Hotel Brilant Antik Tirana

... von Envar Hodscha jedenfalls ist heute eine Disco, Envar Hodscha, d** Albanien 40 Jahre lang regi**t hat, ist heute in einem namenlosen Grab auf einem gewoehnlichen Friedhof begraben. Seine Statue ist ebenfalls z**truemm**t, auf dem Zentralplatz steht nur noch die Statue von Skand**beg, dem nationalen Helden.

Albanien geho**te auch zum ottomanischen Reich, ab** ein Alban**, d** von den Ottomanen in Byzanz ausgebildet wurde, hat einen Aufstand ausg ...

... on my own and tried in Ohrid. I figured out the banana code and put it in the machine that was all cyrillic by the way. I couldn't figure out which key was enter so chose the green one on the bottom right hand corner. Big mistake. The machine started spitting out all sorts of labels and the stock clerk came running over.

I just casually stepped aside and gave her one of those "who, me?" looks. She couldn't reset the machine and had to unplug it 5 ...

... Washington didn't win the war; Las Vegas did. The petrol stations are named 'Castrati'. I like that. Back in my room it's mostly EmpTV in the local dialects with France's TV5 alone among the multi-nationals, so I brush up on my French. At least I've got wi-fi in my room. With only $2 in local currency to buy food, I don't have much of that. No matter, I'll get more across the border, in Macedonia on the way to Sofia, Bulgaria. See you there.

... des usa dans la region est-il un bienfait sans menace? -l'union europeenneest-elle vraiment la solution a tous les problemes?` ah oui, j'allais oublier: le qui-pro-quo: depuis mon arrivee ici, je demande au proprio de l'hotel de me dire ou je pourrais acheter de la musique classique traditionnelle albanaise...i il en a deduit que j'etais un compositeur et il a arrange un souper ce soir avec un fameux musicien albanais et moi... a suivre.

... stamp would never be issued. It was evident from the expression on the girl's face that my explanation had brought nothing but confusion to the proceedings. As she flicked through the pages of my passport a second time she was able to deduce that not only had I no proof that I was in Italy but I was also missing a visa for Albania. Explaining that Irish citizens didn't need a visa for Albania resulted in a call having to be made to the capital, Tirana. The poor girl, I was really ...

... differently in Albania. The going out culture is entirely male focused. After dark, you barely even see women walking in the streets. In Tirana it's acceptable for women to be out after dark if they are accompanied by a man, but no where else. Cafes, bars, and clubs are men-only establishments. But in that regard there also isn't much of a drinking culture. You never see people drunk in the streets. An Albanian is much more likely to go ...

... in Tirana. Ejonta and I did an overnight trip to Durres, where we stayed at her brother's apartment steps from the Adriatic Sea. Too bad the one day we were there the winds picked up and blew sand everywhere. By the end of the day, we were the only crazy people still on the beach!

... and of course if you have enough money you can buy yourself a medicine degree and congratulations, you're a doctor. The kids proudly showed us their photos, as Albanians always do when you visit them. They're so sweet! And the grandmother too- every morning and evening she shuffles up to us, gives us a gummy grin, and mumbles in Albanian- apparently something along the lines of 'You have beautiful eyes', 'May you live long' and 'I hope you live as long as me'. Bless her, we don't ...

... of albanian cheese which cut and tasted like rubber. I was the only one there and they were so interested. The lady Magrita sat down with me and made some attempt to talk to me. She has kids in Melbourne. They all ask do you speak Itallianoish. I dont know if they just mean italian or what. They almost all speak italian as well. I pulled my camera out to take a photo of the food (see pic) and her and her husband Van Jelly (thats how you said it) got excited. They were ...

... metal plates, serving plates, and utensils... A variety of hearty items were on the menu--a rice dish, a potato dish, crusty bread and this unusual-but-tasty-red-paste to spread on it... Olives. An assortment of fruit...wine...water...maybe some other stuff too? A great feast it was! And...during the feast...the history lesson continued! Balkan History...History of the Church...of Schisms...of Gregorian and Jurian Calendars (hence the ...