Into Albania Feature

Into Albania

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Words by Dalene Heck / Photography by Dalene & Pete Heck

We fancied ourselves big adventurers by booking an extended stay in Albania. Few people we know have traveled through this little known Balkan country before, and tourism information on the internet is relatively scarce. Concerned for our business while traveling there, we asked others about wifi and they said good not great. Roads and accessibility of transportation were also said to be concerns.

But we had such a gentle introduction to the country via the capital city of Tirana that it took a drive through the Gjerë mountains in the south a week later to make us feel even the slightest anxiety, and that was only because we were literally driving on the steep edge of a windy road. I thought back to the driver who brought us into the city from the airport on the first night – he gave us a bit of a tour and referred to the universities we passed as supermarkets, because of the apparent ease in which degrees could be bought.

I looked at the sagging, curvy bridge ahead at one hairpin turn and nervously thought: I hope that the engineers who designed this road obtained the earned degree and not the purchased one.

We arrived over the mountain queasy but in one piece, our total load a smidgen lighter than when we started thanks to the man two seats ahead who emptied the contents of his stomach into a blue plastic bag and tossed it out the window.

“What do you know about my country?” our driver asked as we departed the airport.

We’ve been embarrassed by this question before, entering a new country with barely a clue of its history or what to expect. This is a decided strategy – we prefer to arrive with a completely fresh perspective – but when this question is asked we scramble to answer respectfully.

“Very little,” I admitted, “we know some about the problems in the 90s. But we are here to learn.” I quickly changed the subject to issue broad compliments of the reported beauty of the Albanian Riviera and of the welcoming nature of his countrymen. He didn’t answer.

Albania’s narrative is one of the most sordid in recent European history. The dictator Enver Hoxha, in power for over 40 years starting from the end of the second world war, closed off this small country to the world. Within, Hoxha industrialized the country, brought rapid economic growth and focused on eliminating illiteracy and becoming self-sufficient. In many ways, he was successful. But he also forcefully exterminated his competition, issued the death penalty freely, and shut off the country from the rest of the world (some liken it to modern North Korea).

Symbolic of a paranoid dictator, Hoxha also sunk much of the country’s resources into a nonsensical “bunkerisation” program, building over 700,000 concrete bunkers scattered across the country to provide protection against what he believed was an inevitable invasion by the west. They were never used as intended and now stand as a bizarre reminder of a dark past. But as one Albanian joked on one of our Instagram photos, they are now the best equipped country in the world for an alien invasion. Indeed.

Problems did not end with Hoxha’s death in 1985. As the country began to liberalize while lifting the covers of Communism, rebellious conflicts flared repeatedly in the 90s due to widespread government corruption that crippled the economy. Gangs took advantage of the volatility, the mafia funded their interests, and the arms that Hoxha had outfitted citizens with throughout the years were put to use. Thousands died and the UN entered in 1997 to stabilize.Relative peace has been fostered in Albania since. And although the country is not without remaining complicated problems, the economy is getting back on track and signs of growth can be seen everywhere. In some ways it is a country working to catch up with the rest of the world, yet in other surprising ways it is miles ahead. Radical pushes have been made in government for better representation by women, and whether it is due to complete indifference or overall benevolence, Albania is lauded as the most religious-tolerant nation in Europe. But then there is the woeful sight of strewn garbage in open spaces (we’re not talking Peru levels of garbage, but enough to be terribly disappointing), and the fact that finding our way via public transportation was confusing with the lack of any formal stations for buses.

Thankfully we were never confused for long. The Albanians we met, especially in Tirana, went far out of their way to ensure that we were welcomed and taken care of. All we had to do was ask, and we were quickly steered and shepherded around the city without hesitation. We put our trust into a lot of random people to get us to random places, and our trust was never misplaced.

And then they did even more. Our first few outings saw us receive free sorbet, a slice of birthday cake to share from a neighbouring table at dinner, and an impromptu tour from a local we met in Skanderberg Square. But the best part about it was when we gushed our gratitude, their collective response made us wonder if we had stumbled upon a most endearing national tradition.

One hand on the heart, and a gracious tip of the head. A sweet and intimate gesture always accompanied by a sincere smile.

Tirana Mural
A mural on the Museum of National History.

“I don’t agree with our National History Museum,” our driver from the first night also said as we drove past the large building anchored on the main square, emblazoned with a beautifully intricate mural of proud citizens in arms, defending their country throughout the years. “Not all the history is in there. We are not all about war, we’ve had good times too.” Sadly though, it is those warring images from the 90s that prevent people from visiting, despite the rave reviews coming from big name travel publications. Albania has recently being awarded all the fancy travel cliches including Europe’s last hidden gem and best kept secret.

It took us little time to assert the same platitudes thanks in large part to the hospitality of the people, and because the country overall has the appeal of the unpolished and undiscovered. We want to know more about how and why, we want to poke around in most every corner. And it feels like we would be welcomed to do so – without question we always felt completely safe and comfortable.

Skanderberg and Horse
The national hero: Skanderberg.
River Book Sale
There were book sales on many streets.

