We left our cute little apartment rooms this morning in Lake Ohrid. They had stocked our fridge full of more goodies the night before so for breakfast I had yummy muesli cereal with banana and a chocolate croissant. We also had stuff to make a sandwich so I decided to pack one for lunch since we were going to be on the road and wouldn't have time for lunch when we got to Tirana.
It was only 45 minutes to the Albania border. The drive to the border was quite nice. We did some winding around the lake and there were poppies all along the road side. We soon found ourselves high up in the mountains on a very windy road. Some close calls near the edge as we passed other vehicles! Eeek! But our driver was very good, thankfully.
We tried to watch a movie in Spanish on the bus to pass the time but gave up quickly. I ended up introducing the band Milky Chance (from Germany) to Amy during the ride and she loved them.
Shortly after entering Albania we began noticing these cement little mushroom cap looking things scattered all over the mountains and areas in the towns we were passing. Turns out that they're old bomb bunkers from the communist era. It's rumoured that 700,000 were built at the time - 1 for every 4 people.
We stopped at a coffee shop to have a washroom break before carrying on. I ordered a cappuccino and it was just steamed milk with a drop of coffee. This has become common when ordering cappuccinos or lattes now, so I've began to ask for lots of coffee and little milk. These guys need some barista training over here.
We rolled into Tirana around 1pm and it was very obvious that we had just entered one of the poorest European countries. There were a lot more beggars on the streets, garbage everywhere, and ugly run down buildings from the communist era. But, I find beauty in the lesser countries because it's more of a culture shock and more of a learning experience. These are the places that usually have a lot of history and stories to tell.
Upon arrival at our hotel (Hotel Ferrari) we received a welcome drink. I tried the local beer and it was delicious, just like the beer everywhere else has been. Jane and I got settled in our room, which can't even be compared to our last place. This place has gross red carpets and is the tiniest little room. We were afraid to touch the curtains. The bathroom was a whole other story. It was all blue and so dark that I couldn't shave my legs because I couldn't even see my legs haha.
A man by the name of Alexander came and greeted us all at the hotel and then we set off for a 3 hour walking tour around the city with him. He was born and raised in Tirana and does tours for a living. He said the average salary there is $300 US and rent per month is on average $1200 US. Many families live together in order to afford to live. During the tour we saw the opera house in the main square, which was next to a mosque that we went into. The ladies all had to wear scarves and cover our heads. We all had to take our shoes off before stepping onto the carpet. We were shown where the Imam sits during the call to prayer which takes place 5 times a day facing Mecca. We also went up to the balcony where the women sit separately so that the men won't be tempted to stare at them during prayer.
We were also shown the statue of Alexander Skanderbeg, a very important figure in Albanian history (Google it yourself as it's too much to write about!). He is considered their national hero after defending the region from the Ottoman Empire for 25 years. Our guide then showed us some old communist statues which are now covered and hiding behind the art gallery.
There were signs saying "I love Cameria" all around the city so I asked Alexander about them and he said it was an area of Albania that suffered greatly from a genocide led by Greece. It was a forced expulsion of the Cham Albanians and Alex said that they are still at war with Greece today.
Another interesting thing Alex told us about during the tour was how a previous mayor decided to have all the buildings painted different colours and patterns within the city rather than keep them the awful grey cement associated with the communist era buildings. The mayor who had this done, is now the Albanian president.
Along our walk we came to this run down and abandoned pyramid in the middle of a square. Turns out it was where a dictator wished to be immortalized so he built this pyramid. The Albanians don't know what to do with it now but rather than demolish it they feel they should keep it to recognize this part of their history. There was also a bell hanging by the pyramid that was made of melted bulled that children in the hills had found. Pretty neat.
The walk ended at the Tirana sky bar that does a full rotation every hour. We were meeting Brian, our leader, here for a drink at 6 pm but we had 45 minute to kill so we walked down the street to another bar and had a drink. It was so hot out and we were all sweaty and tired. I splashed my face in the washroom to cool me off and ordered a delicious OJ with Malibu rum (I don't know what came over me to think to order this). The waiters were all very flirty guys so when it came time for us to pay the bill they sent me to talk to them because some were paying in euros and others in the Albanian currency and we weren't sure if they would accept that. They did.
Then it was back to the sky bar. The views were great up top and you could really see all of the coloured buildings. I had a glass of gross wine. From there we made our way to dinner which was consisted of a set menu.
The food was absolutely amazing. We had salads, grilled veggies, fried cheeses, spicy sausage in a tomato and pepper sauce, spicy cheese and bread, spinach pie, olives, and a platter of lamb, chicken, and pork.
After dinner some of us gals decided to walk home. It was around 9pm and we were told it would take about 45 minutes. We did it in just under 45 minutes.
I got back and took a shower and had intentions to go down and watch some soccer, but I ended up falling asleep instead. It was a long day!
Me at the mosque standing next to where the Imam goes up and sits:
Tirana, Albania:
Old bunkers from the communist era:
A shoe store on the sidewalk (quite common) - size 9 in the black ones please?:
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