A few last thoughts on my trip to Albania

Equipment used to spy by the Sigurimi during Albania's dark years

Flying back home from Albania less than a week ago took the better part of two days, with altogether four flights and six different lounges that I had a chance to visit. During this long journey back to Texas I had lots of time to reflect on what I had seen and experienced over the past fortnight.

Albania is an unusual country, thanks to its position at the crossroads of west and east that affected its distant past (think of the skirmishes with the Greeks or the Ottomans) as well as the period from 1945 to 1990 that was under the iron fist of the Soviet-controlled communist regime of Ever Hoxha. I had a chance to deepen my insight into this period on my last full day in Tirana when I visited two historical sites that deal with this period. Even though some of the information presented in the two museums was overlapping, it was really driven home on the most stark, human level in the House of Leaves, the headquarters of the Albanian surveillance apparatus, the Sigurimi.

Earlier I had visited Bunk'Art 2, an elaborate and extensive bunker just off Skanderbeg Square in the dead center of the city. This bunker was meant to give shelter to the ruling politicians in case of a possible foreign (nuclear) attack that was feared continually for those 45 dark, dark years. In a claustrophobic underground labyrinth of tiny rooms one can read placards illustrating and describing the history of that time: the interrogations, the names of those killed or simply vanished, the torture and its 36 various methods used, the fear of the unknown, the attempt to hold on to power by especially Hoxha, who ruled Albania from 1944 to 1985, when he died.

The House of Leaves, a former medical complex, was used during this period as the nerve center for the surveillance of the citizenry. Tiny cameras and bugs are on display, lists of suspects and informants show how pervasive the spying upon the populace was, room after room describes the machinations of a totalitarian state. It is frightening. All this was going on until just a mere 35 years ago, and many, many of the people you see out in the streets and the villages remember this time well. It certainly has left a significant mark on this country.

Albanians are friendly people, but they are reserved and initially will keep to themselves. Who can blame them if there was always the possibility that a neighbor or even a family member would snitch on you, for things that possibly may have been true but much more likely were made-up lies but that would surely land you in one of the many prisons or forced labor camps? So, don't expect Albanians to greet you with a smiling face and embrace you. Rather, there is a cautious approach, but it quickly gives way to a smile, a laugh, a show of pride for their country. Yes, Albanians are a proud people, it seemed to me, with a spirit that even evil forces have never been able to break.

Most of the younger population speaks at least some English, with many people (if not more) being able to converse in Italian as well. The ties with their neighbor across the Adriatic are deep-seated, and it is no wonder that nowadays many Italians choose to emigrate to Albania where things are cheaper and there are fewer regulations in regard to pretty much anything in everyday life. It appears that quite a few of the younger to middle-aged citizens have lived and worked abroad in various European countries. Albania displays a certain cosmopolitanism that is reflected especially in the larger cities, and this will only become more dominant with the arrival of increasing numbers of tourists who are flocking to the newly built hotels on the coast.

But the country is not like so many other European countries in that it is lacking a certain discipline in daily life. Traffic is a prime example how "uncivilized" the country can be, with drivers stopping pretty much anywhere on a busy city throughfare, setting the hazard lights, getting out of the car (quite often a late-model, large Mercedes, BMW, or Audi), and running an errand while everyone else is forced to somehow negotiate the obstacle. Watching the traffic in itself is an entertaining activity, with busses and cars at times hopelessly stuck because nobody wants to give an inch.

At the same time, I have to say that I saw in Tirana the coolest traffic lights ever! Sure, those of us who have traveled have seen the semaphores that indicate how many seconds will still have to pass by before the light switches from red to green. But have you ever seen a traffic light where the entire pole onto which the three lights are mounted (or, if there are turn lanes, more than that) lights up in the appropriate colors? No more excuses about "Oh, officer, I didn't see the light." Especially at night they are so ultra-modern looking, almost like urban art.

For a long time I wondered where all the trash in the streets and on the roads came from. I thought that, surely, German tourists were not tossing all those plastic bottles and toilet paper out of the windows of their cars and buses. But why would Albanians do it? I have no idea, yet I saw them time and again littering the land with vast amounts of trash. Of course, we see the same kind of ill-behavior in the US as well (and I don't want to generalize too much here), but the amount of refuse in the streets and along the highways and roads was stunning if not disgraceful, on par with the Dominican Republic and similar places. 

Maybe it all goes back to the fall of Communism when suddenly you could do whatever you wanted to do, and nobody was there to question you. This new-found freedom resulted in a style of building cities, commercial buildings, and homes without any kind of planning or permitting. The country is a hodgepodge of unfinished private homes as well as ginormous skyscraper-like towers literally less than 30 feet away from a historical building or a newly built mosque (remember, most houses of faith were simply destroyed during the Communist period). As a result, there is little evidence of what we would call "beautiful" or well-designed neighborhoods apart from the few that are hundreds of years old, such as in Korçë. Almost anything goes. 

