VIlla Tafaj 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!).

... and in the middle of dinner, the thunder storm that had followed us from Budva hit with a vengeance. People were running to get themselves off the street as the thunder roared and lightening started up basically on top of us, it seemed like. <br><br>Some of the Australians we were with were doing the trip in a tricked out camper van, so the girls ran and got the van and drove us back to the hostel (which turned out to be a bad idea, because their van got towed in ...

... us and Kosovar" Interesting, I'd always thought Albanians and Kosovar Albanians considered themselves as one single group, although I suppose it could just have been the way I phrased my question. "How did you travel to Kosovo? You fly?" one of the Albanians smiled. "No" I replied "I took a bus from Belgrade" (whoops..really shouldn't have said that) Another of the Albanians got a little agitated by this; "Why you go Belgrade ...

... naszych pieniedzy. Umawiasz sie z kierowca, ze tyle a tyle mozesz mu zaplacic za dany odcinek drogi, a potem okazuje sie, ze chce dwa razy wiecej. Banany kosztowaly w przeliczeniu niecale 1Euro/kg, a Marcin zaplacil tyle za 2... sztuki bananow. Na koncu jakas kobieta pomogla nam znalezc transport w strone granicy czarnogorskiej, do ktorej nic nie jezdzilo, po czym zazyczyla sobie 10 Euro zaplaty... Sam kraj jest przepiekny, zewszad otoczony gorami, ma ...

... quite a little money spinner for himself and his family. Although he enjoyed Tirana he was pretty sure that the relocation was a temporary measure and they would return to the U.S within another year or two, meanwhile they were enjoying the opportunity to experience some European culture. He took a keen interest in my reasons for being in Albania and also the route I had taken through Europe to get there. I was just about able to pass on some tips for his Summer holidays before we ...

... knowing we were in for quite an experience. We left Kotor, Montenegro behind and took a bus 2 hours north to the captial, where we hoped it would be easier to cross the border. From there, we checked with both the bus and train station one last time, each of which verified that there was no means of transportation to enter albania. Our only option was to do it by foot. We hired a taxi for $25 Euro , which drove us right up to border control and then let us off ...

... 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 ...

... hall) and they have anyone that can speak english there. The problem is, the timetables aren't ever right and you're better off chancing your luck anyway. Not only did I always reach my destination, it was usually done more efficiently than using public transport in the more developed countries of the region. A hell of a lot more efficiently than trying to do the same in England! And yet, I always had a great sense of achievement, just for the fact that I HAD got to where I ...

Tirana is a city of extreme contrasts. A donkey-drawn cart pulls up along side of a top-of-the-line Mercedes. A muslim cleric sings out the morning prayers as a spandex-clad woman enjoys her morning run. A cow looks up from grazing to notice a major traffic jam downtown.