Hotel Mondial Tirana

... 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!).

... it doesn't. We would just have to wait and see. By 12:30 in the morning I was wondering if this was one of those nights where it just doesn't feel like making it down that side street. As luck would have it, this piece of **** rolled in and we were on our way in a diesel exhaust filled bus. I am actually glad the bus was a little later because that meant getting unceremoniously dropped off at 6am in Tirana rather than 4:30am. <br><br>Nothing beats ...

... of a bustling town full of (male orientated) activity. I blinked again and I was in a gorge somewhere, mountains almost invisible against the night sky above me, the occasional light from houses below. The conductor came over to me and asked for my ticket and I reached into the pocket I was sure I'd put it in and instead produced a handful of Serbian notes. He stared down at his enemy's currency for a few moments before looking up at ...

... par hoxha a la gloire de sa revolution; l'histoire s'est retournee contre lui car c'est maintenant un musee souvenir aux mefaits de la revolution: on y parle bien de la resistence contre les italiens et les allemands mais je n'ai pas vu le nom de enver hoxha dans cette partie, seulement dans la partie ou on montre les instruments de torture employes contre ceux qui s'opposaient au regime et les murs montrant les noms des ...

... to love it here. Durres is the second largest city of Albania and is one of the most economically important. Due to its proximity to Italian port cities, most notably Bari, it is a vital link to Western Europe and for this reason Durres has become the commercial hub of the manufacturing industry, producing leather, plastic and tobacco products along with being Albania's communications centre. Although many Albanians spend their summer vacations on its beaches, Durres didn't hold any ...

... way to visit Albania, if you're in the Balkans and up for a bit of a challenge, it is a very interesting place. I'm very curious to see how they continue to change over the next 10-20 years as they work their way further and further away from their communist days (which ended in 1992). They are surrounded by countries far more developed than them, so hopefully they can get past their immense corruption and start to develop a bit more themselves.

... shells, as if they got them half ready in anticipation of a housing boom that never came, or came and went too quickly. The strange thing about the Albanian half-built houses is that they are all adorned with either a scarecrow or a teddy bear that has been impaled on a protruding metal rod or lynched by the neck to hang limply from the roof. This macabre cultural idiosyncrasy is apparently intended to bring good luck to the home. If and when it ever becomes ...

... there. They look a bit wary of us and hover by the side, so I thought the best way to involve them was for 3 of us to start throwing a ball in a circle. Gradually, the more confident kids come to join in, and with a little persuasion, we get about 15 kids playing. Once we've got their trust, we play some other Albanian games. When we're getting a bit tired (I'm sure they could go on for hours!) Clare tells them a story. Joel was a young boy who loved toy boats. He spent hours and hours ...

... things to him, insuniating Zelly was gay. Zelly clicked it. Grabbed the guy from around the neck. Was pretty funny. They enventually told me there was a bus back to Tirana up the road. Which i got. Once i got back i saw this skinny bonny dog looking for food. Maybe i was sad beacause i saw this kid chuck a rock at a dog and hit it the day before and laugh (i blew up at him). But if followed the dog through the streets of tirana for about an hour. Meanwhile looking for food ...

... date of Christmas--January 7--in some Eastern European Countries)... Finally...exhausted from travels (and from conversation)...we retired to bed! Our room was a dormitory for 10...with 3 beds made up just for us! And...the view? Wow! Right out upon the church itself--looking so peaceful and scenic under it's freshly-fallen coat of snow. Seemed something out of a fairy tale... Morning followed a vivid-dream-filled night...and a personal tour ...