Diplomat Fashion Tirana

... und von ein** B**gstadt aus den Ottomanen ein kleines Reich abgetrotzt. In 25 Schlachten mit den Ottomanen ging ** als Sieg** h**vor und sein Reich wurde **st 26 Jahre nach seinem Tod von den Ottomanen besiegt (in 1479). Die Alban** sehen sich als Rett** des Abendlandes, waren die Ottomanen doch zu ihr** sta**ksten Zeit in Schlachten mit Skand**b**g beschaeftigt statt die Truppen gen Wien zu schicken.

Albanien macht keinen sehr islamischen Eindruck, die ...

... Stempel in meinem Pass, entweder von der Ausreise aus Mazedonien oder von der Einreise in den Kosovo, ist so schwer zu entziffern.

Die Strasse auf der Albanischen Seite war erstaunlich gut, teilweise bereits ausgebaute vierspurige Autobahn, teilweise noch im Bau. Wo das Geld wohl herkommt? Ich nehme an, aus der Tuerkei.

Gruss
Ralf

... yet and all the houses are painted in postive yellow coulours. When we arrived into the city me and my Brazillian freind headed to Tirana backpackers which was straight forward and easy to find. Passing through the main street it was intersting to see Tirana and how modern it was but also how the communist era had effected it. When we got to the backpackers we meet an Aussie lass and headed out to grab ...

... at the desk where I could buy bus tickets. Her brother than approached me. "I am heading into town, I will show you the way." "Ahh, cheers mate" We started walking and he introduced himself as Denis before producing an electric cigarette- something I'd never seen before (they're new apparently). His father is apparently an immigrant in Birmingham ("But he does not have all papers, so is problem"). He seemed like a genuinely friendly ...

... boulevard, runs south of the square and houses most of the government buildings. You cant miss them due to the heavily armed guards menacingly eyeballing the passing public. Standing at the end of the boulevard is Tirana University with a statue of Mother Teresa with arms outstretched to give you a big hug. I was standing in the forecourt of the university and I didn't actually know that the statue was there at all until some inquisitive students came over for a chat and to enquire ...

... Alabania began as a well-graded, dual lane (with actual lane markings), wide shouldered masterpiece of federally funded Greek engineering. We made such good time that, although late in the day, we decided (or rather, Ainaz succumbed to my urgings) to push on and cross the border that evening. As we delved deeper into the Hellanic frontier, the shoulders turned to gravel. Then mud. The route twisted and turned with no sense of ultimate direction. Countless ...

... was amazing!!!! The mountains of Albania are stunning, the 115 km journey took a few hours but the switchbacks were intense and with the scenery it passed rather quickly! This city is very interesting.... There are American flags hanging all over.... People are super friendly.... Even though its a city there aren't many big buildings or lots of people so it is very comfortable.... Tomorrow another land border to Montenegro.

... past the 'scheduled' departure time and headed off. I've done plenty of overnight buses in my travels, but I must admit that this was definately one of the more uncomfortable rides I've taken, for several reasons. It was a full size bus, like a greyhound, though nothing on it worked. No a/c, the seats didn't go back, they were all torn up and dirty, the bus driver BLARED his rock music ALL night long, so that it was even at times louder than my ipod headphones ...

... roadside, propped next to new houses . . . the things are all over the place at some points. They come in a few different sizes, from the small, single-person bunkers arranged in rows (the most common) to the larger, more intimidating giant tortoise-shell ones that strategically loom over the area from higher ground. A few have been broken up or somehow flipped upside down, but a far greater number just sit and sulk, gradually collecting more garbage ...

... to stay we hurried to the stadium, ticketless, and with an Aussie bloke in tow. We met a line of police with shields and batons, and when they couldn't understand us they waved us through. Presumably we weren't the people they wanted to hit. The next cordeon wielded guns, and when we tried to ask for the ticket office they waved us up some stairs, and we were in for free! In the Turkish end.... Turkey are on a par with Germany when it comes to teams ...