickly. The nearby Mosque and Minaret is a landmark and catches us several times a day with melodious chanting and prayers, a few restaurants and small stores are within walking distance, but a real supermarket is a bit farther so we take the local bus to Albania’s largest shopping mall The East Gate – “TEG” and shop at SPAR International and then take a taxi back.

Or we (actually TJ with her iPhone) has learned to use a popular delivery system called “WOLT”. It’s a very slow webpage, but works fine if you have the patience along with google translate on your phone. Even then there was an occasional hit or miss item, like the time TJ ordered way too many tomatoes, but we shared them with our Airbnb hostess as she shared veggies from her gardens with us..

Sunset view from our balcony

The apartment is easily one of the best Airbnb’s we have ever enjoyed during our travels. (Right up there with a gorgeous cabin on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee.) A view to die for, down the hills dotted with olive trees, plum trees and other fruit trees, into the valley where TEG and other commercial enterprises provide a lively human balance to the surrounding residential areas. In the next four weeks we would travel down the hill on several occasions, but we were mostly planning a relaxed stay in this fully air conditioned 1200 sf apartment with a huge balcony off the living room, fully equipped kitchen, luxurious bathroom with walk-in shower and a dream of a spacious bedroom. We were perfectly happy just staying there most of the time while outside temperatures hovered around a continuous 95°F.

In the first week of arriving in Albania, my prescription distance glasses broke at the temple/hinge and were irreparable. On the TEG mall website we had found MaxOptica and on Friday morning we took the local bus to TEG. The sales girl in perfect English confirmed that my old glasses were history and irreparable, but she was happy to help me with a new pair. Since we had no recent memory/paperwork of my eye condition, she was taking the optical measurements from my old glasses, which is when the ophthalmologist, a young handsome man from Pakistan came down the stairs from his quarters and offered to do an eye exam, as TJ sat in his  air-conditioning office while she was waiting for me to get done. Impressive was the advanced equipment he had at his disposal, possibly more advanced than what I saw during my last eye-exam about three years ago on Amelia Island, Florida. He did a very thorough exam and declared my eyes in excellent shape for a man my age. The eyeglass frames selected, turned out to be Emporio Armani (Georgio Armani’s discount brand) with 2 sets of attachable sunglasses in a posh case. Mind you, designer frames and prescription glasses (not that I care) plus a complete eye exam for $348 is a deal to us. My last eyeglasses, several years ago were close to $500, without the eye exam and it took more than a week to get them. The knowledgeable sales lady would call us when the glasses were ready for pick-up and she figured on two days, however her phone call came the very next day; the glasses were ready to be picked up.

The little bus service is reliable, (…..until it isn’t). For the small fare of $0.44 per person, the bus will take you all the way down into the center of Tirana, where the bus turns around just before it reaches Jean d’Arc Blvd and comes via another loop back up to our neighborhood. The complete loop takes about an hour, which is why 30 minutes off every hour it stops at the apartment.

We used this service on several occasions and took a taxi back from the mall,  as the bus service (mainly service workers going to town and back home) calls it a day around 6pm. This worked for us, since we usually carried several bags of groceries home and the taxi ride was only an average $6 one way.

Now the summer of 2026 is globally turning out to become the hottest in recorded history and definitely interfering with the discovery part of our travels. 100°F to 104°F every day, without rain or cooling winds is simply too warm for people our age to go out in the sun exploring historically important sites. It had been hot in Portugal, but we had a pool there to cool off. Here in Tirana we have a gorgeous balcony view down the sloping hills to the city with air conditioning in every room. So on all these hot days we read, wrote, facetimed with friends and family, we cooked or ordered our favorite dishes and groceries via WOLT or enjoyed our host bringing us fresh fruits and vegetables out of her gardens. During the evening on the balcony we caught gorgeous sunsets, watched the numerous (almost daily) fireworks down below and listened to the great variety and strange mix of eastern and western music in the distance. If nothing else we experienced a good understanding of the daily rhythms of Albania and Tirana.

Of course we looked at a handful of day trips to the country’s attractions, all at very reasonable rates, but all had a duration of 12 to 14 hours per day, mostly starting early in the morning. After discussing it quite a bit, we decided it sounded more like torture than fun in the present heat, especially when many buses have no AC or bus drivers don’t use it because of cost. In addition, we also couldn’t get ourselves to get up at 5:00 or 6:00am to get to a bus station into town to leave on a tour by 8:00am and then returning home around 10pm or midnight. We figured that for our next Albania trip, we would include some of the popular beach towns on the Adriatic Sea, but only in late spring or early autumn, because in addition to the heat, the rates in high summer months are heavily affected by vacationers from Dubai and other rich Emirates in the Middle East.

Why is Albania Still So Affordable?

Towards the end of the second week we ventured out on another trip to the TEG mall to enjoy the International Foodcourt, get some groceries from Spar International, enjoy some people watching and enjoy a refreshment out on the open terrace. Life is good and affordable. We noticed lots of families having lunch or dinner at the Court, calculating that the total bill for four runs about $28 to $30 including drinks. The food court offers a nice variety of local specialty restaurants, some Greek and Mediterranean choices as well as American favorites such as KFC and Popeye’s. Popeye’s chicken is remarkably consistent with its Louisiana flavors, but sadly they don’t feature the brand’s famous black beans and rice.

KFC-Pizzahut in TEG Foodcourt
The International Foodcourt
Burger King and Popeye's in Food Court
InterSpar/TEG is the first Spar in Albania

The Foodcourt is busy every time we go there and it seems that many Albanians enjoy Mall Life and its food options. While TJ gets out to explore the mall’s store offerings, I like to watch people in their every day life and get a feeling for how they go about their lives. We had heard that the average monthly net income of an Albanian worker was somewhere between $720 and $950. Knowing that, now imagine that in 1985 the year of communist dictator Enver Hoxha’s death, the average monthly income was $15 and the country was considered the 3rd poorest country in the world. A lot of the old-timers still remember those days.

