Chateau Linza Hotel Tirana

... army to various victories against the Turkish empire. <br>On the road from the bus station (stop) there is a street of wooden shops (that ironically looks very turkish and was selling predominantly turkish goods!).

... planks of wood laid on the floor of the bridge were raising up under the strain of the trailer as it went in front of us and we were surrounded by motor bikes on either side (and it was a single land bridge!!).<br>Despite being pulled over for speeding (and our driver wasn't wearing a seatbelt!!) - we were dropped off in the centre of Tirana on a hot and dusty evening to find our own way to our respective accomadations. <br>I ...

... pazh of decrepit mines and local agriculture. A whole neighborhood of Athens close to the Larissa train station is devoted to inter-Balkan transportation, especially buses to Albania. I was a little apprehensive when they seemed hesitant to sell me a ticket, but there was no problem, just not many backpackers to Albania! The ride from Athens to Tirana passes by through the night, only snatches of the Greek coastline visible by moonlight. The ...

... are foreign, you must go first, Albanian hospitality" I laughed, "Cheers mate. If you did this in England your bladder would burst, you'd never get back in line" (The Montenegrins brought me beer..you're just letting me **** before you, they're winning) ****, I only had a few hours left in Tirana and I hadn't managed to find a single glass of the local tipple. This was insane. Many countries I've been to sideline their own brands in ...

... of Albania or mayor of Tirana, I'm not sure which, when there was no money in the country and everybody was struggling. He was an artist and to keep the people from depression and to bring a bit of joy and light into their lives he commissioned the painting of all the grey and ugly tower blocks into these patchworks of vibrant colours and designs. They are seriously eye catching, and a piece of genius thinking. The last area of interest is the Ish-Blloku (the block) where prior ...

... cram ourselves, our bikes and our gear all into his rented Kia hatchback. On top of the pass, Andrea dropped us off to enjoy the downhill and we soon left behind the hot and humid coastline and entered the dark pine forest hidden behind the coastal mountains. We met up with Andrea again in a few kilometres at a roadside restaurant for a promised chat and a glass of wine. Andrea orgainizes tours for adventurous souls, looking for an escape from the mundane ...

... a Montenegrin travel agency how far it was to Albania. In return he asked me whether I was Albanian...no...then why do you want to go to Albania? Similarly, the people we were staying with in Montenegro were worried about our safety traveling over the border. With the highly publicised problems in Kosovo and negative media commentary on Albanian organised crime and illegal immigration its easy to understand why the country is not the highest on most peoples wish list ...

... back alley streets were like in Albania. Pretty run down and dirty with people using part of the street as a bathroom. After all that, I ran back to Tammy. I realized then that my workouts at the gym have paid off fo r the trip, though perspiring from the heat and sprinting, I felt pretty good. From there Tammy and I spent a half hour trying to figure out how to get to Saranda, a coastline town in Albania that we could catch a ferry ...

... some interesting panoramas on the way up. Bunkers set up in strong points, farms, villages and a factory possibly two kilometers long that had an orange dust rising from its centre. Somewhere between Elbasan and Tirana, we drove twenty kilometers along a mountain crest. Amazing views out both sides of the van and and the hills were green and yellow from the fall leaves. At the top of this crest, we could see more than five other mountains ...

... had a drink at the bar, kept walking (taxi driver still hanging around following us). When we got out of the bar...he came up and said 15 Euros so we put our bags in the taxi and drove all of 200m to the Montenegrin border post. There we had our passports stamped again and Cindy had to get her bag searched by a border policeman while another six checked us over from their lazy hanging spot outside the office. On to Podegerica - in the taxi.