Albania

Road into Albania

Nothing could have prepared me for the shock of entering Albania. Although I had been there previously on business I had no idea that outside of Tirana it was all a mess. If I thought the roads in Montenegro were bad compared to those in Croatia I had no comparison for the roads in Albania.

After crossing the border from Montenegro into Albania there was just a hint of a rocky road, many potholes, no road markings, a concrete overpass with no safety fence, garbage strewn by the side of the road, old fashioned gas stations… I became seriously concerned for our car, what if something broke if we were to run into an obstacle on the road? I immediately decided that if we make it to Tirana in one piece we would only stay there and then go back, we would not explore Albania any further. Marko wasn’t as concerned as I was, hinting that I may be exaggerating a little, but in the end he agreed that he would return to Albania again only in a rented car.

I know that visiting a country on a business trip is so much different than visiting it as a tourist. On business, you only get to see the shiny airport, the official taxi and the fancy hotel, all limited to the city. I assumed that based on what I saw in Tirana, the rest of the country would be at least close to being modern and developed. But what I saw was mostly crumbling buildings and people selling all sorts of stuff along the roads. Occasionally there were brand new buildings that sprang up in the middle of nowhere and there was lots of construction and renovation going on. So I guess Albania is a typical country in transition, with Tirana already nice and spruced up and the countryside only starting to pick up. Along the way to Tirana I saw countless furniture stores and car washes. Who knows why these are so abundant.

Tirana

We encountered several wedding parties, including one at the hotel where we were staying. I found out from the locals that weddings in Albania take three days and that most restaurants are booked well in advance so during the summer weddings take place every day, everywhere.

The locals also told me that almost every family in Albania has at least one member who works abroad and sends money back home. They still remember the long years under the old regime when they were not allowed to travel and food was scarce. Now that the country is opening up, all they want to do is travel and see the world. Yes, one of the positive sides of visiting a country on business is that I get to meet locals with whom I not only work, but also chat informally and thus learn stuff that I wouldn't find in a guidebook.

Lakror

Unfortunately due to the poor driving conditions we didn’t get to see any sights outside of Tirana, for example the national parks or the sea towns further south. So Albania still waits for another visit. But we enjoyed some local food, avoided the museums and just strolled around the city which was very lively. We tasted lakror, a filled pastry that somewhat reminded me of the hachapuri we had in Georgia. I guess each country has their own version of filled pastry.