Blogs from Albania, Europe - page 24

Berat is thought to be one of the oldest towns in Albania and is overlooked by the Kala (or castle to you and me). I spent most of the day exploring Berat and started off with the castle, which was mostly built in the 13th Century, but with origins going back to the 4th Century BC. A very beautiful place with great views of the surrounding area, as I was walking up the hill to get to it I heard the crump of artillery shells in the background, which is always an intersting backdrop to any walk:-) There must be a firing range in the area unless there was another Balkan war taking place:-) Most of the castle inside the walls is in ruins, although there is a nice church which is worth a visit. The ... read more

I was joined by my chums from Skopje on the bus to Tirana but their hostel was full so ended up in the Albania Hostel, which was a most agreeable place. On the taxi ride to the hostel the driver advised that you don't have to wear seat belts in taxis only in Private cars, I did ponder explaining the merits of wearing seat belts (especially in Albania, as the drivers are crazy) but decided against it and resumed the conversation about Manchester United:-). The hostel had a bar and a puppy, what more could you want:-) The next day I had a walk round the centre of Tirana but like Skopje, it was also a building site, I think there has been an influx of money into the Balkans countries and they seem to be ... read more

On our travels our intension was always to go through Albania. Several years ago when it was communist country, it was one of the most isolated Iron curtain countries, there was no way you would be allowed in, you would have been shot! On researching our journey through Albania, we started to worry about the state of the roads,(we need to take care of Bongo, there’s a few thousand miles to go!) and possible documentation worries. So we had planned to drive back to Dubrovnik, take the ferry back to Italy then another to Greece, by-passing Albania. However, we never like going back where we have just been and the thought of 24hours on ferries was not appealing. Fingers crossed, we chose the border crossing that leads from Montenegro’s Capital Podgorica to Shkoder in Albania. We ... read more

Tirana, Albania’s capital, is a loud, dusty city. After a 16-hour overnight bus trip from Athens we contemplated exploring this city until we stepped foot off the bus and were immediately hustled by a number of Albanians. We hadn’t even picked up our luggage off the bus or decided whether we were going to stay or head towards the Montenegrin border further north before one guy was already on his mobile calling his mate to tell me in English over the phone that the cab fare to the train station would cost 5 euro. His insistence and unwillingness of the others around us to answer our questions made me want to get the hell out of there - fast. I thought Istanbul’s unscrupulous merchants were dodgy, but Albanians take hustling to a whole new level which ... read more

So, what the hell am I doing in Albania? Well, it’s because of Eng. I first met her in Ecuador in October of 2009. We travelled south eating everything from giant roasted pigs in the markets to guinea pig together. She met me for my 8 hour layover in Heathrow on the way to Africa and we knew we had to travel together again. She planned for a month off work and had her heart set on Eastern Europe – and she thought Albania sounded cool. I’m game for just about anything so off set a celiac and an Asian girl from London for an Albanian adventure. Tirana - the capital city We landed in time to catch the once-an-hour local bus to the capital Tirana. Our bus was a rocking pink number with a dark ... read more