Our biggest concerns about our visit were quickly dismissed: the wifi across the country was better than what we had in Berlin a week prior, much work has been done to improve infrastructure on main routes, and English-speakers are plentiful. Tirana itself is bustling but very congenial – it does not hold the outer beauty of many other European capitals and its traffic is sometimes nightmarish, but it is manageable in size and carries affable and youthful energy. And despite the odd sagging bridge and tight corner without guards on that windy mountain road, we were surprised at how smooth our journeys were from one point to another. Any pause for construction or potholes were made up for by the engaging views out our window – from the snow-capped peaks to the crystal green of rivers, even the variety of stuffed animals hanging from front porches in peculiar superstition. For Albania, one more cliche holds forcefully true: the journey really is the destination.

We saw so few other tourists. Given the time of year, it is understandable (we learned quickly that when it is off-season, it is truly off-season – many attractions we wanted to see were inaccessible), but it is clear that that won’t last for long. From the allure of the remote Accursed Mountains in the north, to the ancient ruins from the Greeks, Romans and Ottomans, and the pure white beaches of the south, Albania touts a wealth of beguiling attractions just waiting to be sought out.

And throughout our month-long stay, we learned that you don’t need to be a big adventurous type to do so either.

where we stayed

We stopped in Tirana three times on our journey and enjoyed our stays at both the Hotel Vile e Arte and Center Rooms Oresti. Both are very good value and near to the center (Skanderberg Square) – the Oresti had slightly nicer rooms and the Vila e Arte had slightly better breakfast. Take your pick!

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25 Comments

  1. This is a bit off topic, but you mentioned that the levels of trash in Albania don’t measure up to the trash in Peru. I’m actually in Peru right now and haven’t noticed a huge amount of trash. You were there years ago, I know, and we’re probably not in the same places so I’m not trying to compare the experiences, I’m just curious if you’ve written about it anywhere? I searched “Peru” on your blog and only got one post which didn’t mention trash anywhere – was this a topic that came up in a different post?

    More importantly though, I’m glad you enjoyed Albania and that it isn’t the difficult destination that you had thought!

    1. Thanks for your comment Kara – perhaps it wasn’t fair for me to pick on Peru because you are right, it has been five years since we’ve been there. But I have to say that I am so glad to hear it has become cleaner because it was pretty bad when we were there! (And you won’t find much about Peru as it was before our major blogging days.) 🙂

  2. We had to cut most of our Albania plans out of itinerary when we traveled the Balkan, mostly because we figured public transportation would make it too difficult to cross through, but I still ventured over to Pogradec as a day trip from Ohrid, Macedonia, and I’m very glad I did. I would not mind returning to explore more of this fascinating country.

  3. I only spent a day in Albania in Saranda and Butrint but I found it beautiful and the history very interesting. It is a country that I would like to explore more in the future

  4. I’m so glad you had a good experience in Albania and are helping to spread the word about this amazing country. In all my travels Albania is firmly in my top three favourite countries. It has everything – beautiful beaches, spectacular mountains, great cities, delicious and cheap food, and such friendly people. The rubbish is the definite biggest downside. We also said it’s a country that runs on caffeine – the love their espressos!

    1. That is one thing that amazed us – the cafe culture! There must be 5 cafes for every restaurant in Tirana (in one spot we had a really hard time even finding food)!

  5. Guys! Albania totally blew our mind – so beautiful, pristine, and completely unexplored. We did a 10 day trip around central and Southern bits of the country, and cannot wait to return to explore the mountains. Will you be going?

  6. Guys – we LOVED Albania! It was so pristine and beautiful, we couldn’t have imagined, coming in with very little knowledge like you. We only had 10 days, and saw the south and central Albania, but we would love to come back and explore the mountains. Are you going?

  7. I really want to revisit that part of Europe and explore more than just the tiny bit of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina that I saw a couple years ago. Posts like this are making me consider Albania for that next visit.

    1. You really should do it! It’s so different from every other country, and you should get there while it’s still under everyone else’s radar. 🙂

  8. I must admit I don’t know much about Albania either. The fact that not a lot of people travel there makes it appealing to me. I’ve heard it has some stunning scenery.

  9. I love reading about your time in Albania. I only briefly passed through a few years ago (and was not so impressed by the beach town I visited because of all the trash), but my feeling that it was definitely a quirky little place. I’m glad more people are beginning to explore it!

  10. Very interesting. I think there is very scant popular knowledge of Albania – its history, its struggles, and its current “revival”, for lack of a better word. Interested to see what else you discover on your travels.

  11. I was in Tirana nearly 7 years ago and meaning to go back. From your photos the city looks much improved, infrastructure more apparent, buildings less crumbly and I do remember all those same bunkers. History is not my strength, I was terrible at it in school but this is so helpful about Albania

  12. You should came in Macedonia too! The city of Ohrid is breathtaking also the capital Skopje.This country is full of natural beauty you will be mesmerized.

  13. Interesting read. As I mentioned in my other comment, it’s a place we’re interested in visiting. The Balkans are a fascinating place and we’ve had a lot of interesting experiences over the last 2 months in the region. Like you, we’ve been treated incredibly, whether in Bosnia, Croatia, or Montenegro. Makes you wonder about the blood that boils right underneath the surface in this region.
    Frank (bbqboy)

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