Northern Albania is known for its Alps and lakes and southern Albania for its beaches.

However, we decided to still visit a few beaches here near Shkodër. We knew they would be pretty average. We drove to Velipojë and walked down to the beach. The sand was grey and coarse and was flooded with the obligatory umbrellas and lounge beds. It was disappointing but what we expected.

On another day we decided to explore the Patok Lagoon which is further down the coast from Velipojë. It was pretty and there was a small strip of land which was like a bridge out into the lagoon. The lagoon was created during the Holocene period and over time it formed four lagoons, separated by littoral cordons.

We chose not to stop here for lunch and instead drove inland to Mrizi i Zanave Restorant Agroturizëm but it was booked out (it’s been over-promoted on FB and Instagram), and instead drove 5 minutes down the road to Restorant Oazi Fishte which looks out over The Big Lake nature preserve.

We had a wonderful lunch. Grilled meat on the open-fire grill is king here in Albania and probably most of the Balkans. Many of the restaurants operate with a fixed starter which is usually a range of dishes. In this case, we had salad, baked potato with cheese, bread, pickled vegetables, small byreks, and cheese. Then you choose the type of meat by weight.

When we ordered we did not understand this was how it worked even after questioning the waiter who was wonderful. We thought we were ordering a salad and grilled meat but we received the whole spread. Thank goodness it is common here to take home a doggy bag as there was no way we could eat it all.