Hotel Leonardo Durres

... 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!).

... kleiden sich sehr westlich, man sieht we***** Kopftuech** als in Deutschland. Und alle 100m gibt es ein Casino.<br><br>Morgen geht es dann weit** gen Norden, sollte morgen Montenegro **reichen. Liege ganz gut in d** Zeit, kann v**mutlich einige Staedte an d** Kueste besichtigen, Inshallah.<br><br>Gruss<br>Ralf <br><br>P.S.<br>Dachte d** Pauschaltourismus ist noch nicht hi** angekommen, ab** im Nationalmuseum lief doch glatt eine deutsche Reisegruppe h**um.<br>

... in Albania though...anything goes. When it came to the Greek side of the border my obvious non-Albanian look was of a distinct advantage because I was called forth first and with my European Union passport was through immigration with a wink and a smile while the Albanian contingent faced much greater scrutiny. As I stood waiting for everyone else I saw the most unusual sight. It began with a skinny sick looking dog sneakily making his way across from Albania into Greece. As I stood ...

... to my 'where I learnt to play solitaire' story). I was allowed leave the room a few times during the day, mainly for supplies and to look into onward travel options. Good to go This morning things were better, a lot better. But they still weren't good enough to head off to Macedonia, our next stop. Nope, although improvements in the patient's health had been made overnight, we balked, for one more day at least, at the notion of putting our worldly ...

... have a seat, which would have been ours for a few &euro;'s extra. But that's okay...... even I slept on the plastic benches we called home for the night, meaning Meg did too. Just not very well, of course. The ferry was a transport ferry (cars, trucks) so we doubt the accommodation would have been up to much anyway. · &euro;2 We had to give up our passports getting on the ferry and we collected them upon departure the following morning. But only on payment of ...

... we went into an Internet café, plugged in the laptop and for 3 euros, were online for almost 2 hours, trying to figure out how to get through Albania. I found a fancy Albanian railway website that looked like that would be our main method of travel through the country. But later on during my research, I started reading other travelers who went through Albania and found that this railway was just propaganda at best. All the ...

... and there's now a big, sleek shopping mall towering over the canalized river. The one thing that stands out though is how weirdly colorful it is. Apparently the current mayor decided to restore the remaining old buildings on Skenderbeg Square in 2000, then - evidently so happy with the results - thought he might as well have the whole city get a good lick of paint. Or several. What were once depressingly drab, grey apartment blocks are now a wild pastiche of colorful ...

... 1920. It experienced an economic boom due to Italian investments and developed into a major seaport under the rule of King Zog, with a modern harbour being constructed in 1927. An earthquake in 1926 damaged some of the city and the rebuilding that followed gave the city its more modern appearance. The Second World War saw Durrës (called Durazzo again in italian ...

... Albania was predominantly Muslim so I dressed conservatively. No short shorts or strappy top. But there was plenty of TPT (trailer park trash) around for competition had I have wanted it!!!! Obviously Albania has changed since the printing of our old book! Good to see society moving forward with the times. I still got the stares though, as we were the only westerners in town! Next day we were up early and over to the Amphitheatre. David had come to the conclusion ...

... in mouth except us in hand...no wine. 5. Mass over in about 45 minutes. 6. Beautiful statues and painting in the Church. I have told you that Sunday was the national election in Albania and we were to "lay low". Turns out that this election is for parliamentary members (I think they have 276 in parliament) and not so controversial. There are like 30 parties, but two primary, socialist (in power for 8 years) and democratic. The big buzz initially was that ...