Blogs from Sarandë, South, Albania, Europe
June 26th 2011
Now here’s five words I never expected to say – “We went to Albania today!” That’s right Enver Hoxha’s former ”stomping” grounds. A bus picked us up, brought us over the mountain to Corfu Town where we boarded and Ionian Ferry Line ship. An hour and a bit later we were on Albanian soil in the growing city of Saranda. We took a tour bus to the ancient ruins of Butrinti – by 400BC it was an established Greek settlement, and a couple hundred years later became refortified by the Romans – later Augustus would reframe it as a veterans colony – fast forward to the 900s and it was remodelled as part of the Byzantine empire. Lightly settled again by the Ottomans in 1600, then it was ceded to Napoleon by Venice and in 1799 ... read more
October 26th 2010
a highlight of the trip has been raki/rakia/rakija etc etc. it is a local brew sometimes also called lion's milk(add water and it becomes white). i especially appreciate it just after my excercise with breakfast. it has been offered mainly by the older, both male and female and they always tell me it is home brewed. very nice but i think with breakfast is a bit much. i also had brandy and a kahlua like drink with breakfast. maybe i'll continue the tradition once home?? something to ponder. so i left skopje for ohrid, macedonia. it is a great town on a large lake in southern macedonia. i got a room with a view, and raki of course, at a seasonally discounted price. always ask for lower. i had first just walked away from the price ... read more
July 24th 2010
Balam sie troche wjazdu do Albanii. Na szczescie mielismy wszystkie odpowiednie kwity dotyczace samochodu, lacznie z notarialnie poswiadczonym w Polsce upowaznieniem do jego prowadzenia. Wtedy jeszcze nie wiedzialam, dlaczego greccy celnicy tak nas dokladnie ogladaja, ale szybko wyjasnilo sie, ze dziwnym trafem zageszczenie dobrych samochodow w Albanii nie do konca odpowiada zamoznosci jego mieszkancow. Z granicy skierowalismy sie prosto do Gjirokaster - miasta, gdzie urodzil sie w 1908 roku przyszly albanski przywodca Enver Hohxa, co spowodowalo, ze mialo ono nastepnie status miasta-muzeum, dzis na liscie UNESCO i w duzej mierze uniknelo komunistycznego zniszczenia. Tam tez planowalismy szukac jakiegos transportu dla naszej towarzyszki, ktora musiala ewakuowac sie z Albanii za 2 dni. Stare Gjiorokaster lezy na wzgorzu i sklada sie z ottomanskich domow, waskich stromych uliczek,... read more
October 26th 2008
At dinner last night I was told by the waiter that i have to move back my watch tonight before going to bed, daylight sdavings time occurs on last weekend of october. So i have extra hour of sleep. Woke up had my quick breakfast and said my goodbyes to Cathy and Keith and off i went to the bus station. Found the bus for Saranda quite easily, the driver simply asked me Saranda? and I said yeah he took my backpack and put it under the carriage. Half an hour later we left. It stops every so often to towns even on the road to pick passengers up or unload them. It took us almost 6 1/2 hours to get to Saranda, fell asleep and when i woke up I saw this beautiful scenery of ... read more
Albania - Formerly Very Paranoid, Still Slightly Strange
Published: July 19th 2008Europe » Albania » South » Sarandë
June 28th 2008
For 2 decades we have sat on the island of Corfu and wondered about the little country of Albania, just a short ferry trip across the Adriatic. Now that it is finally allowing visitors, we decided to take the day trip and check it out. Before going, we read Tony Wheeler's account of it in his book entitiled "Bad Lands". What a strange little country it is! We were only able to visit the coastal resort town of Agio Saranda and the Roman ruins of Butrint. Our time in the city was very limited due to the hour long drive to Butrint. Agio Saranda has sprung up into a city from the little village that it was during the dictatorship of Hoxha. The construction got a little chaotic with developers claiming land and building hotels and ... read more
June 17th 2008
Our trip around Greece has finally come to an end. We managed to get to Corfu with some difficulty, having to go over to the mainland and then a 2hr boat ride from Igounomitsa. We arrived at Corfu town late, and our choice of where we were going to go on the island was pretty much made up for us as there was only one bus after 5pm and that was to Sidari. We did have vague notions of getting jobs here, but to be honest we had some real problems with our accommodation - they thought we wanted to stay 3 nights, we only wanted one (was an awful place!) and so effectively, we got chucked out. Decided therefore to go somewhere a bit quieter, and ended up at Cassiopi on the northern tip of ... read more
July 8th 2007
I really don't know where to begin, how can i already be at a loss for words??? I should probably just bring you up to speed and you might understand..... The bus journey to Corfu from Athens was an experience in itself.....after strict instructions from your Greek bus driver that their will be no eating on the bus if someone has a plastic bag with food it goes UNDER THE BUS NOW!! I was slightly scared but deffinately more hungry as i had just bought a sandwich for dinner that i planned on saving for the bus....my hunger took over my fear and i slowly sneeked in a bite here and there!!! relieved i took a nap....until the bus jolted to a stop....yup he sure just slammed on the the brakes when he saw a ... read more
June 6th 2005
Benjamin Franklin once said: "Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes". Well, I have another two certainty's to add to the list: Japanese tourists are everywhere, and cab drivers are scum bags worldwide. But rather than complain, I want to tell you the stories I heard for this enigmatic country. I have just spent three days (and two nights) visiting Albania. Whilst I was only there for a short time, I was satisfied in what I learnt, and absolutely fascinated. I stayed in Saranda, which is a port-city at the south of the country, near the Greek border. It is opposite the Greek island of Corfu. I stayed in an area called "exsamilia" which means 'six miles' - the six mile stretch of land under Saranda, which ends where Corfu starts. Deep ... read more
