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Published: September 20th 2022
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Many of you will be aware of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books, written by Douglas Adams. In that book the entry for Earth was simply "Mostly harmless".
Fewer of you, though, will be aware that the title idea for that work of fiction derived from a travel book from 1971 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe, a book which Paul used for hitching in Europe in his university years (and which we still have on the bookshelf in the study).
In the chapter "Communist Countries" - a sign of the times back then - the entire entry for Albania reads simply "Forget it."
Things have changed now, especially since the end of communist dictator Enver Hoxha's leadership in the early 1990s, and Albania is regarded as a current up and coming travel hot spot. Even EasyJet has flights to its capital, Tirana.
We are here for just short of three weeks. The middle 11 days or so are on an organised travel company tour that starts and ends (nearly) in Tirana and does a large loop through the southern 2/3rds of the country. We have bookended that tour with a couple more days in Tirana
at the end, but particularly with 5 days in the north as a start.
Flight in to Tirana from Gatwick (the only choice available) was punctual - in fact early - and we found ourselves having to kill 45 minutes at the airport while waiting for our hire car to be readied.
Nice, sunny weather. Slight autumnal nip on the air in the shade but still shorts and t-shirt weather.
Collected car - a reliable, sturdy Dachia Duster, the third time we've had such a model - and took the brief, 90 minutes drive north to Shkoder, Albania's 4th largest town, nestled between the Albanian Alps to the east and north and a large lake to its west.
Roads up were fine but some of the driving, especially the overtaking in the face of oncoming traffic, is particularly manic. Apparently Albania is renowned for it. There are lots of flower memorials attached alongside the roads. Clearly some people don't make it successfully. But we made it to Shkoder safely.
Entry road into town wasn't too promising, with run down shops, rough small industrial units, potholed road and pavement. But that turned out to be mostly
the outskirts of town, and central is more charming.
We're not talking central or northern Europe quaint / pretty but the hotel is centrally located and surrounded by pedestrian areas lined with bars and cafes, so walking nearby, and eating outdoors has been pleasant in the sunshine. And it is one of those places that wakes up in the evening with people promenading along the streets.
Not much, in the accepted sense, in the way of "tourist attractions", but on the southern edge of town, on a 130 metre high buff with a commanding view across the flood plains to the mountains beyond, sits Rozafa Castle. Some of the site dates back to the 4th C, and the walls extend for over a kilometre. A huge complex of fortifications, rooms, turrets, garrisons and courtyards, in its day, when complete, it must have looked quite imposing on the skyline.
Originally part of the Illyrian empire, it also had periods under Roman, Venetian and Ottoman rule. The on site museum (extra charge) contained site artifacts from all its occupied periods including large slabs of Roman mosaic.
The views down to surrounding rivers and flood plains were impressive.
Eight miles total walked out and back from our hotel filled the day nicely.
Some observations
Dogs - everywhere, just roaming (though mostly actually sleeping) free. Some though have ear tags so not sure what controls are in place
Bicycles - everywhere. OK, we're not talking Beijing numbers, but they are a pain nevertheless. There appears to be no cycle ways as such, and they treat pedestrian areas as if they own them.
Pomegranate trees - in abundance
Lots of "locals" fresh produce stalls on the pavements
Smoking - urgh, not banned in restaurants, and quite extensive!
Coffee and cake culture - perhaps a hang-over from 500 years under Ottoman rule.
Car washes - no excuse for having an unwashed car here - unlike the one we were given to hire. Hand car washes every hundred metres or so along the arterial roads.
Freshwater fish - at road side stalls, for eating. Carp, perch..... good, large sizes but regrettably sold "live" from tanks barely bigger than their body length.
There is also something of a Mother Teresa cult in the country. Although actually born in Skopje, in present day North Macedonia, both her parents were ethnic Albanian so
she is regarded as one of their own. The international airport is named after her.
Tomorrow we go up into the Albanian Alps via a twisty mountain road which was only fully tarmaced all the way up as little as just over a year ago.
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