Hotel Arber Tirana

Hallo zusammen,

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.

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 ...

My last hours in Ohrid were awesome. I met some really nice people at the hostel and enjoyed hanging out. It turns out two of them were headed to Albania so we went together.

Remember the cashier in Beograd who went bananas when I tried to buy one? I took that lesson to heart and when I bought a banana in Skopje I watched very closely to see how the label machine works to weigh and get the price. Of course after just one observation I was ready to do ...

... can't understand me anyway, any more than I can understand him. This is just attitude vs. attitude. He doesn't need to know that I'm ready to haul ass at a moment's notice; maybe he is, too. Maybe I'll call Kissinger. It passes without any further incident and I walk the streets in on anger/adrenalin buzz. If there's one thing I hate worse than confrontation, it's people getting in my face. Casinos line the streets, typical in former Communist ...

... cas les slaves en ont peur);- un pays avec autant de jeunes sans emplio n'est-il pas porteur d'instabilite sociale? - quel est le sens de la presence de nombreux gardes de securite a tirana et de barages policiers encampagne? - le changement subit entre communisme controlant mais qui assure securite et stabilite d'une part et democratie quiaporte liberte mais chomage et insecurite pourrait-il deboucher sur un compromis favorable au peuple? -l ...

... through all 60 odd pages of my passport and without seeing an exit stamp for the last country I was in it started to arise her suspicion as to how the hell I had arrived in Albania. Having not just beamed down from the 'starship enterprise' I explained that I had just arrived on the ferry from Trieste in Italy and that because Italy and Ireland were both members of the European Union that travel between the two countries was effectively border-less and as a result a passport entry or ...

... out at anyone who passes by the graveyard. There seems to be a bit of an obsession with the selling of live turkeys. In each of the cities/towns I visited, people lined the streets with their turkeys for sale. I'm guessing that this is either for Christmas or New Years (since religion was outlawed during communism, there aren't many Christians or people of any religion in Albania, so New Years is more likely). Women and men are treated ...

... a day trip to the Skanderbeg Castle (Albania's National hero) in Kruje. I saw my sister Cindy and her husband Paul, who had driven over from Macedonia. Too bad she collapsed of heat exhaustion. It was 100 degrees and the electricity was out for at least 5 of the hottest hours of the ...

... in Tirana want lots of money- the medical system like education and politics in very corrupt. Trevor tells us later how many hospitals are now insisting everyone has a caesarean because they get more money for it. If they make a mistake (as seems to happen too often), they wont take responibility for it. To get the best treatment/get a bed for the night etc, you need to bribe people. In schools you can buy your high school diploma/degree, as you can with driving licenses (slightly ...

... sites in 5 minutes. Its all on the main square. I walked a bit around the outskirts. Did my washing trying to get the bugs out of my clothes. Unsuccessful effort! Had dinner round the corner of the hostel at like 10pm. I walked in and just went omg. I didnt know what to eat. So i asked for a Qofta. It has like this elongated meat balls in bread. Not bad. But there was a communication fault and i got to much of everything. They asked if i wanted cheese. I got these 2 massive ...

... soon followed that quickly turned serious in tone--the Serbian view of the events in Kosovo (that had left the monastery as a kinda island surrounded by hostile neighbors). Highly-informative...and...highly-biase d! Interesting though! It has been said that "History is told by the winners"--well--we were receiving the losers-version history lesson! Dinner soon followed...and oh-so-yummy it was! Served on a great wooden table...metal everything ...