My first trip to Albania
The four-day trip to Albania is starting to get to the end and I’m already sitting on the plane on my way home. This trip was a real adventure and a journey of exploration into a new country, its people, its landscapes and perhaps also, to some extent, Albanian culture. My previous knowledge was based on less than a month of google, and I noticed that it is definitely worth experiencing things yourself before forming very far-reaching preconceptions.
Mon the other hand, my trip to Albania, on the other hand, is only a small trivial step to wisdom, but it is a great leap for myself. My intense itinerary guaranteed that every hour spent in the country was an adventure worth chewing for a long time. Even so much that I probably want to taste it more and order new tickets to Albania for my next holiday.
A great feeling when you find yourself sighing in amazement and laughing with delight as you drive alone from Saranda to the mountain road to Vlora. New thing to me, because I usually behave very restrainedly and I don’t show too many feelings in vain. I’ve always wondered about people talking about themselves and finding them a little weird. Now I find myself similar when I see goats or cows walking on the road agilely on an almost vertical mountain wall.
An equally incredible sight is a sheep farm leading its herd across the road, blinking in both directions as if it knows how to cross the road for schoolchildren.
This is where my blog begins on my first trip to Albania in December 2019.
After the plane landed in Tirana, I thought about everything I had read in the last few weeks. First I had to get a car from the rental company. The traffic described as intimidating in Albania was a bit tense in advance. I asked the field in English where to find “Surprise Car Rental”.
Now broke the first myth I had read about. Albanian does not speak English. Following the instructions I received at the Mars car rental company and turning around the long fence and I crossed the road blinking in many directions for safety and finally seemed to glance backwards. This is where another myth about Albanian traffic broke, because I survived the first crossing of the street just fine. Across the road, the car rental company was also well found.
While waiting for my turn at the rental shop, a young man came in with the car keys in hand and asked for my name. It turned out he had been facing me on the field, but I didn’t know it. My first experience of Albanian service was this and was completely wasted in my case. I apologized and then the hiring process started, which didn’t quite go down the tube.
I had taken out comprehensive insurance for the car online to save a few euros compared to insurance taken out from a rental shop. Without insurance, I wouldn’t have dared to try what it feels like to drive in traffic without rules like I had read on many blogs.
It definitely had to be a Credit card – not one with Debit / Credit. I didn’t understand why that was, but I dug a Credit Card out of my wallet. For some reason, my card didn’t even work and the clerk said I had entered the wrong passcode. After trying it a couple of times, I didn’t dare a third time because it would have resulted in the card locking up.
With my cheeks flushed a little, I began to doubt my own memory and asked what was being done now. A customer service representative said that the only way to get a car rented is to take out comprehensive insurance from them, which can be paid with a debit / credit card. This was done and Kaskovakuutus paid € 60 on top of the € 34 insurance I had previously taken out. Again, it was seen that whipping was not worth it. The car rental itself was only € 35 for four days!
As a small side note, I can mention that the same Credit Card did work everywhere except at the car rental company and with the very same password I had entered there as well. The feedback I received was also a bit unfortunate when I later couldn’t bear not to complain about it. Next time I think I’ll rent my car somewhere else.
However, I got a car and in the dark I got to drive from Tirana Airport to Durres. It was precisely the driving of the dark that was warned by first-timers in blogs and travelogues. However, the trip went well because Durres was found and no scratches got on the car’s dampers or anywhere else.
Durres had been hit hard and sad by recent earthquakes. When I saw the closed streets and the apartment buildings supported by the pillars for the first time in my life, I got into the middle of such a thing. Police cars stood next to houses in danger of collapsing to ensure that people did not sneak into their homes without permission. However, life goes on and music plays by the sea in my late night eatery. People partyed and laughed. I ate deep-fried octopus rings and drank a good Albanian beer.
Earthquakes and the devastation they cause are a nasty way to show a lack of building skills or construction that is contrary to good construction practice. I guess this would be a bit common for houses in Finland that suffer from moisture damage. Admittedly, the damage is not comparable. Some builders had already been arrested and some had had time to sneak abroad. I met a couple of Finnish benefactors on a flight, who had collected relief supplies for those who lost their homes and now delivered them at their own expense to those in need.
