Blogs from North, Albania, Europe - page 2

The trip to Albania was slightly less straight forward than it was supposed to be thanks to the demise of Adria airlines. Instead of a direct flight from Ljubljana to Podgorica, Montenegro we first flew from Ljubljana airport (which was about a half hour drive from our hotel in Bled) to Belgrade in Serbia. After an approximately 3 hour long layover in the rather uninspiring Belgrade airport we caught the next flight to Podgorica. Podgorica airport must be one of the easiest airports for passengers; we hopped off the plane, queued for immigration as we entered the terminal building, clear immigration and headed to the baggage carousel which was about 10 meters away. After picking up our hire car for the next 3 weeks (a white VW golf), we set off for Shkodër in Albania. Along ... read more

Any preconceptions we had of Tirana – grey, totalitarian, unfriendly - are blown away within minutes of arrival. Everyone is friendly, greeting us with a smile. The old buildings may have been grey once but they are now painted in primary colours. The once-grey central square is in the process of being “greened” with mature trees. The World Cup has just started so the main square is the Fan Zone with a giant screen, fairground rides and food and drink stalls. This is not the Albania we had imagined. A walk around the capital city takes in mosques, the cathedral, bridges, public buildings, museums, cafes and parks. Some are old, usually renovated, and some are new, all glass and concrete. Everything seems to have happened in the last 20 years. The 20 years since communism lost ... read more

For me, Albania is a country of intrigue. A rare majority-Muslim country on European soil and with a language that looks a bit like Turkish - and a language where I can literally recognise nothing - its culture alone promised to make it very different from anything else I had seen in Europe to date. Which is why Albania was the country I was most interested and excited about visiting on this particular leg of my journey. It isn't really on the tourist radar either - I don't think I have ever had a friend or colleague come back from vacation telling me about their amazing holiday in Albania. Rolling into Shkoder exhausted from the all-night party I pulled the night before back in Montenegro and with the Austrians Frido and Simon that I had met ... read more

Woensdag 1/06/16 – Shkodër MH blijft geparkeerd. Dagexcursie met toerbus naar het meer van Komani. Langs de Drinit, de belangrijkste rivier van Albanë, op een bergweg met nauwelijks iets wat op een wegbedekking lijkt, kronkelden we 2.30u tot aan een afdamming in Koman. Daar stopt de weg, en wachtte ons een bootje waar stoelen in de middengang werden bijgezet om ons allemaal van een zitplaatst te voorzien, tot de volgende afdamming in Fierze. Deze strook noemt men Lake Komani. Ik schat zo een 40km kronkelend meer tussen hoge rotsen in een berggebied dat op Noorse fjorden lijkt. Op het einde in Fierze wachtte ons een middaglunch met typische streekproducten. Raki en Turkse koffie inkluis. Familiebedrijf van bootexcursie en restauratie. Primitief maar uiterst vriendelijk. Zelfde weg terug. Kon ook niet anders. Spijtig viel het weer wat tegen, ... read more

Shkodra is a city and municipality in northwestern Albania and the seat of the county with the same name. It is one of the oldest and most historic places in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Its importance is heightened by the Lake of Skadar to the west of the city, the largest in the Western Balkans, that straddles Albania and neighbouring Montenegro. As I already mentioned in my previous entry, I spent some time in city centre trying to figure out their traffic rules. I gave up eventually and walked to find a hostel for few nights. Hostel was located near city centre (20 minutes walk) which made it great place to stay. There were only 3 other people staying there when I arrived and because the weather was not good ... read more