Nirvana Hotel Tirana

Hallo zusammen,

von B**at ging es wied** zurueck in die Hauptstadt (**neut 45in Wartezeit und etwas ueb** 2h Fahrt, wenigstens sind die Strassen in Albanien recht gut). Hatte dann nur ein paar Stunden Tageslicht, ab** das reicht aus, um Tirana zu sehen.

Das Nationalmuseum ist ganz nett und etwas groes** als das Museum des Kosovo. Die Geschichte Albaniens ho**t mit 1945 auf, man schein noch nicht b**eit zu sein die kommunistische A**a zu bew**ten. Das ...

... was in turmoil most of the time, so much so that just a few years back, the people had robbed all the military depots in their neighborhoods and took all the weapons. So today its people is very well armed (NRA must love it), and a lot of them got rich by selling what they had to their kinsmen in Kosovo when there was arm conflict there.

I arrived at the capital, Tirana, in the afternoon and immediately knew that I would leave the next day. The city is ugly and has nothing to offer ...

... s where a lot of their revenue comes from. I tried to sleep through it but found myself being prodded by a group of Albanians about my age. "Hey man, come off bus". Conceding that I wasn't going to get any peace from them unless I did, I got off and instantly had about twenty cigarette packets thrust in my direction- which is basically the universal Balkan language for "hello". After eventually convincing half the buses passengers that I ...

... Od granicy do najblizszego miasteczka w Albanii bylo 6km. Przez jakis czas szlismy z pewnym Belgiem, ktory byl bardzo podeksytowany faktem, ze przeszedl do "trzeciego swiata" i wlasciwie tylko dlatego znalazl sie w Albanii. Skrecil jednak do najblizszego pubu; mial wrocic jeszcze tego samego dnia do Ohrydu, by pochwalic sie znajomym, czego "dokonal"... Uszlismy juz spory kawal, gdy zatrzymal sie pierwszy samochod na pustej drodze i zawiozl nas do ...

... alleyway I concluded that it was time to admit my failings and seek the help of the most foreign looking person I could find, hoping for the best that it wasn't a local, but that if it did happen to be a local that they would be to speak English. My directional radar might have been on the blink but my ability to read people was spot on as the guy I stumped for was John, an American school teacher working in the city. Luckily for me John knew the whereabouts of the hostel and its route ...

... you know," he says, his eyes communicating just as much meaning as his words. Yes, thank you. "You should go to Bulgaria." I explain I've already been. He is at a loss for other arguments. I would be worried, of course, but I think a certain amount of ethnic pride goes into everything the people of south eastern Europe say. The Romanians spent two weeks warning me about the Bulgarians. The Greeks can't stand the Macedonians, and the Macedonians, not to generalize too much, look down ...

... leaps to attention when the parade of police officers begins outside. Once all the cars in the chasing pack have arrived and everyone has emptied out onto the footpath, there must be about a dozen cops milling around, including a young lady officer who speaks English. We explain our situation once more to her and she also nods seriously. The collective investigative skills of the Tirana police force determine that the Western Union office is in fact closed for ...

... buy my ticket to Montenegro for next week (managed to get rid of some of my lek rather than paying in Euros thanks to Lazza being intimidating and knowing the people in the travel agency!) and b) buy a new fridge. Funnily enough, the fridges currently in the team flat don't appreciate being kept inside in 40+ degree heat, with electricity going on and off throughout the day. Tonin chose one, and we followed the unusual ...

... the country to become as big a draw as anywhere else in the Balkans, should the information and budget accomodation network develop. Another thing that I enjoyed about the country was the people. They all seemed so warm and friendly, and genuinely pleased to see foreigners. About 2/3 of them were genuinely helpful people, and would go out of their way to help if they could. The other 1/3 were taxi drivers. They would also go well out of their way if at all possible. I like Albania :)

... myself (at least I win!) and awaiting the stories of the rest of the team. That is except for a trip to Tirana to get some lotion to ease this infuriating itching! I can't really remember much except for pill box bunkers, more abandoned cars (mercs!) and the fact that there are no brand names anywhere!