The next morning I headed for the next stage, Vlores. Before, however, I admired the open sea and smelled the smell of the sea and listened to how the waves rumbled into the beach sand. The beach was deserted at this time of year as December is not the tourist season in Albania. From a few paddle boats lying on the sand and closed beach bars, one can imagine for four months and see holidaymakers enjoying beach life enjoying drinks and applying sunscreen to their skin. I don’t see myself in that gang because I’m much more interested in the amazing mountains and Albanian nature that I couldn’t admire while driving in the dark.
The journey began in slow traffic from the navigator taking the direction from time to time. There seemed to be cops everywhere. Apparently, efforts are being made to eradicate Albania’s famous wild transport culture. I, too, got my share of police guidance when at the roundabout, the police gestured to me and told me to stay in the outer lane. I didn’t have a rush and that’s why I decided to stop by a neat looking service station for coffee. Only a few men sat in the cafe, talking to each other in a calm voice.
I ordered coffee: “one coffee, please!” and the seller asked if I wanted normal or big coffee. I didn’t have very much coffee pain and I mainly just wanted to stop to see the local cafe culture. So I replied, “Normal coffee, please,” after which the salesman advised me to go to the table to wait. Soon he was carrying a small espresso on the table. I might have managed to drink even bigger. I later learned that I should have ordered Americano.
The journey continued with a brisk taste of coffee in my mouth until the car began to make a strange abrasive sound and motorists driving past me gestured and pointed under the car. in fact, all the motorists overtook me because I was just training to drive on this rally track. I stopped and toured the car and didn’t notice anything special. I still kicked a few rings because of the shape. As I bent down to look under the car, another car stopped in front of me and three dark and young men got out of the car. They gestured and clearly in Albanian tried to inquire what the trouble was.
They immediately noticed that plastic bottom armor was hanging on the ground. An attempt was made to get it right in the handwriting language of the association. The oldest of the men came up with advice and told the younger to get something from the car.
The man walked into the car and brought a screwdriver. At that point, the two men were already under the car and worried about their dirty clothes. It didn’t seem to bother them. However, Meisseli was not the solution, the elder gave new instructions and this time the youngest looking one already ran into the car and brought a plastic rope. For they tied the base plate. I thanked and shook hands with the men, after which the journey continued. The famous kindness of the Albanians was thus proved.
In the morning, I was able to choose from a multi-course breakfast at Hotel Regina City’s restaurant. The waitress listed so quickly from the list what everything would have been on offer that I didn’t stay after her. I then picked the last one presented by the waitress. Accompanied by a waitress, I sat down at the table waiting for an omelette. The view was stunning; roof terrace with pool. Over it was the Adriatic Sea. I took a few pictures to send home and thought I had never eaten breakfast in a landscape like this at a four-star hotel for 30 euros a night.
There are a few nice groups on Facebook for the bites of the Albania fly. The Finns of Saranda is a group that mainly includes Finns who have an apartment or holiday home in Saranda. By the way, only those interested in Albania can travel to Albania. Vlore’s Finns can also be found as a new group. I already had a lot of good tips from the groups during the month and in addition to them I got a guide for a trip to Saranda.
We set off on the boardwalk and as soon as we got out of town I got to hand over the driver’s seat to the guide. It would have been just too dangerous a beautiful route to ride, while at the same time you should have admired the stunning and indescribable scenery. As I took each picture, I regretted that the cell phone camera didn’t record the pictures as I saw them. My guide told me along the way that it was worth going there to eat lamb and the next restaurant specialized in something else like turkey or beef.
At first, the route followed the sea shore with its turquoise blue shore scenery and then set off to climb just over a mile in the mountains with some snow along the roadside. Fine pine forests and dizzying cliffs with bends where you had to call the car against the horn for information. In Finland, horns are played in red with anger, and in Albania it is more of a communication about existence.
As we set out to descend from the mountains back to the seashore, I pointed out to the driver that a lot of aloe vera was growing on that slope. However, my plant recognition skills got hit when I found out they were quite different. Reportedly, during communism, the Russians had advised them to plant them in militarily important places to prevent the landing. Their spikes reduced motivation to attack, or at least significantly slowed down enemies. A short distance away, we looked as if the canopy of the rainforest was shrinking. My guide couldn’t tell me what kind of tree it was, but some conifer it was anyway. Maybe I’ll figure it out someday.
