Blogs from Albania, Europe - page 30

It's fair to say that Albania suffers from an image problem. Communist for so long and isolated because of its refusal to become part of Yugoslavia in 1948, plus the breaking up of relations with Russia and China, it suffered more than anyone when the old regime collapsed in 1991. The country's economy collapsed, the capital Tirana was swamped with migrants now free to travel there, and infrastructure was found totally wanting. Five years ago we would probably have shyed away from this poverty-stricken nation, but things have changed. Money has been invested from abroad and the capital city has been transformed. We arrived at 5am on Monday morning and were taken to our apartment by the sleepy owner who was late meeting us because of his very human mistake of overusing the snooze button on ... read more

I feel guilty to say this but when I lived in Tirana, in a way I felt a bit bored and understimulated. I didn't see alot of culture or arts in play. The city's residents seemed a bit conformist to me and the entertainment options seemed limited. Now, on this trip, I see a new Tirana. The residents are going through a transformation where there is more diversity, more demand for culture, arts, style, entertainment, etc. The city's visual appearance is changing to become more modern, bigger, and more prosperous. There is more activity everywhere. Today, I walking from the apartment and I saw the clear blue skies and the mountains behind the city. I just felt taken by the city and its march to a brighter future. But I still some signs of the rough ... read more

We left an empty, hot Tirana on Sunday morning and took the three hour drive down south to Vlore. The road passes through Durres which had become a parking lot of cars with foreign plates--Albanians home for the summer holidays--and teenagers on holiday walking to the beach. The road winds down along the coast, past some abandoned factories, empty railroad tracks, and a million roadside restaurants and gas stations. The roads follows the thin coastal strip between the mountains and the beach. Bledi and his friend Olsi were playing Albanian pop music the whole way down. It seemed a shame to me to see so much land not under cultivation when the world is experiencing a food crisis and the sun shines brightly on Albania. The entire route was lined with wedding processions, usually one guy ... read more

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

We got into Durres at about 7 am and joined the mob trying to push throught he one door to customs. Pushing did not help the situation at all, it was hot and sweaty and everyone was frustrated. I did feel like giving a lecture on appropriate ways to queue, as their system is all shove if some one gets in your way, floor them so as they are merely something to trample on. Marvelling at the begging children who could tell a foreigner at 50 paces we edged our way towards customs, where eventually a stressed sweaty bloke stamped my passport, right over my Ghana visa (despite there being every other sodding page in the passport totally empty), I was not impressed. It felt so much cooler outside in the hot air than inside with ... read more