Hotel Iliria 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 ...

... I have been wanting to see for a long time and for a long time the dictator Enver Hixha kept this small country closed off from the rest of the world. It is only recently that people have been able to start visiting this remote corner of the Adriatic. The road to and through Albania has been one of the most challenging of all my travels but the most rewarding. The plan was orginally to spend a few days here but my longer than planned stay at Lake Ohrid ...

I gazed out of the window as Pristina faded into the distance and the roads became increasingly dilapidated (****). Then it began. A bus of chattering Albanians was silenced as the onboard television descended (yanked down by a portly Albanian) and a dvd was forced inside. Within seconds the entire audience was fixated by what appeared to be a homemade compilation of Albanian music videos and the occasional comedy sketch- I think it was ...

... etre a la maison, surtout que vous me dites que4 les feuilles ont rougi; c'est mon temps prefere... ce matin je suis alle a la messe a la cathedrale et j'ai concelebre en anglais avec l'eveque auxiliaire qui vient de malte... j'aurais aime avoir une longue conversation avec lui mais je suppose qu'en ce dimanche il n'avait pas le temps... mais il m'a bien accueilli ...

... to feel sorry for her, I was pretty sure she was telling herself that it was just her luck that the foreigner would pick her counter. The call took quite awhile and a great deal of discussion but having satisfied themselves that I was indeed telling the truth, and safe in the knowledge that as far as they were able to identify I was no spy or international terrorist, she began to process my details through the computer. "Computer says no" is what id imagine she said in Albanian, as ...

... for a coffee than for a beer, even in Tirana. While the Albanians were generally nice to me, they also talked about me in front of me in a very obvious way more than any other place I visited. And this wasn't in the oh look, a foreigner sense, this was more in the point and laugh kind of sense. Obviously I don't know exactly what they were saying, but that was the feel I got from them. Albanians are also very pro-American. There were a ...

... of Albania. The fact that he turned down the offer always made me think that there must be something odd about the place. Initial signs, from the time we head across the border and into the Albanian countryside, are that the impression I gleaned from CB Fry might have some basis. The people look a bit peculiar, such as the guy on the bus who looks like Mel Gibson circa Lethal Weapon, massive mullet and all, crossed with Sylvester Stallone at the end of a Rocky ...

... 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 ...

Sent on our way with a military smile...we were met at the monastery door by someone straight out of a Monty Python "Holy Grail" Movie--midevil and dressed in a black flowing robe (black hat too)...long long beard of gray...we were to meet a number of these dudes in the next hours! These monks are Russian Orthodox--dedicated to a life of celibacy and service to the church. He welcomed us into their home and offered coffee and tea. A ...