With help of the internet I compared these numbers to Portugal’s $1,120 to $1,250 per worker and neighboring Montenegro which hopes to enter the European Union in 2028, where workers enjoy an $1,150 per month net average income per month. After dictator Salazar’s reign, Portugal did not begin true economic growth until it joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1986. Membership brought structural funds, market integration, and foreign investment that modernized the country. Albania hopes that the same process will support its growth into a prosperous modern democracy. Currently tourism accounts for almost 25% of Albania’s GDP, which is too risky. Greece and Portugal are sitting at 12-13%, which is where Albania aims to be.

Currently Portugal and Albania are considered to be cheap residential destinations, but the question is always “for how long” and “what makes them cheaper.” The “How Long” part depends a lot on the country’s political ambition and how easily its natural resources can be retrieved and turned into revenue. For example Portugal is already for many years (1986) part of the European Union, while Albania aspires to become a member by 2030. This means that Albania has to comply with a lot of regulations imposed on the country to comply with the EC conditions. No doubt that by 2030 a lot of the price attraction for Albania will have disappeared in favor of improved worker’s salaries and economies of scale, but until then you can pay for a three-course meal for two with an hour of honest labor, especially if the ingredients are locally sourced. You will also be able to find nice, furnished apartments with Seaview balconies or overlooking beaches for $300 to $700 per month including all utilities and services. With a somewhat limited infrastructure the cost of transportation is relatively low and the cost of healthcare and education is worked into taxation systems. Another important aspect of Albania’s standard of living does come from the fact that Albania enjoys a median population age of 37, many of whom are educated, and have learned to speak English as they grew up in the early years after communist dictatorship was removed. The big advantage of the young population average is that social safety nets are financed by a younger group of tax paying workers, with a smaller percentage drawing on social securities. In Portugal the median age is 47, which means the stress on social securities will start at least 10 years earlier.

America was one of the first countries during the Clinton Presidency  to help out after the Communist Dictatorship ended

In the early days of Albania’s democratic revival (1992) many countries, companies and charities entered the country to help and develop new socio-economic ties. Americans even have an advantage over European visitors, as they can stay in the country Visa-free for 12 months. Albania is intensely pro-American due to historical U.S. backing for Albanian sovereignty, crucial intervention during the 1999 Kosovo War, and deep gratitude for rescuing the nation from total international isolation after the fall of a brutal communist dictatorship that lasted until the early 1990s. A rapidly growing tourism income will effect the “cheap” factor in the next 5 to 10 years, but for now our view is that Albania offers the best bang for your buck in all of Europe, while the country also feels very Western/European and if you treat Albanians with respect, as you should anyway, you will find them friendly, extremely helpful and very hospitable.

Gas station service is still available
TJ with Tirana and Mountains in the back
Allah is always close by
The bus taking us into Tirana for $0.44
Our neighborhood bus
An abundance of art on the route
Fedex is everywhere, even in Tirana
Artisti Lounge and Restaurant is where the bus turns around

The third week came and we finally gathered the courage to brave the scorching sun and take the bus to the center of Tirana. A list was made of buildings and attractions to visit and without knowing how far the bus would take us, we got on. Swaying through the outskirts of town, we get a good taste of how Albania operates. We see a lot of English companies and stores, several English language universities and schools and even an American and German Hospital and then all at once the bus turns around on the road and stops at a bus stop and we learn that this is the endpoint. We mark the spot carefully, which is easy because on all sides there are drugstores and pharmacies and tree-covered streets leading into the city center. But since it is already past 2pm, we decide on lunch and a refreshment first and right there is an outdoor lounge-restaurant ‘Artisti’ which offered strategically placed outdoor fans that spray the table areas with a dust of refreshing cool mist every couple of minutes. I ordered a Caesar Salad as I craved lettuce and a bottle of water. Total cost about $7, and the Caesar was huge and came with huge clunks of perfectly seasoned chicken breast mixed in. TJ had ordered a pressed (Cuban style)cheese and ham sandwich that came loaded with all types of side veggies and big enough to feed an army. Lunch was a delight at 30% of the price anywhere else we have traveled. When almost done with our lunch a young couple with their son walked in and set down at the table next to us. Turned out they were Albanians now living in London, spending their vacation in Tirana. We had a wonderful conversation with them about Albania, its people and its treasures of history, nature and beaches. He insisted upon treating us to a refreshment. The convo was so delightful and interesting that TJ gave them her last painted Jeeps for Peace Ukraine rock.

Then it was time to get our legs going as we crossed the Joan of Arc Boulevard and got a magnificent view of the Mosque of Namazgah or The Great Mosque of Tirana. Construction had started in the early 1990s, but ensuing Catholic opposition stopped completion for more than 30 years. It was finally inaugurated in October 2024 and now offers a capacity of 10,000 Sunni worshippers, the largest Mosque in the Balkans. From there we walked past a number of government buildings and an interesting subterranean museum named Bunk’Art2, housed in a nuclear bunker built between 1981 and 1985 as a secure underground shelter for the Ministry of Internal Affairs next door during the communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha. It features 24 rooms with photos, authentic artifacts, surveillance equipment, and audio-video testimonies dedicated to those persecuted, interrogated, or killed by the Sigurimi, the communist regime’s political police.

