Albania Mania – Cont’d

Video and voiceover from my time in Albania.

The link to the video can be found below as well:

https://youtu.be/GdF7lPkZAY0

Albania, a country with a rich history of hardship and power movements, has deeply impacted its ability to prosper economically. The country is incredibly beautiful, and the people are kind and welcoming as I travel through their hometowns. I have been fortunate enough to meet a great mix of travelers as well as local Albanians during my almost three weeks there. The Albanians are very well-educated and speak anywhere from two to six or seven different languages. Wow! No wonder they are looking outside of Albania to start a life.

Tiranë

After my time in Berat, I packed up and made my way to Tiranë. Tiranë is nothing like the Albania I had come to know over the past two weeks. The city was quite clean in the main areas, and the government has obviously invested a lot of money into making it a capital city that can meet the needs of foreign businesses looking for opportunities. I stayed at the Trip’n Hostel in the center of the city. The location was fantastic, and the facility was clean and comfortable.

I was able to get my bike looked at by a local expert, as I needed a few tune-ups. The many mountains throughout Albania had left my bicycle in desperate need of new brakes and a few small adjustments. I met my local friend Albano from Sarandë as well as Irish Mike on my first evening in Tiranë. Albano had grown up in Tiranë, so we were able to get a personal tour around the city. This was a great way to start out in such a large city. Many times, you do not know where to start, but Albano gave us the details on what we should do. It is always fun to meet people you’ve met previously further on in your travels.

Skanderbeg – Military commander and hero

Krujë

From Tiranë, I made my way to a beautiful town nearby on the edge of a mountain called Krujë. Krujë quickly became one of my favorite towns in Albania. I stayed at an incredible place called Rooms Emiliano. For anyone going to Krujë, this is the best place in town and is super reasonably priced. Take advantage of the incredible cooking at the guesthouse too; it is fantastic. The place was located within the castle itself and had been passed down in the family for over 500 years, according to the sons who ran the guesthouse.

While there, I visited the Krujë Castle, which houses the National Museum Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu, the Ethnographic Museum of Krujë, and the Old Bazaar (Ottoman-style bazaar). I also hiked up the mountain to the Cave of Sari Sallteku. If you do get a chance to visit Krujë, I would not skip any of this. It can be done in a day or two. The mountain is a tough climb, so if you have physical restrictions, you might want to skip this one. However, if you are physically able, it is an amazing hike!

Sacrificing chickens to welcome spring

Overhead shot of the beautiful castle in Krujë

Museum and castle of Krujë

Shkodër

From Krujë, I made my way to Shkodër. Shkodër is a beautiful city with a different vibe than many of the other Albanian cities and towns I had visited before. In Shkodër, younger locals seemed to be out and about, and the city feels alive! I stayed at the Wanderer’s Hostel, which was my second option after Mi Casa Es Tu Casa, which had been suggested to me but was unfortunately full.

There is a beautiful Venetian castle on the hill called Rozafa Castle. This is stunning and looks out over the rivers flowing into Lake Skadar. I hiked with some other travelers to the lookout over Lake Skadar. It is quite a sight, even for a Minnesotan blessed with a plethora of beautiful bodies of water. The city is incredibly beautiful and cozy but also provides many fun things to do over a one- to two-day stay.

Lake Skadar

Lake Skadar

Rozafa Castle

ROSE

I cannot get over how kind and respectful the people seem to be in Albania. They are all so open to talking to you and want to share their stories with you.

As I approached Krujë at sunset I was walking my bicycle through the streets when a local man approached me and started speaking almost perfect English. He asked if I had somewhere to stay and offered to let me camp in his Olive Garden inside the castle walls. I had already booked my place for the night but was in awe of the amazing offer. I ran into him the next day as he was asking passing tourist if they would be interested in a tour around the castle. He explained that it is really hard to get customers without a tourist license. He went on to say that he had the knowledge to get the license but he would never be able to pay the $80 dollar license fee which includes the education. This is in fact a rose and a thorn for me as you will read later. The rose is that this man, who had hardly anything, offered to let me stay in his garden for absolutely nothing. I ended up asking him to give me a tour around the castle. He was great and his English, although not perfect, was good enough for me to take in the information provided. He was working so hard to survive but it appeared that the system was not working in his favor.

BUD

Be aware that this is only what I heard, and I have no facts to back it up besides what I saw with my eyes and what I was told by my local friend Albano. I asked Albano why there were so many mushrooms around the city of Tiranë. Not only were there mushroom statues in some of the intersections, but the trees also had red and white mushroom-looking covers on them as well. They were everywhere!

Albano explained that the Prime Minister was gifted a large mushroom statue called the “Giant Triple Mushroom” by Carsten Höller, a German artist who had become an ambassador of Albania. The statue was destroyed by protesters in February near the prime minister’s facility. As a result, Prime Minister Rama not only apologized to Carsten Höller but retaliated by putting mushrooms all over the city. He made sure they were everywhere. This was his idea of punishment for those who destroyed his gift. I found the childish actions pretty comical.

THORN

According to locals in most towns, the average monthly wage in Albania is about $300. Research statistics list the average wage at about $500 monthly. I would assume that this varies largely from town to town, and I suspect that the average is brought up by a smaller number of more substantial salaries. Regardless, if we pick the middle number of $400, that is less than half of what the average American makes weekly. I realize that there are countries around the world with salaries still much lower than that of Albania, but its location is pretty central to Europe.

It saddened me to hear many young, well-educated Albanians repeating over and over that they have no future in Albania. Many of them were working and waiting for a chance to get out and start their careers and lives in Italy, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Greece, Finland, and other countries in Europe, as well as the USA. I hope to see Albania make some changes in the near future to provide better opportunities and incentives for their people to stay with their families in their country. If not, it appears to me that they will continue losing many incredible, educated, and valuable young professionals who will follow better opportunities elsewhere.