There was another rubbing sound from the bottom of the car. A couple of days ago, the quick repair of the base armor of the friendly Albanian men had not lasted and my guide said that that fault could be dangerous here on the mountain roads. So we started looking for a service station where the fault could be fixed. Soon a service station was found that did not look like a service station. There were two men in the yard at work under the car despite Sunday. My guide spoke fluent Albania and worked out the problem. The men got to work and after about half an hour was ready. The price was 500 liters, or approx. EUR 4.50. No more bottom armor hung on the ground during the final voyage.
The journey continued and we saw before Saranda e.g. a magnificent waterfall that was in the backyard of the cafe. I drank the clear and fresh water from the mountains from the faucet mounted on the rock wall. We stopped on the waterfront boulevard of a small village and bought a couple more bananas as a snack. According to the guide, the storm had spread the beach sand up the streets a couple of years ago. Now there was no information about the storm as the sun was shining on my trip every day. In Albania, the sun shines well over 300 days a year, so you get good value for your holiday money if you happen to like the sun.
The more than three-hour drive went quickly while watching the dizzying scenery and listening to the guide’s stories. In Saranda we drove straight to the center and to a familiar place for the guide to eat. Cheap Albanian food was obtained there. The color of my portion was mostly green due to the vegetable content – spinach, beans, eggplant and onion. There was deliciously tasting meat in the middle. The hunger moved a little further and we went to the harbor to walk and watch Saranda go by.
The evening began to dim and the huge Christmas tree in the middle of the market looked gorgeous in the twinkling lights. The Christmas carols were played through the speakers and there were a lot of people on the move. The guide showed me the hotel and I went to book a room there before I actually jumped behind the wheel of a car. I took my guide to a relative on the city border. I was a little excited to know because my phone was low on battery. However, the route was fairly easy and I parked across the street a short distance from the hotel. I took my suitcase to the room and, wise from experience, I first looked for the remote control of the air source heat pump. This room was as cool as all the other rooms had been. There have been underfloor heating in Albania and rocky floors require at least this way to get used to the winter season or the inner shoes. Fortunately, the hotel rooms were pre-booked.
My intention was to jog in the evenings and get to know Vlora and Saranda even more. In the evenings, however, I was so exhausted that I was no longer amused to go jogging, but rather relaxed at the local bars with a glass of beer and some nice little food. Admiring the intoxicating scenery and rocking back and forth the mountains more than a mile high did their job and confused the head, which then manifested itself as fatigue. So I had packed my sneakers, several running shirts and pants in my bag. However, the idea was good and even awesome. Yes, I admitted at home after the trip that I didn’t go on a single run.
This hotel was also very clean and I could be the only customer of the hotel because I was able to enjoy breakfast alone this time as well. What was different about this hotel was that not even the staff was visible. I was able to gather my breakfast from the table myself, but it didn’t bother me, because that’s what is always done in Finland as well. I drank a couple of glasses of the best orange juice in the world and then I checked out of the hotel. I took my bag to the car and went for a walk in still sunny weather before returning.
I had heard of Albanian street dogs roaming the streets. I had seen some of them, but somehow I had expected them to be tangled and untidy. However, most of the dogs were just like companion dogs – only the handlers were missing. These were playful and well-being animals that roamed among people or just sat on the streets. I once saw a puppy challenging to play with a street worker sweeping leaves off the street. The dog ran after the leaves and was clearly unaccompanied. Sad. I heard that the number of dogs has been reduced by collecting them from the streets to be killed. Animal activists would have liked to have eliminated the problem by lighter means such as sterilizing them, but I do understand that it would have been a much slower and more expensive way.
Before the return trip, I went to buy a car charger for my phone. There was a constant fear of running out of battery on this trip because the navigator consumed a lot of power. Great that on the second to last day I got it bought. There would have been shops along the way, and the euro was used as a means of payment for this trade as well. I had read on some old blogs that Albania is not a place to shop because there are no shops. I even bought a beanie and leather gloves. I walked past so many interesting shops that I would buy more on my next trip. Possibly summer shirts and maybe a holiday home. I already booked the tickets for the winter holidays in a couple of months.
There was still a long way to go and the adventure continued in the inland mountains. I wanted to drive a different route than when coming. I was surprised at how good these roads I were driving were. I was prepared for much worse and worse roads. However, on this trip I only drove along the main roads. It may be that next time I will have experiences with other kinds of roads. Next was the upward direction and had to be swallowed a little at a time as the ears were constantly locked. There were no signs along the way to show the steepness of the ascent.