The Mosque of Namazgah
The Mosque of Namzgah aka The Great Mosque of Tirana
Adventurous Architecture
Interesting Architecture
Architectural High Lights
City Parks and Skylines
Parks and Spaces to recognize the special ones
The famous clock tower
A popular museum
Never Give Up the Fight
Skanderbeg Square
Skanderbeg statue
Playing folksongs under Skanderbeg Statue
Et'hem Bey Mosque Interior
Et'hem Bey Original Mosque in Tirana
Et'hem Bey Original Mosque in Tirana at Skanderbeg Square
Bunk'Art 2 Museum in NUCLEAR BUNKER
Nuceal Bunker preserved as museum
The Victims of State Security Police - Bunk-art
Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy next to Nuclear Bunker
Government flying the European flag in anticipation of 2030!
Government flying the European flag in anticipation of 2030!
City Parks
The Friendship Monument

A little further down the road we reach Skanderbeg Square, dedicated to the country’s medieval warrior/nobleman Gjergj Kastrioti. Skanderbeg’s exceptional battlefield skills had his contemporaries compare him to those of historical emperor Alexander the Great from neighboring Macedonia, and these skills gave him this nickname.(Alexander is Skander)

On the corner of Skanderbeg Square we found the Et’hem Bey Mosque of Tirana and from there we walked down the parks and monuments to reach the Toptani Shopping Mall. It was time for an afternoon cappuccino, totally in conflict with the Italian idea/tradition that milk heavy coffees are only proper for the morning hours. A cappuccino in the afternoon replaces lunch for me, so the milk is perfectly ok.

The Toptani Mall deserves its own chapter and TJ got “lost” for a good two and a half hours exploring the many floors of brand name luxury retailers, while I was sipping cappuccino in the downstairs bar, observing my favorite pastime: People Watching. This mall could sit somewhere on 5th Avenue New York or Champs Elysee Paris and fit right into the street scene. Eight shopping floors over almost 700,000 square feet, with four parking garage levels, many restaurants and fun areas. Actually sitting in this mall with all its Italian Fashion brands represented, makes you realize that Italy, yes the country Italy, is only a short distance away across the Adriatic Sea, with daily ferry schedules to cross from varies points.

Toptani Mall Entrance
Interior Toptani mall stores
Old and new in Tirana from Toptani
Grab a bottle of wine and relax
Toptani Shopping Floors
More shopping floors
Finding Han in the coffee lounge
Tirana City Scape from Toptani

Yeah, Han was not thrilled I was gone so long. Mainly because we now share a phone and he had no way to contact me. It is extremely easy to lose track of time in this mall. Toptani has glass interior walkway walls, which can be quite intimidating if you are prone to vertigo. I would look down occasionally but not for a prolonged period of time. I literally purchased one tiny spatula we needed, out of this whole mall. When traveling, you had best learn quickly to shop with purpose, not desire.

 

Time was getting closer to the start of the daily “Flamingo Revolution” protest marches and rallies against the Albanian government allowing a US – Saudi Arabian investment consortium including Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner to initiate a multi-billion dollar luxury resort to develop on Sazan island, that would ruin a pristine coastal ecosystem that hosts thousands of flamingos, sea turtles and monk seals. From that original theme the protests were expanded into a movement against government corruption and lack of transparency and by now every night around 6-7pm, thousands of Albanians gather near the government buildings and major thoroughfares such as Jean d’Arc Boulevard and march against oligarchic influence, opaque public decision-making and the use of laws for private or politically connected interests, in other words protesting political elites who are accused of abusing power and institutions. It didn’t help that Ivanka Trump called Sazan Island her private island in several podcasts and has angered many Albanians. Another support comes from the European Union who has sent a team of observers, as a warning that Albania’s government needs to be aware of Community guidelines in dealing with these issues.

We walked several blocks back from the mall and decided to first go and see the famous Pyramid of Tirana, which was located close to where the rallies would take place. Now there is a warning when you cross the Lana River, which is nothing more than a tiny canal in the city, expect a stench, most likely left there by high pollution due to wastewater.The Pyramid of Tirana, full in the sun at 7:30pWhen we arrived at the Pyramid, we decided to leave the climb to the top to younger generations. The Pyramid has an interesting life story as it started out in 1988 as a Museum dedicated to dictator Hoxha’s reign. Well by 1991 and the end of communism, no one in their right mind wanted anything to remind them of those horror years under Hoxha. So the building became a congress center for a couple of years, then it became a technology center and finally it turned into a tourist attraction attracting thousand of visitors.

TJ: I really wanted to climb it, especially since it does have hand railings, but the sun was still so baking hot. Heck, even sitting on the stairs about burned a hole on your butt. LOL

On the bottom stairs TJ met a nice local young man who explained more about Tirana’s history and walked with us to an ice cream place on Jean d’Arc Blvd where that night’s protest rally would start. As we were enjoying our ice cream, the group formed right in front of our eyes as police closed the intersections and press started up their coverage. In a wink of the eye it seemed that several thousand people had formed a protest march that peacefully moved forward with anti-government slogans and chants and occasionally we recognized the name for Sazan Island. As I write this, it is 80 days of consecutive marches. Albanians know how to get their government’s attention. After the protest we walked down to a vibrant circle with lots of restaurants and easily found a cab driver, who took us back to our Airbnb up in the hills.

The canalized Lana River
As the protest rally starts arriving
News and TV leads the way
The Flamingo Protest is picking up steam
More participants arrive from side streets
Loudspeakers on every pole
Stopping Trump - Kushner to rape the land
They come out protesting every night!!
As the numbers are growing
Protest speeches in front of government buildings

As mentioned before the little bus service from our neighborhood to town was usually reliable, with the exception of Sunday afternoon before departing Tirana and Albania. We took the bus at 2:30pm with only 2 other passengers seated, who got out a couple of stops further downhill. The bus driver, almost by impulse it seemed, decided that it was time for an afternoon pick-me-up; he turned off the engine, stepped off the bus and from an open door spoke to us in a language we had no clue about, made a couple of hand gestures that could mean anything and walked across the street into a local bar. After a couple of minutes we figured he wasn’t coming back anytime soon, so we descended the bus and started our walk downhill to the Mall. Google Maps said it was only a little over a mile down the hill, but the sun was sitting straight above us, cloudless and beamed about 100°F heat down upon us. Very uncomfortable and we were sweaty through and through.

