Xixa Resort Durres

Kruja was a short day trip out of Tirana. <br><br>There is a well preserved fortress that has now been converted into a museum on Albania history of Skanderberg - a prominent Albania figure in 14th century who lead ...

... und von ein** B**gstadt aus den Ottomanen ein kleines Reich abgetrotzt. In 25 Schlachten mit den Ottomanen ging ** als Sieg** h**vor und sein Reich wurde **st 26 Jahre nach seinem Tod von den Ottomanen besiegt (in 1479). Die Alban** sehen sich als Rett** des Abendlandes, waren die Ottomanen doch zu ihr** sta**ksten Zeit in Schlachten mit Skand**b**g beschaeftigt statt die Truppen gen Wien zu schicken. <br><br>Albanien macht keinen sehr islamischen Eindruck, die ...

... literally playing soccer in the middle of the street, cars swerving and honking around him. We also enjoyed the many variations on motorbike/shopping cart hybrids, usually with at least one pillion passenger and an assortment of vegetables and household goods in the front trolley portion, swerving along the potholed roads. Tirana is also famous for it's recent attempts to modernise and beautify its Soviet-style apartment blocks. The current mayor of Tirana, a ...

... s bid with its closest alleys - first Yugoslavia (in 1948), then the USSR (1961) and finally China (1978). With isolation assured, its oh-so paranoid (and clearly insane) leader, Enver Hoxha, then embarked on a nationwide bunker-building spree, building 700,000 reinforced defensive bunkers to protect from attack from so-called 'hostile neighbours' (these indestructible bunkers still litter the countryside today). When Hoxha died in 1985 his (not so sane ...

... historically everyone was trying to get power over everyone else, as in most cultures, but Albanians perhaps use less subtle ways. There have been several prophecies over Kruje over the years, and some believe it to be the keyhole to the Western Balkans. Trev in particular believes that if Kruje becomes Christian, the rest of Albania and the Western Balkans will follow. Interestingly, Turkey is the only place Albanians can go without a visa ...

... three hours. I was hoping to go down to Durrësi on the coast as well, but I decided against it by the time I got back to the furgon rank. Getting there would require a change of furgons down the road a ways and on top of that I would have to wait for the damned minibuses to fill up - something that takes longer and longer to happen as the day progresses. Instead I just hopped one bound for Tirana again and then had another walk around before ...

... Empire under Simeon the Great captured the city, together with most of what is today Albania, in the early 10th century, but the Byzantines reconquered it around the middle of the century, when Bulgaria was under Peter I. The very end of the century saw another period of Bulgarian control, when under Samuil the empire conquered the city and held it until 1018 ...

It seemed to take a life time for the chaining Serbs and Bosnians to be processed in front of us. I was so excited that I had walked across the border and I wanted my reward - another stamp in the passport! We handed over 10 euros each (free if you stay only 1 day!) and walked away. The closest town was Pogradec, 6km away. Some clown offered us a taxi for 10 euros but we just laughed at him. We found a cheapie a little further down the road. There were loads of these ...

... the site believe they have only unearthed 12 per cent of the treasures lying beneath the soil, entangled in the roots of the forest or under water. ..The Albanians call themselves Schipotar and their country Schiperia, from the word Schipon, meaning 'Eagle'. The eagle is the symbol on their flag, which was taken from the national hero Scanderbeg, an Austrian who held several Albanian towns from the Turks in the 14th Century and hence 'saved' Christian Europe ...

... Albanian roads are that bad...... - Do not ever expect an orderly queue in Albania - it really is a free for all - Albanian rap video clips appear to be all their friends swaying on stage whilst being filmed on a handycam. Favourite thing about Albania: - Black market money changers - guys that hang around with huge brick sized wads of cash and change Albanian leke (Albanian money apparently can not be changed anywhere but in Albania) - The evening promenade in Durres