Richard writes:
Albania; where do I start? After 5 days in the country, we have seen the capital Tirana, numerous historical sites and beautiful beaches and I still cannot work out whether I love it or hate it. In truth, over the past few days I have felt both emotions in equal measure.
On many occasions I have had to pinch myself that I am in a European country. At times it has felt like I am in South East Asia or India. The driving in cities is horrendous, with any gap seen seized regardless of whether the new occupier had any right to be there or not. The roads themselves are even worse than the driving. At times just loose gravel and mud, but more difficult are the roads in reasonable condition that suddenly subside, presenting a several inch drop in the road with no warning, causing our Hyundai hire car to launch off the edge and almost ruin our vow of arriving in London without flying. Our progress was also halted on many occasions by passing animals including, dogs, goats, sheep, cows, turkeys, pigs and even a tortoise! Casey has done an amazing job getting us around this country's crazy "road network" with ourselves and the car intact.
Albania's roads and hazards!
It is not just the road infrastructure that needs some investment. Tirana also looks very dilapidated. After seeing so many cute Balkan capitals, Tirana is far from pretty or impressive and is in truth barely worth a visit. Having said this, we enjoyed our walk around the city and had a lovely day, despite the fact that the heavens opened in the mid afternoon and everything we wanted to visit was closed. This included the cable car that ascends the mountain that overlooks the city, the city art gallery and the national history museum. We had got accustomed to European museums being closed on a Monday, but this was Tuesday! Two of the more interesting, if bizarre things to see in Tirana are the "Pyramid" and bunkers.
Tirana
The pyramid was designed by the daughter of Enver Hoxha; Albania's communist dictator from 1944 until 1985 (more on him later). The building is interesting, not due to being an architectural wonder, but rather for the fact that it is has viciously been attacked by the ugly stick and left to rot as a consequence. The building is currently vacant, with arguments as to whether to demolish the monstrosity or not. I for one, thing it should be "preserved" in its current state, as despite its lack of aesthetics it is certainly a talking point for what is otherwise an overwhelmingly dull city.
There are thousands of underground bunkers strewn across the country, many of which we viewed as we drove to the south, unmistakable due to the large mushroom shaped concrete structure. Two such bunkers are in the capital. These bunkers were built during Hoxha's rule with the intention of scaring the people that Albania's enemies could attack at any moment. Alongside these bunkers in Tirana, there are remains of a concentration camp built by Hoxha for the imprisonment of political prisoners. The camp was actually in the north of the country, but a small section has been transported to the capital as a reminder of the crimes that went on during his lengthy period in power.
In terms of Albania's enemies during Hoxha's rule, that was pretty much everyone. In truth no nation actually gave two hoots what Albania was up to, but the threat of attack was used to stoke paranoia amongst the people. Having said this, it is safe to say that dearest Enver was probably not on anybody's Christmas card list, due to his extremely eccentric foreign policy. Hoxha was a man that believed in doing a job right, and as a consequence didn't accept compromise. He fell out with the USSR after Stalin's death, accusing it of being too liberal. He also fell out with Tito's Yugoslavia for the same reason. Throughout his rule, Albania's only international ally was Mao's China. This relationship fell apart when Mao died. China's ceasing of the slaughter of millions of innocents during the Cultural Revolution after Mao's death proved too much for Enver, and he abandoned his only international friend due to their new found tree hugging liberal ways. This isolationist policy left the country chronically lacking investment, for which it appears to be still struggling from today. To add to my communist dictator souvenir collection of a Mao alarm clock, USSR leaders' babushka dolls and Tito money box, I bought a Enver Hoxha mug. Casey cannot wait for us to have our own place for these trinkets to go on display!
After all of my negativity about Albania, we also saw some truly beautiful places. None more so than Butrint. Butrint lies in the far south of the country near the Greek border. The leaflet handed to us on arrival describes it as "a microcosm of Mediterranean history, representing in all its phases of development, the rise and fall of the great empires that dominated the region". The small ruinous peninsula contains Greek, Roman and Ottoman remains, some spectacularly preserved included the Roman amphitheatre and a sixth century basilica. Our visit had been a bit of a rush as we were fitting it in before the long drive to Durres in the north, before handing back our hire car and catching the ferry to Italy, so being delayed wasn't an option. We waited outside the gates at 7:10am before being informed they opened at eight. We were delighted therefore when they let us in 15 minutes early, even though it meant saying goodbye to a ridiculously friendly stray dog "guarding" the entrance gate. Despite the rush at Butrint, it probably represents the highlight of our trip to Albania, due to quality of the upkeep of the ruins and how brilliantly presented the site is with informative signs throughout the complex. We were also lucky enough to have the place to ourselves due to it being too early for the other tourists to have arrived.
Just a 15 minute drive from Butrint, is the seaside resort of Saranda. Full of charm and beautiful views of inland Albania and Corfu across the Adriatic Sea, it is an ideal place for anybody who wants to mix the historical aspects of Albania with beach time. The beach front is strewn with bars and eateries and we thoroughly enjoyed our two nights. Casey even went for a paddle in the clear waters, though it apparently was too cold for swimming! We had actually only planned to stay one night, but we on a whim decided to stay another day and squeeze in a visit to Corfu, Greece, which was only a 30 minute ferry ride away. In just a day, we were unable to escape the overly touristy Corfu Old Town, but it was great to see a bit of Greece and enjoy the cobbled streets and mingle with other tourists. I was even able to buy my first British newspaper for three years, which seemed to contain the same news stories as when I last lived in the UK about how Dover is under attack from African migrants crossing the English Channel from France.
View of Saranda from our balcony
Corfu
Another fantastic location in Albania is Berat. Located in central Albania, like Butrint, Berat is a walled city, and equally as beautiful, but in a different way due to being inhabited. We were lucky enough to book one of the only guesthouses within the walled city. Run by a sweet old couple who spoke very little English, it was a fantastic location from which to explore the narrow and winding back alleys of Berat.
I am still unsure what I think of Albania. On one hand I love the multitude of historic sites, lack of tourists and beautiful scenery. Its capital and infrastructure is difficult to love however. Either way, it has been a fantastic few days, which like the rest of the trip will not be forgotten. Next stop Italy via the cross Adriatic ferry to Bari!
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