What we had learned so far about Albania, is that we like its people; that its nature offered beauty; that Tirana was a treasure of a city, that there was an attitude of “can do” in the country and that the prices of goods and services were fitting our retirement budget like a comfortable glove. It did help that the temperature stayed high in the 90°F and 100°F’s, as we spend our time mostly inside, reading up on the country’s attractions and history and we were starting to feel a close affinity to Albania’s struggle and future. Before arranging our Schengen inspired departure for Montenegro at the end of 30 days, we already knew, that we would be back soon, to explore the almost 300 mile Seashore and its picturesque towns and fishing villages. Prices for fully furnished apartments, with balcony and Seaview are very attractive, which would make it a strong contender for our European residency choice.

For our trip north to Montenegro’s capital city Podgorica, TJ had done a lot of research and for $200 we selected the most attractive option offered by a company called Day Trip.  We highly recommend this company.

Albania is planning, but does not yet have a train infrastructure to its neighboring countries and private bus transportation is available but can be a bit tricky for people with luggage. In addition, most of the reviews on bus transportation were not encouraging. Our monthly budget moving country to country allows for $400-$500, so the $200 fee here worked perfectly. The driver picked us up at our Airbnb, helped with the luggage and drove us in air conditioned comfort to Podgorica, all the while telling us about sightseeing attractions, castles, palaces and a lot about the hospitality of Albanian people.

Amadeus Palace Hotel and Casino

On the way out of Tirana, close to the airport exit, a majestic building like a royal palace appeared out of nowhere. “What is that?” Was my immediate question. Our driver proudly announced that it was the residence of Albanian’s only billionaire Samir Mane, which turned out to be not the case. It actually turned out to be the pipe dream of a rich real estate developer couple that started constructing what was to become the Amadeus Palace Hotel and Casino.

A giant gold and marble edifice for the super rich, that started construction around 2012. Amadeus Palace is an architectural puzzle. It does not fit into one particular style, it fuses elements of neo-Baroque, oriental influences with neoclassical elements, creating a theatrical semblance of imperial exaggeration; a Disney World caught inside of a clover highway system. On the roof stands a massive statue of Albania’s national hero Gjergj Kastrioti, commonly known as Skanderbeg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKtfDR5JdD8

It may never be finished since latest news articles in 2026 state that recent construction bills are delinquent and no request for reactions have been supplied.

We offered our driver a lunch at a roadside restaurant where we re-discovered one of our favorite veal meals from our St.Maarten/St.Martin days in the Caribbean.

The trip up north also led us by Lake Shkoder, the largest lake in the Balkans with a summer surface of 370 square kilometers and a winter surface of 530 square kilometers thanks to the seasonal rains.

Although we traveled in peak summertime, the border crossing into Montenegro was easy and took about 30 minutes. Late afternoon our driver dropped us neatly in front of our next Airbnb in Riverside Apartments in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, where we will be spending the next month of our Schengen Shuffle.

Albania is not just a tourist destination, it’s a story waiting to be discovered and we just did.

Jul 10 2026

Starting the Schengen Shuffle

TJ walking out of Tirana’s Airport

Bittersweet is our departure from Coração d’Ouro. named after a Portuguese Telenovela, meaning Heart of Gold.

AirBnb owner Lianne is ready at 8am to take us to Tábua bus station. We almost spent a month with her. Got a great tan going and the daily swimming in the pool was definitely a health kick for Han. We also said a fond goodbye to Finata Bakery owner Anne and bought four of her delicious sweets for the road

The bus Rede Espressos was right on time at 9am to take us to Coimbra and from there we went the 112 km to Porto’s Campanhas Busstation in less than 90 minutes. From there we called an Über to take us to Park Hotel across from Porto Airport. Early check in an 18°C upgraded room, while outside temperatures were reaching 40°, was a welcome gesture even though their dinner was a complete miss.

Entering the Schengen Shuffle at 4:15 the next morning was our wake up call, but we felt okay as we had slept the five or six previous hours pretty good. RyanAir was departing at 7:10 that morning so we had to get there in time, considering the new Schengen Accord limits and guidelines. Of course we did not have the new guidelines to consider on this flight as it took us inside Schengen from Porto to Milano-Bergamo in Italy. The fun would start from Bergamo to Tirana, Albania which is a non Schengen destination. Of course Han does not have to worry about overstaying his welcome since he is still a European citizen with a European Passport that is valid until 2035. It’s TJ who has to worry about this until we have filed the necessary paperwork in Portugal upon our return in the Euro/Schengen zone in October.

Milano-Bergamo: What once used to be a small military airport

I’m starting to write this at the Bergamo Airport and cannot get away from thinking that the last time I was in this city, it did not even have an airport. It was just the second big city after Merano, when we came over the Alps Mountains for an Adriatic or Tyrrhenian Sea beach vacation in the 1960s or 70s.

Personally I think the advent of Ryanair(1985) primarily and  followed by other successful discount airlines in Europe have caused the growth of air traffic throughout the European continent. As a result places like Bergamo, Weeze/Düsseldorf, Emmingen, Banja Luka, Girona/Spain and others have now huge airports with millions of travelers going through every years and dozens of languages to be heard, in this place where 60 years ago only Italian was heard.

A little bit on the Schengen Treaty’s history. It all came together in 1985 when France, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg signed an agreement to abolish borders and controls between them. Spain and Portugal joined a bit later and today 29 European countries have joined. Of course as so often where it concerns bureaucrats with nothing much else on their hands, they had to design and write rules for citizens and non-citizens of these countries, how long they would be permitted to be in one of the Schengen countries and 90 days seemed to be an acceptable number for most of them. So these days a non-schengen citizen can stay a total of 90 days in the Schengen zone. Without special visas or other arrangements, overstaying this duration makes them illegal. To make this real special and complicated, these 90 days have to be counted backward, as in no more than 90 days during the last 180 days.

The next month we stay in Tirana, Albania

Well for people that cross borders often, there is a calculator invented to keep you straight. Suggestion is to use it wise and often as these days the world has turned digital, which means that since April 10, 2026 this 90 day requirement has been coupled to the Entry/Exit System (EES), which digitally controls your moves with fingerprints and facial photographing whenever you cross a border. A questionable future is here as more countries have applied to become member of the system. Striking complications turn up for countries like Ireland, and the UK, especially since England left the EU and Ireland (except Northern Ireland is.  But also Cyprus, Albania, Montenegro or Bosnia are Schengen escape options for non-EU citizens to stay in Europe for longer than 90 days.

