Blogs from Tirana, West, Albania, Europe - page 7

Happy 4th of July. I am writing this now for the 2nd time because the internet connection just lost my blog entry. So here we go, I will try to recreate. I am now in Tirana, Albania and wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday. This has been quite an adventure so far and we are having a fabulous time. Here is a short and quick overview of what we have done so far. Plane from Stuttgart to Zagreb, Croaita. Few hours to see the sights and eat a large plate of meat. Watched Spain win their seat in the final match of the Euro Cup against Germany. Overnight train from Zagreb to Split. Saw the sights in Split, ate half a watermelon from the market. Beautiful palace on the water. Gorgeous beaches out of town. ... read more

Venice was the "Vacation of our Vacation." Here we met up with our friends, Pete and Fallon, who were honeymooning in Italy. In Venice, we enjoyed the pre-Lent festival of Carnevale. We spent the time strolling the streets, shopping for masks, admiring the amazing costumes, and eating fantastic Venetian seafood. The festival ended with a huge reggee concert in St. Mark's Sq. (Kirstin felt like she was back at the Bob Marley festival in Ethiopia!) Saying goodbye to Fallon and Pete and Venice, we took the train back to Ljubljana, where we continued on to Zagreb, Croatia. After having a blast in Venice, being tired from Carnevale, experiencing the "don't care attitude" of the people (aka "The Croatian Shrug"), the too high prices, and the lack of unique attractions...unfortunately, we were rather unimpressed and disappointed in ... read more

Last night was horrible and the journey took about four hours longer than it should have done, fourteen hours in total. We drove through the outskirts of Tirana around sunrise which was breathtaking. Tirana is surrounded by mountains in every direction so the scenery is beautiful despite the houses being rather primitive. The bus dropped us near the national opera house which is in a square that is surprisingly picturesque. To find Hotel Endri we had a simple map and address. We found the street without difficulty however we could not see the number or a sign. We asked someone who gesticulated that we needed to be around the other side of the building we were in front of. The other side gave no more of an indication and even when we were standing outside of ... read more

Tour, what tour? Well this little previous communist country was probably one of the most amusing visits of the lot. After a very long day of driving to Albania, should only take a couple of hours but because of how dodgy the roads are it takes us all day. It’s a completely different world. So when we finally get into the Capital Tirana and meet up with a lady who is going to give us a bit of a tour around town I think, well here we go this will make it worth it. It turns out we drive down one street where she says this building this and that buildings that, go around a around about, shows us the equivalent to McDonalds, we turn right at the next set of traffic lights and she says, ... read more

Allo All (thats what hello is in Albanian - easy, but confusing cause how can you tell if someone is speaking English or not?). I'm impressed at how well I'm doing at staying at top of these things. In fact I'm feeling very organised right now as I've pretty much booked all accommodation, necessary transport and dealt with money stuff right through to July. When I last wrote I was heading over the border into Albania after leaving Ulcinj. We entered Albania and headed towards Shkodra which is right on the border. Driving into Shkodra I couldn't believe the contrast between the amazing scenery and the piles of garbage on the side of the road. But despite the obvious poverty the place was amazingly beautiful and I think I fell in love with Albania right then. ... read more