Around the World With Uncle Moose: Days 8-10: Albania

Day 8: Ohrid to Tirana

We departed Ohrid and crossed the border into Albania. Between the end of World War II and the early 1990's, Albania was one of the poorest and most isolated countries in the world. For a large part of that time, it was one of the only countries aligned with China. As you'll see, it has made some pretty big strides since the 1990's.

At the border crossing

An Albanian cemetery

Albania was much nicer than I expected. Most of the houses we saw in the countryside were very large--presumably there were multiple generations living in them.

Houses in the Albanian countryside

On the other hand, there were a few buildings in not-so-good shape

A display of Albanian snacks

A town in the countryside

Between the 1960's and the 1980's, the Albanian government constructed almost 200,000 bunkers around the country, presumably to protect the citizens in case of invasion. Lots of them are still around.

One of the remaining bunkers

More Albanian rural housing

Our first stop in Albania was the town of Elbasan, which is most noted for Elbasan Castle, a 15th century fortress.

Central Elbasan

Part of Elbasan Castle

A conversation outside the castle

Ruins in a park across from the castle

More of central Elbasan

Elder citizens in the park

For some reason, Albania seems to have more gas stations per capita than any country I've been to, with about 50 different brands. My favorite brand is Kastrati, which must mean something different in Albanian than it would appear.

Along the way, we stopped for some Albanian food.

The Tabaku restaurant

The restaurant menu

Our next stop was Berat, the site of a fortress overlooking the town which dates from Roman times. Within the fortress is the "old town" of Berat.

Part of the fortress walls

In the old town

Part of Berat which gives it the nickname "City of 1000 Windows"

Overlooking modern Berat

A closer view of central Berat

I'm in Albania!

View over part of the fortress

Holy Trinity Church, just outside the fortress walls

Building and sculpture in the old town

Old citizen in the old town

Taking a break in the old town

More of the fortress walls

In the main part of Berat

Communist-era housing in Berat

Between Berat and Tirana (the capital), we stopped for a closer look at a bunker.

We arrived in Tirana after dark, and immediately went to the Taiwan Restaurant, which strangely enough served Italian food.

Shopping center where the restaurant was located

Albanian beer

The group enjoying Italian food at the Taiwan restaurant

Day 9: Durres, Albania

Today we took a day trip to Durres, a historical town on the Adriatic coast.

Tirana International Hotel, our home in Tirana

View of the main square (Skanderberg Square) from our hotel in Tirana

The Opera in Tirana, next to our hotel

One difference between Tirana and other big cities in Eastern Europe is that the government in Tirana has painted most of the communist-era apartment blocks in bright colors, which is a nice alternative to the dingy buildings you see elsewhere. Of, course, I don't know what they look like inside.

An apartment block in Tirana

There are also a lot of modern buildings in Tirana, since there was a bit of a building boom when Albania "opened up" in the 1990's. Some examples are below.

This is apparently a casino that was never finished

It took about an hour to drive to Durres, which kind of resembeled 1940's-1950's Miami Beach, except that it also had a lot of Roman ruins.

Some of the buildings did need a bit of renovation

I believe "shitet" means "for sale" in Albanian

Our first stop in Durres was the Roman Amphitheater, which dates to the 2nd century AD.

The amphitheater

Mosaics in the amphitheater

Another view of the amphitheater

Death notices for local citizens

A bunker, I think

Roman forum, in front of modern buildings

Central square in Durres

Citizens of Durres discussing issues of the day

Another view of the main square in Durres

Great Mosque of Durres, dating all the way back to 1931

A commercial street in Durres

We stopped for coffee at a cafe on the shoreline, next to a small amusement park.

A view from the cafe

Albanian hero does battle with the Incredible Hulk

Another Albanian hero, next to old city walls

Communist-era apartment buildings painted in polka dots

The pride of the Albanian railway system

Alternatively, you could fly Ernest Airlines (if Ernest himself isn't busy)

We then returned to Tirana for a tour of the city.

More modernity in Tirana

We started our walking tour of Tirana in Skanderberg Square, the main square of the city.

Solidarity with the revolution! (In front of the Albania Historical Museum)

Panoramic view of Skanderberg square, with the Opera in the middle

View of another part of the square with the Tirana International Hotel on the right

Another major hotel in Tirana

Yet another view of the square

The Bunker Museum

A building near the square

A pedestrian street near the square

Installation at an art museum

Tirana has decorated all of its utility boxes

One of the sights we encountered was the "Pyramid of Tirana" which was a museum dedicated to the Communist leader of Albania, Enver Hoxha. After Hoxha died and the Communists were out of power, Hoxha became persona non grata and the museum fell into a state of disrepair and was abandoned.

The Pyramid of Tirana

What they do now at the Pyramid

Two residents of Tirana in conversation

Part of the Berlin Wall

Monument to Communist isolation (framework of an Albanian prison)

A bunker on display in a city park

Inside the bunker. It smelled as good as it looks.

The Presidential Residence

Palace of Congresses--an exhibition hall

The house where Enver Hoxha lived

All of the time I was in the Balkans, I saw only two American restaurant franchises--a couple of McDonalds in Belgrade, and this KFC in Tirana. This might explain why there are no fat people in the Balkans.

A park in central Tirana

St. Paul's Cathedral, completed in 2002

More nicely decorated communist-era apartment blocks

Great Mosque of Tirana, still under construction

A shopping mall in central Tirana

Another view of Skanderberg Square from my hotel

Another view from the hotel room

And yet another view

That night we dined in a Turkish restaurant.

Day 10: Tirana to Budva, Montenegro

This morning we left Tirana and drove to Budva, Montenegro, with a stop in Kruja and Shkodar, Albania, and Podgorice, Montenegro before heading to Budva, Montenegro.

Fruit sellers in Tirana

Kruja, Albania, from below

Kruja from above

In Kruja, we visited Kruja Castle, which houses the Skanderberg Museum, dedicated to Albania's national hero, George Skanderberg, who defended Albania against the Ottomans.

Ruins at Kruja Castle

Castle and museum

Inside the Skanderberg Museum

In the Museum

Skanderberg and friends

Albanian flag flying at the castle

View of Kruja from the castle

Musician in the old marketplace in Kruja

Old market place in Kruja--best souvenirs on the trip!

Your roaming reporter, with Skanderberg Castle in rear

After gas stations (or maybe before), the most popular industry in Albania seems to be the sale of bridal gowns. There seemingly was a bridal store on every block in every city.