Be smart and use the calculator!

Check out the Calculator

 

Jul 16 2026

Coração d’Ouro: “Heart of Gold”

From the poolside to the backside of the Villa Coração d’Ouro

After what seemed like an almost daily repetition of opening and closing our suitcases, TJ had found an AirBNB in lesser known central Portugal, that would fit our needs to relax and stay in one spot where we could start organizing our move to Europe.

Southeast of Porto in the lower foothills of the central east mountain range Serra da Estrela ( home to Portugal mainland’s tallest mountain Torre at 6,539 ft), lies the town of Tábua. To get there by public transportation you take the Rede Espressos bus from Porto’s Campañha Bus station south to the old former medieval capital of Coimbra (€2.95 to €9,40 p/p depending on time of day) and from there you take the same company’s extension trip to Tábua for another $2 or so. If you have a little layover like we had, you can try the very nice MacDonald’s right next door to the bus station. It was more relaxing than milling around or trying to find a seat at the bus station.

Map of the Tábua area

The ride to Tábua is gorgeous alongside rivers and lakes slowly moving to higher elevations. We arrived at the busstation in Tábua late afternoon and decided to get some starter groceries at the next door Lidl Supermarket, before calling for a taxi to take us to our villa.

Now here I must make a little stop to insert an important observation. Why do Airbnb hosts in remote destinations not offer a provisioning service for guests that come in late, or stay with you for a longer period of time, and/or if the  grocery or supermarkets are quite a distance away from the Airbnb? It’s a normal service offered in the Marine Charter Industry and guests are willing to pay good money for this service, especially us old people. You see in big cities, provisioning these days is no problem anymore. You go to Übereats or Wolt websites, check the selections and order and within a certain timeframe everything will be delivered to your door. Often without delivery charges! But in areas where these services are not yet available, a provisioning service would be a win-win for guests and hosts. Preferably this should be offered outside of the commissioned Airbnb framework.

In this area of Portugal rental car services are few and far in between and even taxi service is sporadic. Of course we were lucky, since Pedro became our local historian/ guide and taxi driver, sharing with us the must do things, the history of the area and what it has to offer. On the way to the Airbnb we learned from him that Tábua is a regional center that combines a total of 16 villages in the area and the village we were going to was called Vila do Mato, which made is easy for me to remember (Villa Tomato!)

Coraçao d'ouro front entrance
Coraçao d'ouro front with old building
Side entrance to the villa
The side of the villa (hosting 5 rental quarters)
Barbecue Anyone?
View over the Pool and Horse fields
View from our bedroom window over the horse stables
Kitchen and dining area
Horses at Coraçao d'Ouro
Bathroom with tub
Swimming Pool & Tanning deck
Cannot be more than a week old
Wall Flowers

Quinta Coração d’Ouro: “Heart of gold” which usually describes a very kind person, was the name of our Airbnb. A young woman, born in the Netherlands, who goes by the name Lianne and her life partner from Portugal (Ricardo) own the large villa and live here with their two young children and a slough of animals in a very large hacienda type building with surrounding acres and fields. On the many acres in the back of the villa they keep about 20 horses, all are mares (except for one very young colt), a donkey and four foals at tis timer, some cats, a peacock, chickens and a tiny ankle biter with Napoleon syndrome chihuahua. LOL.

Watching the animals’ antics, Ricardo who never stops working, chatting with Lianne and the children, literally observing as the floral gardens grew more beautiful, became our daily outdoor entertainment. Especially the silly foals once they found out they had long legs and could fly like the wind.

Our favorite bakery

Across the street from the Airbnb is a Pastelaria Finatas Bakery and owner Anna knows how to make a deliciously mean Pastel del Nata, this incredible Portuguese delicacy. The bakery is just steps away from a bus stop, which in case you don’t have a car, is quite important for transportation. However, the bus to and from Tábua only runs once in the morning and returns in the early evening.

In the distance, a  eight minute walk in the other direction is a larger bakery called Seara da Vila, which has a nice air-conditioned restaurant with a menu, but we were more charmed by Anna’s fresh foods, which attracted quite a few expats from Holland, Belgium, England as well as locals. Especially in the weekends it is a thriving business. And she and her small staff are truly lovely.

Two important reasons for us to select Quinta Coração de Ouro were the pool, a nice pool to actually swim in, rather than just cool down…. and the spacious upstairs apartment that offered a large, well equipped kitchen, an even larger bedroom with extra seating areas and a comfy bed and a huge bathroom with tub and shower; and all air-conditioned. And on the ground floor there is a huge public room for guests, offering a large refrigerator, cooking facilities, games, books and large screen TV and plenty of seating arrangements. That Lianne and Ricardo truly went out of their ways to make us feel welcome, was an added bonus. It also helped a lot that both could communicate in English. If you want to relax and unwind, this is definitely the place to choose, however note the school age children are on summer break during July and August and it gets very busy. For us, we definitely had the perfect timing because during the entire month we stayed, there were only two sets of guest who arrived for one to two nights.

The next almost four weeks we planned to have a wonderfully relaxed routine of writing, updating websites, leisurely laying at the pool with a daily lap swim routine, reading and watching movies on Netflix.

Several days into our stay we decided to walk into the neighboring village of Midões, a town with a long important history, but also the nearest place for a supermarket and laundromat. Packed with backpacks full of dirty laundry we climbed our way on the road and soon discovered that we were in bad shape to walk uphill in the unseasonably hot midday sun for a distance of 1.5 miles. We made it by the seat of our pants, quickly put the laundry in the very modern machines and went for refreshments at the restaurant next door. It had a great outdoor terrace. The entire complex was built and operated by an entrepreneur who used the SPAR concept to bring this grocery service to a town with no facilities for tourism.

