Tirana, Albania: Craaaaazy Albanian Weather and WAS THAT A BOMB!?

Whoa, boy, did I sleep hard. I probably could have slept for about fifteen hours straight. Unfortunately, I got four hours. We had to get up early for we were off to the next city, Tirana, the capital of Albania! With our luggage in hand, our group left behind the ancient walls of Kotor. Suddenly, out of the depths of the moat... THERE WAS A SHARK ATTACK!!

It took one look at our group of hung-over idiots and was like, UH. UM. NEVERMIND BYE.

The tour company, G Adventures, rented a private bus for us. So we loaded our stuff on to the vehicle. By "stuff" I mean ourselves. We were so out of it we were basically luggage. Then I found a hat!

Don't I look like a face full of fashion? Speaking of face, Pat, haha, what is happening? Why is yours like that?

We bid farewell to Montenegro. A couple posts back, I mentioned the ruins/abandoned buildings we saw in Perast, right? Well, we saw a few more when we were kayaking around the Bay. It turned out, there was an interesting legality that existed in this region. Essentially, a plot of land will ALWAYS be the responsibility of whichever family owns it. Unfortunately, because of the wars in the nineties, a lot of landowning families fled... and never came back. Those plots of land though, those buildings, still remain in their name, and the government does not have the right to reclaim or repossess them. So, until those families come back, that land will be... well... unoccupied... in perpetuity. This, to me, was an unexpected and poignant reminder of the long-lasting effects of war.

We crossed into Albania. Our passports were checked and marked, and we continued to drive along the coast. I spent this time napping. At a certain point, the bus pulled over. We looked out towards the sea and saw this beautiful island.

I go to there now.

Unfortunately, that was a private island, a very very very expensive private island. We were told it was around 40 million U.S. dollars to rent it...

Anyone wanna split it with me? If we get a million people it would only be like, forty bucks. THAT'S SO CHEAP.

I took this opportunity to look around. This was my first time in Albania. I gotta say, it wasn't what I expected.

I have to admit though, I had no idea WHAT to expect.

We got back on the bus and continued to drive towards Tirana, the capital of Albania. A couple hours passed before we began to see urban development. There was a considerable amount of dilapidation. Apartment buildings, gas stations, and office buildings flew by us. Eventually, we were in the center of Tirana. My first impression of the city was its perceptible wealth disparity. Much of the infrastructure seemed new and characteristic of a first world country, but then we saw children walking between the cars on the highway begging for money. There were also a lot of stray dogs... a LOT of stray dogs.

I write this without any judgement on the economic status of Albania. But it is something I feel compelled to point out.

Our driver got lost. It took a long while before we could actually find our hostel. Once we finally did, we were assigned our rooms, and I took a quick shower. The shower, funny enough, had no curtain and no separation between it and the rest of the bathroom. So... THE BATHROOM WAS SOAKED after I was done. BWAHAHAHA YOU'RE WELCOME NINA AND ALEX.

Then we met up with the rest of the group at a very lovely restaurant down the street. I asked the waiter what he recommended, and he suggested the steak. So I went for it.

Steak in a cheesy cream sauce. MEAT AND CHEESE IN ONE BITE. WIN.

I did feel strange that I hadn't had any vegetables for the past week and a half, so I ordered a side of grilled veggies as well.

LOOK, MA, I'M HEALTHY.

So that restaurant was a very fancy place. From the dishes you saw above, you'd expect I would have paid about forty dollars, at least, right?

Ten bucks.

And as Nina pointed out to me later on, there were children begging for food less than a block away.

After lunch, our guide gave us a quick orientation tour of the city. Most importantly, he pointed out the ATM's. As we were withdrawing cash, a huge armored truck pulled up on to the sidewalk, and several armed guards with AK-47's positioned themselves around it. I thought the machine guns were a little excessive, but I suppose it was necessary. I didn't even want that money and I was nervous. We all felt it was time to get out of the area as quickly and soundlessly as possible. So we gave the truck ample space as we walked back towards the central square.

One of the main plazas in the central district.

I'd like to point out the mosque in the picture above. This was the first time we saw a mosque on the trip. Albania had a significant Muslim population, evidently much larger than in Croatia or Montenegro.

The central square was busy with traffic and activity, including the back of Alyssa's head.

We had heard that the marketplace in Tirana was a sight to see. We followed our maps to where we thought it was. We were wrong. And we were lost. But with the help of this adorable and sweet Albanian woman Nina found, we were able to reorient ourselves and find the market.

Ahhh, the sweet scent of deals!

Unfortunately, we arrived at the marketplace later on in the day, when most of the shops were closing up. However, I was impressed with their selection of olives.

Whole Foods, eat your heart out.

We walked the entire length of the market, which was several blocks. As we exited, we looked at the sky and noticed it was getting much darker. Strange, since less than an hour ago the weather was beautiful. Our new Albanian friend pointed out that this was typical for Tirana. It's geographical location, in between mountain ranges and the sea, gives the area a tumultuous weather pattern.

Yikes. I'd hate to be here in Winter.

We began walking back towards the hostel when we happened across a supermarket that had things we needed: bottled water, snacks, booze, etc. As we tried to leave, the weather broke.

It rained. Hard. And then it hailed.

Hard. After about a half hour, it seemed to be letting up. So we decided to risk getting wet and headed back to the hostel. We rinsed, changed clothes, and were ready to head into the night for some Albanian dinner. Our guide had been informed that there was an incredible restaurant across the river in one of the "hip" neighborhoods of Tirana. So we started walking there. As we were passing through the central square, we all heard an explosion. Everyone on the street jumped. Bright lights illuminated the street and smoke smothered it.

THANKFULLY, after scaring the crap out of everyone, we realized it was just some fireworks. Yeesh! I think I lost ten years of my life from that.

So it was a far walk to the restaurant. We got lost several times. But we finally found it. I was ravenous. I ordered a starter of baked feta with veggies and spices, and an Albanian home-style casserole, which was essentially baked mashed potatoes with meat, cheeses, and more spices. 

Oh. And beer. Duh.

So, that may not look like much. But, and I'm being totally serious right now, this was FANTASTIC. I don't know what it was about it, the spices, the authenticity, I have no idea, but it was honestly the best food I'd had so far. The spicy baked feta was something I would totally make here in the States, and the casserole was like a spiced shepherd's pie. It was so simple. But SO. UNBELIEVABLY. GOOD.

After dinner we felt exhausted and stuffed with goodness. While some of the others decided to go out and party it up, the gang and I headed back to the hostel... or at least... we tried to. We got lost. Again. We found ourselves in some dark, seemingly scary, parts of Tirana. But thankfully, we didn't lose our cool. We headed back towards the well-lit streets, and eventually found our way back to the central square. Once we got there, we knew exactly where we needed to go to get back to the hostel.

Once we got back, we chatted for a bit, and quickly found ourselves fast asleep.