Day 12 - Albania… or not!
- manicmondeo
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
Snow-capped mountains and volcanic peaks guided us towards Prizren, Kosovo’s second city.
Parking up, we spotted Rosemary had a flat tyre. That could wait. It wouldn’t be a long job, although we would need a replacement.
With a history stretching back to Byzantine rule more than a thousand years ago, its centre was stunning. A small stone bridge arched over a clear-water river. The 17th-century Sinan Pasha Mosque held sway in the old town, as we browsed trinket stalls and enjoyed drinks while looking for tyre shops on the map.
Back at the car, we realised why the tyre had gone. It had been rubbing on the road as the wheel camber was out of whack. The other back tyre was also nearly gone.
After an unnerving drive into the backstreets, a guy on a scooter guided us to a proper garage.
Devran and his crew put it in ramps and diagnosed it. They hoped they would get it fixed in the day but couldn’t be sure, but did say “Your mechanic is in jail, yes?” Jim’s negotiations were classic Jim: “Oh, don’t worry. Money is not an object.”
Spending the next few hours nursing soft drinks and another far-too-big meal, we were in limbo. It was looking unlikely we would be leaving Prizren today, but we didn’t know if we should book a hotel with parking or not.
4:20pm came and we got a call from Devran. “Come now.”
Rosemary was still up on ramps and with a wheel off. Thankfully, this was just to show what they’d done. It turns out they’d also fixed the squeak and bang. Rosemary had essentially had a day at the spa and came out feeling better than ever. The kindness of Kosovans had really shone through.
And we were in time to make it Albania. The drive was even better than in Kosovo. Huge mountains leered above the road as we swooned through the east of the country to Kükes.
It’s not where we planned to be, but tomorrow was going to be a short day anyway. We’re only about three hours behind, which is astounding considering what we initially feared.
Songs of the day
Jim: One Perfect Sunrise by Orbital
Jase: Bombtrack by RATM
Craig: Filthy Gorgeous by Scissor Sisters
Ian: Theme from Van der Valk
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