A Winning Combination

Note: In all of our travels through Europe we have been finding groceries we need, through a large number of SPAR stores and supermarkets. The original concept dates back to 1932 in the Netherlands. I will have to dedicate a musing story to this phenomenon, that today numbers 13,600 stores in 50 countries and several continents.

Quite a few Dutch, Flemish and British expats live here in the foothills of the mountains that separate Portugal from Spain, and they all claim to love it. Most of the year they meet almost daily at the local outside terraces for drinks and a chat and the rest of the year they keep themselves busy with the house and garden. Some of them work remote, but most of them draw a pension and live a good life.

Huffing and puffing we arrive back at the apartment and have enough groceries and fresh clothes for at least a week. Then we will consider another trip for replenishments.

And when that day arrives, we’ll saddle up once again loaded with shopping bags and backpacks, but this time on the way back, Han bites the dust a couple of hundred yards before we reach the building. His ankle tries to negotiate some loose gravel and he loses his footing and goes down with a loud bang, sandwiched between one heavy backpack on the front and two shopping bags on his back. We thought no-one was around to see this happen, but within seconds there are a handful of people offering helping hands out of nowhere. His arm and knees are scratched and his ribs are sore from some crushed canned veggies, but nothing more serious, although he hurt for the better part of a week. A friendly Portuguese man offers to drive us the couple of hundred yards we were missing from getting “home” and we thanked him profusely. Such beautiful people. Lianne helped with some “fix Han up supplies” and tried to take care of him, but he is so independent.

Roof Statues as Guardians?
Remnants of forgotten times?
A lot of TLC required
Buy a historic façade and build behind it
There are sitting benches everywhere
Tile ornamented entrances
Old streets leading to the mountains
Ruines in Midoes
Another ruin in Midoes

I actually walked into Midões town on my own the next time. I swear, I thought I would pass out from the heat. I decided to go a little further into the village square and take some pics of ruins, churches and scenery, but also needed a few things at the pharmacy. Then back to the store for groceries. I was just leaving the store, when I saw a woman we had met the very first day who is an expat, who helped us with the language barrier. I said hello to her and we chatted for a few minutes, then she offered me a ride back because she actually lives just past where we were staying. I definitely WAS NOT going to turn that down. I thanked her profusely because the damn groceries were so heavy. It was fun chatting with her and her life partner who was originally from England.

The next week was quiet, we only walked the half a mile into Vila do Mato village and found that the local bar and entertainment hall, also functioned as a limited grocery store. We bought a few items we needed and also about three pounds of frozen shrimp, which turned out to be some of the best shrimp we ever tasted. 

A week later we needed to go to Lidle in Tábua and decided to make a day out of it. Lianne was so nice to  offer us a ride into town and also help us out at City Hall where we wanted to get some preliminary information regarding our wish to move to Portugal. After listening to all the input from a city employee, who also turns out to be the high school English teacher, we decided that we would do all the paperwork in November in the Algarve, as that probably will be the area we would like to settle. After this we walked the city and got some refreshments.

Town of Tabua with mountains in the background
Center of roundabout projects its future
Tábua is rich in Churches
Bell Towers in Tabua
Chapel services
Church in the center of town
Building a town requires public services
Europe is drawing a line with big and small cars
Tábua, a nice place to live
Park and Children's Play grounds
Protected Children's Playpen
We ordered some food; it was cheap and delicious
Still don't know what it was
Music in the park
Street scenes on a quiet Sunday

At the end of the day we called our friend Pedro the taxi driver and he took us back telling us the stories about wildfires in the region as we asked him about the helicopters that had been flying over in the past couple of days and fire trucks that had been spotted in the area. Turns out that some of the forests have been prone to dreaded wildfires and that with the current drought, everyone is keeping their alert meter high.

He also tells us about visiting the Sunday market in Tábua town and we tell him to come pick us up that coming Sunday. He drops us off at the market and our expectations are high, but it turns out the market has fewer visitors than usual, as the national soccer team of Portugal is apparently playing a match in the Worldcup. We check out the offerings, but except for some sheep cheese, nothing really appeals. We walk a number of streets and later decided on a nice lunch in an outside café under the tree shades and a children play garden. Life is so much more relaxed here. Unfortunately this summer is extremely hot and not very enticing for long walks and discoveries, let alone visit attractions with a lot of other visitors.

On the way back we were picked by a female taxi partner of Pedro’s, who raced us through the streets and hillsides as if a wildfire was on our heels. It was a most uncomfortable harrowing trip and then the taxi cost was six euros more than what Pedro charged. Pedro was out of town on a long distance drive to Porto. He had given us his personal cell phone number in case we needed anything. We sure missed him on this particular afternoon.

Sunday Morning Market preparations
Grilled Half Chickens at the Market
The fresh butcher at your service
Fresh delicacies in meat and cheeses
Sunday Indoor Meat & Veggies Market
Sheep cheeses are delicious (as well)
Birds for sale on the market
Doves for sale

The last week of our stay was devoted to the old routine of tanning and swimming because we were both not looking forward to the two travel days ahead of us.

First there was the bus-ride from Tábua to Coimbra, the couple of minutes available for a change over to the bus to Porto- Campañha, the chaos and confusion at the station and from there an Über to The Park Hotel at the Francisco Sá Carneiro Porto Airport. On travel day wake up calls were 7:00am followed by a 4:00am at the hotel. That is decidedly too early for people our age. The hotel room was nice, was able to check in early and they upgraded us to a nicer room, but please avoid their restaurant for your meals. It was the worst dinner experience bar none, at a price tag of over €30 per person. The dinner buffet was even more and I wish I had ordered via Uber.

We were up and running at 4am for a 5am hotel transfer to the airport and everything went smooth with our Ryanair flight to Milan-Bergamo and our connection flight to Tirana, Albania. We were out of Schengen on the 89th day of our stay. There are so many questions from others about how to count your days correctly, but honestly we should NOT have cut it this close. One plane delay would completely screw up the entire process. Give yourself a week leeway to cover yourself in case of emergencies and/or travel delays.

