Hotel Victoria 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!).

After saying goodbye to Sasa, who dropped me at a good spot for continue my hh trip, i expected to arrive in Greece this day. Althought i heard hh in Albania shall be hard, 3 cars have stopped after 5 minutes. The first and the second were asking for money, as it seems to be common to be a private taxi. The third car, which were 3 workers, agreed taking me for free, after trying to get money for it... They did not speak any english or italian, so ...

... I had both handy in my pocket (not in the same one as the Serbian dinars from earlier- I try not to make the same mistake twice, not when there are new and exciting mistakes to make). The Albanian guard pulled himself aboard, for a man who had obviously lived most of his life under a demented communist dictator he wasn't exactly underfed. Naturally the Albanians passports were collected without a second glance and at first he took mine ...

... compris qu'il n'y allait pas et j'ai demande ou il fallait le prendre; il m'a fait signe de montewr... c'est ainsi qau'un albanais me disait:" quand tout le monde dit non, les albanais disent oui..." voila c'est tout pour ce soir... j'ai bien peur de trouver la fin de semaine longue... je serais pret a partir avant mardi, mais mon billet dit mardi, alors je vais m'occuper... je vous en reparlerai...

... and saying "Tony Montana" and me duly responding with the same finger motion and "say hello to my little friend". They were suitably impressed with themselves, holding court with a foreigner from a strange land. It was not long before the repetition of the same phrase was starting to bore them and the scene went quiet for a little while. With their eyes fixed on me I couldn't help but wonder what they might have been thinking, what must they have been making of me? The silence was then ...

I remember my first day in Albania, I asked a fellow traveler whether Albania has been safe. She said offhandedly "they are too busy helping you to rob you." In retrospect, this statement can not be more true. The people do not speak much English, the country does not have many jeweled attractions; people are pretty poor, but they are rich in ...

... into the calculator. "That's a difference of . . . six thousand four hundred and fifty-four lek. That's . . . eighty dollars!" "Are you sure?" "Yes." "Right, let's go kick his ****." We march back out into the quiet streets of Tirana clutching our little receipt and ready for a fight. The exchange guy is entitled to a commission, that's how these places work, but eighty bucks on a three hundred and twenty dollar transaction? No way. Between our hotel and the ...

... in Oz/NZ and have been here for the last 9 years. Another kiwi, Debbie was there, who is in Albania til Christmas, and a younger Albanian couple Bertie and Ema who have just taken over the running of the church in Kruje. We sat around a table, and they explained what felt like 'the rules', making sure we knew that if we left a bad impression it would be them who had to clean it up... but no mention of us leaving a good ...

A short day trip out from Tirana (in theory - not so short if it takes you an hour and a half to find the 'bus station'), Kruja is a nice little town if nothing special. The main reason to visit is supposedly the castle, though after Berat it failed to impress. The other reason is the shopping. The main road leading to the castle is ...

... and churches dot the landscape...piles of rubble all around... --The remains of churches are enclosed in barbed-wire with severe signs posted warning of the authorized use of deadly force to address trespassing... --Cemetaries bear a "new housing development" feel--so many shiny-new tombstones and monuments...no old trees or landscaping to provide beauty and color...just dirt and walls... Yes, the impact of war is apparent... And...the hatred of Serbs for ...