Hotel Rinia Durres

... army to various victories against the Turkish empire.
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!).

... 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 ...

... and several of women in flowing peasant dresses or military uniforms brandishing rifles and automatic weapons. We eventually trudged back to the hostel desperate for a shower and a nap, to discover that the hostel was in the middle of one of what turned out to be many power and water outages. Right, no water.....we settled for the nap. Later in the evening (still no water) we at least had moderately cleaner clothes on and thanks to the miracles of deoderant ...

... a heads up. Without wanting to sound like Mr. Travel, I had few preconceptions about Albania before getting here; I've seen, firsthand, developing nations (mainly in South East Asia, Mongolia and India), the effects of years of Communism (China, Vietnam and, of course, Russia) and even parts of Eastern Europe itself (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland). So although I was keen to get here I certainly didn't come here wondering what it was going to be like ...

... of Shkodra. Shkodra is essentially a run down city, though it is the economical capital of northern Albania and the fourth biggest city in the country. It is near the great Lake Shkodra, the largest lake in the Balkans, shared on the border with Montenegro, which we saw during our cab ride. This old run down city is one of the oldest cities in the region, developed in the 3rd century BC. Reading the history of this city after the ...

... library, the cultural center with the Aleksander Moisiu theater, the Estrada Theater, the puppet theater, the philharmonic orchestra, etc. There are also several museums such as the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of History. An old military bunker close to the beach. The city's beaches are also a popular destination for many foreign and local tourists, with ...

... paivareissulla Sarandassa, etelaisessa satamakaupungissa. Mutta nyt vasta todella tajusin, miten tama maa makaa :P Albanialla on todella mielenkiintoinen historia - diktaattori Enver Hoxha piti Albaniaa vallassaan vuosikymmenia ja maa oli TAYSIN suljettu, kukaan ei paassyt sinne eika sielta ulos, ja valehteli kansalle, etta muut maat halusivat vallata Albanian, koska se on rikkaampi ja kauniimpi kuin ne muut, joten sen on oltava ...

... during a short shopping trip for our food. We spent more than 1000 lekke (oh yeah, only 10 bucks). It was delicious pasta with all fresh ingredients, with a dash of local wine that tasted unusually carbonated. It only cost two dollars for the bottle. After paying for my bread I tried my few words of Albanian. I've been trying to learn how to say "thank you" in the local tongue. It is spelled like 'ju falem ndrit.' It is impossible to ...

... summer on weekends to Durres. Lots more to say, but no time left. By the way, we are at a satelite internet cafe. Respond is very fast. Charge is about $2 per hour for time....I think reasonable. Talk to you all later. You are definitely in our thoughts and prayers. We have at this point complete one third of our journey...seems like so long since we have been home. Thanks for all your thought and support. Let us know how you are doing? Peace and all good, Sandy and Murray

... say, different. It felt more middle eastern that European and even some of the locals said they do not like being referred to as Eastern Europe - although they did not put forward any other options. Given the country has only been open since 1990 (before it was a largely closed communist country)it was strange - like parts were embracing the western world (telecommunications, internet etc) but the rest was stuck in a time warp (the 70s to be precise). Whilst incredibly cheap ...