Adriatik Tirana

Kruja was a short day trip out of Tirana. <br><br>There is a well preserved fortress that has now been converted into a museum on Albania history of Skanderberg - a prominent Albania figure in 14th century who lead ...

Hallo zusammen,<br><br>von B**at ging es wied** zurueck in die Hauptstadt (**neut 45in Wartezeit und etwas ueb** 2h Fahrt, wenigstens sind die Strassen in Albanien recht gut). Hatte dann nur ein paar Stunden Tageslicht, ab** das reicht aus, um Tirana zu sehen.<br><br>Das Nationalmuseum ist ganz nett und etwas groes** als das Museum des Kosovo. Die Geschichte Albaniens ho**t mit 1945 auf, man schein noch nicht b**eit zu sein die kommunistische A**a zu bew**ten. Das ...

... We got to the border and they did the usual thing of collecting the passports from everyone. I weas told by some people that you had to pay 10 Euro some people said 1 but actually I didnt have to pay anything, I also got a stamp in my passport which I was not to happy about because I am trying to save as many pages as possible for my next trip. As soon as we crossed the border you could see these ...

... I saw a car hit a bus and all the Albanians on the bus got out, looking shocked that an accident had taken place- I was more shocked that it was the only one I'd seen all day.) I headed back up Bul Zogu street to the Oslo bar, which I'd spotted earlier. Unfortunately they didn't sell any Albanian beer. I then tried the Wien bar- no luck there either. Both possessed the same variety of German and Austrian brands. That was pretty irritating ...

... to survive not only this period but it also escaped destruction during World War II. It took almost 28yrs to build and its survival is a testament to all things righteous and true, with the beautifully painted dome and the interesting art works that adorn the walls, its loss to the world would have been nothing short of a tragedy. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful mosques in Albania. The elegant minaret of the mosque is overshadowed slightly by the Kulla e Sahatit or ...

... chocolate - so it was a very healthy lunch today!!!! There is a lot of development happening here &amp; it zould be great to be able to come back in 5-10 years &amp; see just how far they have come: I'm sure it will be beautiful: Our hotel was really quaint; up on top of a hill with great views, a pool &amp; a ping pong table. Rod was thrilled!

So Macedonia was cool.. a place I never thought I would go... Ohrid is a beautiful town on the lake with Albanian mountains in the distance. We stayed at Antonios family guesthouse... if you ever find yourself here let me know I will give you the details! The first night in Ohrid I picked a little place to have dinner... no menu so the chef came out and asked what I wanted, Anything I replied (it's nice not having to decide of a ...

... CHEAP! After relaxing at the fancy restaurant and using their clean bathrooms to wash up, we headed back for the bus, but decided to stop in to check email in this little cafe we had passed on the way. The older woman who worked there inquired with her broken english as to where we were from, and yet again, was so nice and wonderful to us! She gave us free internet and seemed excited to just have foreigners there. Back to the bus, we boarded about half and ...

... but whats 20 minutes here or there? Got back to the house in Pascaqan, and discovered that even outside, at midnight, it was still as warm as the hottest day we've had in England over the last few weeks. The other people there had taken their matresses outside onto the balcony and were sleeping there, so I decided to join them. A sheet under the stars was more than enough, and I woke up ...

Albania, or Shqiperi as the natives call it, is a much maligned part of Europe. Everybody else seems to hate Albanians, especially Croatians, Serbs and macedonians. We have been asked why we would bother coming to such a poor country full of thieves and beggars. OK, so it is polluted, there are piles of rubbish in many areas, especially the countryside, loads of building work taking place, nobody speaks English, people really like to pick their nose ...