The pleasant surprise that is Albania

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Our bus journey to Tirana from Struga, near Ohrid, was like many in Albania; longer than expected, hot and sweaty but with beautiful scenery to watch go by and my uncanny ability to sleep on warm moving vehicles, still a good journey.

We arrived in the evening in Tirana, which was a little overwhelming as we did not know what to expect from this recently communist country. There is no formal bus station, but rather the buses stop on the outskirts of the country depending from which direction they come from. We were determined to be 'proper' travelers and trek to the other side of town and search out the hostel we had decided on from our little Lonely Planet map. We eventually arrived at the Albania Backpackers Hostel, started 5 years ago and the first of its kind in Albania.

It was worth the trek as we were greeted by a lovely old house, with spare beds, clean toilets and a lovely outdoor kitchen in a conservatory with many fruit trees and vines.

After a quick shower we went out for a much needed meal to Era in the Boloku district and enjoyed some traditional Albania fare. Jhonny and Jen - two medics from the conference - had a veal and cheese dish, which was very rich but delicious. I went for lamb chops and salad. The prices in Albania are fairly reasonable; a bed in a hostel costs about 12 euros, a good meal about 6 and a beer about 1.

WE retired and set off fairly early to explore a little of Tirana till we headed off to Berat. We managed to see Tirana university and the statue of Mother Teresa - who is Albania, but born in Skopje Macedonia - and the national history museum. The latter was interesting, well the history of Albania is very interesting, but sadly all in Albanian.

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