Jul 26 2026

Porto, Portugal Impressions

The Luis 1 Bridge over the Douro River in Porto

Six years ago we met our dear Portuguese friend Helena, during a two weeks vacation in Portimão/ Praia da Rocha, in the Algarve. Ever since we have wanted to visit her in her hometown of Porto and check the city out for a potential retirement move there.

After dropping the rental car off at Eindhoven Airport in a screaming rain storm, we were facing a 6 hour layover before Ryan Air would lift off for Porto in Portugal, where we would arrive shortly before midnight. The reason this is brought up is, that you don’t get to see much of this city’s beautiful setting from a taxi in the late evening hours. That’ll have to wait until the next morning when 1.3 million people seem to embrace your privacy all at once when the city comes alive.

Made in Brazil; a clever cover!

Our AirBNB was located a couple of minutes walking from the old town center and the first thing we saw when getting out of the Über was a window front that says “Made In Brazil”, a clever euphemism for a beauty shop that operates a brothel and stays open until the wee hours of the morning. Later we noticed there are two brothels on the same street. No bother to us, as they were fairly discreet, however dressed in skimpy clothes.

Our modern condo apartment however was fabulous. Airconditioning, nice little kitchen, comfy bed in separate bedroom, hurricane shutters and an elevator to the 3rd floor. Everything you may need from a bakery with breakfast to a well appointed supermarket were within a 3-4 minute walk, all of which we visited the next day. Arriving at midnight you only want a comfy bed and a cool room. We closed our eyes and went to dream.

Convenient breakfast right next door

Since Helena works in the marketing department of the City of Porto, she needed to work the next day, but the day after that she was off. We would meet her at the famous Sea Life Aquarium, in the northwest part of town for a visit TJ had been looking forward to. So on our first day in Porto we went for a leisurely breakfast at the Coffee shop Padråo Doce directly adjacent to the Airbnb. Here we were introduced to Portugal’s favorite sweet treat pastel de nata, a rich, creamy egg custard baked in a perfectly flaky, blistered puff pastry crust. A touch of cinnamon over the top and you’re good to go of course with a good cup of coffee. We are now huge fans of this fattening little delicacy.

Breakfast in Porto

We used the Google street map app to find the grocery story Continente Bom Dia which was just 3 minutes from there. An amazingly well stocked grocery store with a wide variety of goods. We walked out all set for our days in Porto. The original stay was supposed to have been 8 nights, but some recalculating of the Schengen Shuffle Allowance told us that we had to leave the Schengen zone on July 5 the latest, when TJ’s 90 days were up. We cut our Porto stay down 4 nights, so our next stay in the countryside we could  stay our full month because of the pool feature and it all worked perfectly.

Warning: Make sure you calculate your allowance correctly, because since Trump immigration policies in the States, has European authorities also getting stricter.

Anyway our first day in Porto was quiet and relaxing and TJ quickly figured out the ÜberEats App and we had goodies delivered to the apartment.

Sea Life Aquarium Porto, Portugal

The next day we took an Über to the Porto Sea Life Aquarium where shortly after 11am there was a warm reunion with Helena, and the six years of not seeing each other melted away in seconds. TJ and Helena were actually in tears, surprising both of them.

Truth be known The Sea Life Aquarium actually deserved more of our attention than it got, since we were completely in awe of seeing Helena again and spent only little time with all that is offered in marine biology and the important research they do. Especially the Coral Maternity Center, the first national breeding project of coral for the SEA LIFE network of aquariums around the world, contributes majorly to  endangered species breeding programs and the conservation of coral organisms on a global scale.

TJ: I was too busy watching the penguins and being Peter Pan, flitting all over the place. I even let Helena talk me into (I would have done it anyway) crawling hands and knees through a little tunnel to reach a bubble in which to stand up in, so it appears you are inside an aquarium with cute fish all around. Even I, at 5’2” was still just a tad too tall for it, but did it stop this big kid from posing, being silly and enjoying it? Absolutely not! Helena had insisted upon treating us to the Aquarium, so I bought her this cute little stuffed red octopus keychain.

We spent a good 2 hours in the facility and shop before we called a taxi to take us to an outstanding fish restaurant for some of Portugal’s favorite grilled Sardinhas. (oh the irony!?)

Located next to Praça de Gonçalves Zarco
With the cruise port in the distance
Peter Pan in the Fish Tank
Peter Pan the Rasta Man
Love the Penguin Habitat
Not yet dipping his toes
TJ on the prowl
A great place for kids

Grilled Sardines, Portugal’s National Dish

After intense discussion with our taxi driver we were taken to a restaurant in the Matosinhos Dockland areas, famous for the Fish and Sardine canneries. Matosinhos is Portugal’s historic seafood capital, once landing 86% of the country’s catch, it used to be a small fishing town just 20 km northwest of Porto and is now integrated into the Porto Metropolis. It still has an industrial air to it, due to its 19th-century harbor, and its past prosperity connected to the fish-canning sector, which peaked during World War II and declined from the beginning of the 1970s. But then advancing tourism needed nightlife and during the 1990s,  clubs, bars and restaurants found a great a fertile zone for its needs as old buildings were restored and new apartment buildings, shops and neighborhoods were erected.

We sat outside on a terrace, filled with other visitors – many from neighboring Spain, as they were enjoying a national holiday and we ordered grilled sardines (what else duh??) And TJ set aside her natural distaste of fishy fish and ordered grilled sardines as well. And guess what? She loved them. Proud of that girl. And then we talked for several hours into the late afternoon with the promise to meet up again the next day for a shopping mall experience. All three of us took a taxi back into the city to our Airbnb, and relaxed and talked some more about our plans to move to Portugal until Helena got a phone call that her sister was in the hospital. A quick goodbye and hugs later, she had promised to update us and if the plans for the next day were still a go.