The vegetation changed and the road meandered like a serpentine. The navigator made me feel much safer when I knew I was on the right track. At times, the road narrowed so much that he would not have thought he was on the main road from Saranda to Tirana. It was still my intention today to get back to Vlore because I had one housing tour there.
On an upward bend, with a deep gorge on one side and a mountain slope rising to heights on the other, a cyclist came up with tremendous momentum. Soon the second and even the third cyclist with his side bags rushed past me. I was just wondering how the brakes can withstand such a pace. I was reminded vividly of the cycling tours of my youth in Norway, where there were also ten kilometers of downhill skiing on narrow roads. Unfortunately, there are only about the same number of ups and downs, and after the downhill, the journey uphill usually begins. In a terrain like this, sometimes a sense of balance and an introverted vass passport trick because the buildings seemed to be crooked and the river next to the road flowed, I think, in the wrong direction.
Suddenly a huge valley surrounded by mountains opened up in front of me. The view before my eyes was the most beautiful I had ever seen. I dreamed and saw myself sitting on that hill in a hurry enjoying thermal coffee and scenery. Now I didn’t dare stop because I didn’t know how much time it would take on the rest of the trip to think about my appointment. I had to continue and, sighing, I set off down a winding road. At the bottom of the valley, as a small strip, there was a road where I thought I would be in half an hour.
On the side of the cliff there were cast iron edges to prevent derailments. The journey stopped in a queue of a few cars that suddenly appeared in front of me. Behind the concrete barrier in front of the front of the car, the head of a sheep appeared, turning in both directions before crossing the road. These sheep apparently knew the traffic rules that children have been taught several times in school. After finding the road safe, the sheep farm crossed the road, but the sweetest thing was a few years later. The cars politely gave way to a few more families of sheep before the journey could continue.
The rest of the way was folded through the small villages, looking at the handsome scenery. On a trip like this, you realize what the travel club would mean. When traveling alone, one can engage in self-talk and sigh, but it is not the same as sharing thoughts. The same feeling comes from watching a good movie. It feels like almost half of the movie enjoyment is lost when you can’t share feelings with anyone. Fortunately, this trip was not a unique experience, because already during the winter holidays, the wife goes on a new trip.
This trip was a short dive into the new land and its landscapes. But now it is already clear that I want more of these. I can’t yet say that I really know anything about this mighty land of opposites that the two-headed eagle mystically symbolizes. The character of the Albanian flag also has a symbolism of power and military power. It has an old tradition of an ancient Hindu bird with magical powers in Byzantine times and still a state symbol of Russia.
There were plenty of adventures for the last day as I drove past Durres past the airport junction. I only managed to turn on the highway after driving just over ten miles and still couldn’t get back on the same road. I decided to rely on a navigator that took the little roads forward and yet the distance was getting shorter all the time. At the same time, the road gradually shrank with suspicion. Eventually I drove down a small dirt road in the middle of a field litter and didn’t see a single sign of the airport.
However, I had the courage to move forward as I asked the old woman at the airport, who was holding a bike. The woman signaled to drive forward. I was a little skeptical if the woman even understood what I had been asking. After driving maybe another mile, I came to a t-junction. Joy was at its peak because I saw the airport. The only thing that flattened the mood was the high fence that separated me from the airport. Now I had to choose whether to go right or left. As I thought about that intersection, an old mersu passed me, turning right.
I no longer had an hour to leave the plane and still had time to return the rental car. That’s when I decided that if if ever! I’ll catch that car and ask if I’m on the right track. Until now, the roads had been better than in many parts of Finland. There were 30-cent pits on this horse path between which I tried to bend. Now if there had been dentures, they would have fallen out of the mouth. The rental car was already starting to get sad. However, I caught Mersu and drove alongside. I gestured to the driver and asked if the right direction was. The driver said nothing but gestured for me to drive after him.
The kindness of the Albanians once again saved me from trouble and I got to the airport, but then I was already in a hurry to get the car back and run. Fortunately, I was able to get through the formalities quickly. The gate was already closed, but the clerk called the plane crew and the gate opened. Soon I was already sitting on the plane and I was able to breathe. You need to get here again soon!