Older people—those 60 years and older—often dress the way one would expect: Women in black dresses, black shoes, often with a shawl, while the men invariably wear a suit or at least a jacket and often sport a hat. That's more obvious out in the country but also in the city. Men often sit together over a cup of coffee while playing dominoes or simply shooting the breeze, while women will huddle and talk in low tones—or in high shrieks when communicating across the street—about whatever moves them. Younger people are dressed fashionably, with the women often flouting modesty and revealing more flesh than one would expect in a country that has a slight Muslim majority. We're back to the influence of western culture. And to hell with the brassière!

As I have mentioned before, Albania is an inexpensive country for people from Europe or the US. I'd say that the general price level is at least half, if not just one third of what one would expect to pay for comparable products or services in the US or Europe. (Obviously, there are always some exceptions, so I am speaking broadly here. Also, I have no idea whether that big old Mercedes is twice as expensive as in Stuttgart, or what other imports may mean to the Albanian pocketbook. However, a visit to a supermarket in Korçë quickly educated me that P&G or Nestlé products carry a definite price premium.) A cup of espresso (preferred to regular coffee) will cost $1.00 to $1.50; a satisfying meal in most restaurants will be no more than $8 to $12 unless you go totally extravagant. Almost universally, the menu will price meat and fish by the kilo, which makes price comparisons for a solo traveler impossible. A glass of table wine (and I tell you, both the whites as well as the reds are excellent and not just some plonk) costs $2 to $3, and a half liter carafe of the same wine will be $4 to $5; a full pint of draft beer also costs between $2 and $3 (while craft beers are more expensive, in the $4 to $6 range, but they are rare).

Had I booked them privately, all the hotels that I stayed in would have cost me around $35 to $50, and some of them were really nice and all included breakfast. A ride on the local Tirana bus costs 40 cents, a taxi from the airport to downtown is around $20 to $25, depending on the direction of travel with coming from the airport being somewhat higher; taxis within the city are $2 to $3, depending on distance. In regard to the restaurants, it didn't really matter how "fancy" a place was, the menu prices seemed to be extremely uniform. Tipping is not really expected (but I am sure that the ever-increasing number of especially American tourists will change this very soon). Debit and credit cards are almost universally accepted in Tirana and a few restaurants in the bigger cities, but outside of those you need Albanian leké to pay your bill. (Hotels will change your cash euros at almost a 1:100 course.) Money can be exchanged in all larger cities commission-free, and there are also ATMs on many streetcorners. 

In other words, Albania is incredibly affordable. Your dollar or euro will go a long, long way, and the food is extremely tasty. I have always been a great fan of Balkan and Greek food, and you get both of them here, of course. In addition to that, you have the Turkish influence, and altogether that makes for tantalizing flavors. Every breakfast buffet, regardless of hotel size, featured bowls of tomatoes and cucumbers, olives, fresh fruit such as watermelon and peaches, as well as ham, cheese, and eggs plus sundry jams and marmalades plus as many pastries as you could desire. Peppers are also part of the mix, not spicy hot but similar to our Anaheims, rather mild; onions seem to be a national staple (and they're being sold everywhere along the road from makeshift stands). I have to say that I was disappointed by the two times I had grilled lamb as it was tough and dry, and so I stayed with meatballs (köfte) or fish whenever I could. Whatever your culinary druthers, you won't go hungry in Albania.

The way I chose to see the country happened to be optimal: Riding my own bike while hotel reservations and luggage transfer were arranged by a local touring company was simply ideal. I had happened upon Cycle Albania during an internet search for suggested road bike routes in Albania, not realizing that there really aren't all that many roads that would be suitable to do such a tour. After an initial inquiry, follow-up emails came in a quick and timely manner, and it didn't take much to convince me that a self-guided tour was the way to go. I paid €1,270 for a total of ten nights of hotels, the van transfer from Tirana to Lake Ohrid and then later from Vlorë back to Tirana (plus the short transfer from Gjirokastër to Muzinës Pass), my airport transfers to and from my hotel in Tirana (which I had booked privately), and the transport of my luggage between the hotels. (also, since I travelled solo I had to pay extra for my hotel privacy that, in Europe, is not necessarily a given.) Additionally, Cycle Albania stored my bike case and also graciously allowed me the use of an eBike on that last monstrously hard day from Himarë to Vlorë. Throughout the tour, I had access to the friendly expertise of the two guides, Qarri and Nico.

Red, car transfer. Green, ridden on my acoustic bike

I spent a total of right at €650 on expenses such as food, drink, the cable car to the top of Dajiti Mountain high above Tirana on my last day, and the various entries to museums plus the walking tour in Tirana. So, that comes to about $2,225 for two full weeks of traveling, or not even $160 per day, all included. For my flight I used a fare mixture that used AAdvantage miles, a revenue one-way Economy ticket, and a free Business Class upgrade for that ticket, all at a cost of exactly $1,205.50 for Business class flights (except Tirana to Heathrow on the way back), including the aforementioned six different premium lounges on the flight home alone. Not bad at all.

I am extremely glad that I traveled to Albania as I enjoyed every minute of it. I doubt I will go back—no, not because there was anything wrong but simply because there are so many destinations beckoning and time is short to visit them on my terms. During my journey back to Lubbock I already started to Google self-guided bike tours and came across something in Georgia, yes, the country....

Jürgen