Restaurant in Matosinhos
Grilled Sardines is the National Delicacy
TJ and Helena looking at pictures

The next morning we learned that sadly she was not able to meet up with us again as her sister was still in the hospital emergency room. What now? We only had this day left to get to know Porto a bit more. We quickly sat down with our laptops and devised a walking tour in the center of town, that would at least encompass 5 or 6 must see attractions and we went on our way.

Capella The Santa Caterina, a piece of art in tile

With a general directional sense of the city center’s layout we walk to the blue tiled facades of Capella de Santa Caterina (Chapel of Souls) and find that even though it’s Sunday, Porto is hosting a lot of visitors this weekend.

Slowly walking down the pedestrian Rua de Santa Catarina cobble stoned shopping street, taking an occasional left and right aided by Google Street Maps, we ultimately climbed up to  arrive at Praça da Liberdade (Liberty Square), the central square where old and new Porto meet. It is here  where the American fast-food invention McDonald’s now occupies the old art deco Imperial Café that opened in 1936. It is reputed to be one of the most beautiful McDonald’s in the world!. We have seen this ‘sacrilegious’ behavior in many cities in Europe (Budapest, Prague, Vienna etc), where magnificent old buildings have been sacrificed to become fast-food eateries. Still don’t like it one bit. This one is located at the southeast corner of Liberty Square. Its real state-of-the-art focus point is the stained glass mural along the back wall, depicting the cycle of coffee:  growing it, harvesting, processing, shipping, and finally drinking it. I have to admit it’s beautiful.

Going down the St.Catarina Shopping Street
Admiring the colorful streets and boulevards
Slowly finding our way through the center of town
People everywhere
Finally arriving a the Freedom Square
A very special McDonald
People enjoying Micky D in the roaring thirties
More hills to climb

Just south of the Square is the important São Bento Train Station intersection, where  we take our first sidewalk café stop for some refreshments and people watching. The last one is almost as good as Paris or London.

The waiting Iines are long for the Lello Library

Next on the list of “Must-See” is Livravria Lello & Irmao, the world-famous  book shop, kitty-corner across the street from the UNIVERSITY OF PORTO, that demands at least a day visit. Admission is $30 per person. And guess what? There were about a thousand people waiting in the street to get in. We’ll come back in a real off season time to do this one. Now if you really have your mind set on this than consider buying a combo ticket that includes a visit to the Monastery of Leça do Balio, home to Livraria Lello Foundation and discover medieval architecture and provocative temporal exhibitions. Tickets include the Monastery, the Open sculpture, the Garden of Thought and, if selected, the Lello Bookshop. A National Monument since 1910 and a historic landmark on the Caminhos de Santiago, the Monastery of Leça do Balio is today home to the Livraria Lello Foundation and a vibrant cultural hub. Very interested but this will have to wait until our next trip to Porto.

Get tickets early and be there on time
The Stairway to heavenly knowledge
Browse until you overflow
And when you think it's done, there's more
Just raise your eyes to see this beauty
All stairs lead to more knowledge

We “quickly” walk further up the hill to peek at the Igreja do Carmo church and the surrounding square, which seems to be a center of all kind of transportation activities: Homemade small tuk-tuks built on mini chassis of old American model cars, an old tramway, busses and taxis. We took it all in, shot a couple of pictures and started on our way down to the river in search for the majestic D’ouro River and maybe some lunch. D’ouro by the way means ‘of gold’ in Portuguese.

The Square with the fountain
Part of the Cathedral
The famous tram connection
Tuk Tuks Poprtguese style
Agree do Carmo
Igrejo do Carmo frontal view

Great Spot for a perfect lunch

Carefully easing our way down the narrow cobblestoned streets we ended up in the old Porto Ribeiro district of the city, where we had a marvelous lunch in a 5 Star hotel with a street side terrace. It was also a great feeling for our resting undercarriage that had already close to 7,000 steps on the clock. After lunch we kept on going down passing the Cathedral of Porto and ending at the river landing near the Luis I bridge across the river to the famous picturesque overlook Miradouro da Serra do Pilar. The bridges over the Douro have a high passage and a low passage. From the high level we walked to the middle of the bridge, took a bunch of pictures and walked back. Back in Porto Ribeira with its gorgeous old houses, we walked through the car tunnel to get to the bottom overlook point of the Douro River.

After a while taking pictures and just looking at the high passage we took the funicular back up to the city level for our walk by to the apartment. There are some stunning views to be seen from Miradouro da Vitória and you quickly realize why Porto is such a popular destination. It has magical vistas, great restaurants, a culture steeped in all the classics and architecture to go with it. The people are a delight; international, friendly, helpful, and the city has an overload of attractions worth seeing. And we have to visit many more. And even though the city is considerably more expensive than rural Portugal, it is still affordable. But it is a city for young people, full of energy and in good physical shape. We were close to our 10,000 steps and not looking forward to the trek back to the apartment.

Starting the ongoing way down to the river
As the streets become smaller
And smaller...
and livelier with people and shops
You get level with the river
Walk through the tunnel atrua de ribeira
Look west where the river goes to the sea
Look east where the river comes down from the mountains
Take the funicular rail to get back up in town
Enjoy Porto Ribeiro down on the waterline

The side streets were made up of steep streets, mismatched stairs and/or uneven cobblestones are seriously an accident waiting to happen (at least for us). Slow and steady are your best bet for anyone and supportive shoes. With a little luck and Google Maps we actually took the shortest route back and less than 2,000 steps later, the elevator took us up to the third floor where walking shoes ended up in the corner and tired feet soaked in a bath tub. We realized that Porto would not be our choice to live in Portugal. Too busy and too pricy. But it was definitely a city to revisit often. Love Porto, but many times it made walking through Edinburgh, Scotland feel easy at times.

TJ surprised me fairly late in the evening with an Über delivery of our newest treat, the pastel de natas, because she said we deserved them after such a busy eventful day. Who am I to disagree with such logic?

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