Balkan adventure Pt. 3: Albania

We arrived in Tirana (the capital of Albania), again, on a whim. It seems to be "our thing" as of late to just pick a city and go. It's been working out quite nicely so I was not too worried about what greatness and uniqueness we would find here.

The view outside of our hostel 

From the moment I stepped foot on Albanian soil, I had a feeling this country would be different from all the rest.My first clue could have been the bus dropping us off on the side of the road hahah. Most the travelers, including myself, were confused on where we were. Usually the bus will drop you off at the bus station, but we later learned that Albania does not have bus stations (tourism has not flourished in that sense) just designated roads and store fronts for busses to depart from and arrive to.It could have also been the lack of the huge corporations. Which I think is way awesome. For the majority of our European adventure, it has been nearly impossible to get away from McDonald's and Starbucks. But here, there was not one in sight. All the stores seemed to have been family owned and operated. If it wasn't a store front, it was a market with fresh products from the locals.

But I think the #1 aspect of Albania that stood out the most was the love the Albanian people have for their culture. They embrace their history and are very willing to share their culture, history and personal beliefs and experiences to anyone who will give them the time and an open ear. Just from talking to locals, I believe we learned more raw information in this country than we have in many, many others.

Lucky for us, Albania has one free walking tour and we, of course, didn't miss it! We learned SO MUCH about Albania's past, present and goals for the future. It was really something special to experience a country growing while you're standing right in the center of it!!

Original communist building 

After wandering around the city, one thing was made very clear to me... these people are open books! They want to share everything with everyone!!

So.... here are some interesting facts/direct quotes I learned from the locals of Tirana:

In the 80's Albania had nothing. There were no more international relations with other communist countries so they were forced to live off of rations and were blocked off from the rest of the world. Rations were given: 1 chicken, 2 liters of cooking oil and a loaf of bread for a family of four for one month.They had tv (national channel for four hours a day) that would only show homeless people from other countries to show how Albania was the best country in the world.If you tried to escape the country you would be killed. if you were successful your family would suffer the consequences...The government would decide who would go to university and who would not.In 1985 the communist leader died and the students stared to protest against the communist partyIn 1991 the first democratic election was granted to the citizens of AlbaniaEven today Albania is still in the process of joining the rest of the westernized countries.During communism over 700,000 bunkers (more like close to 1 million) were made in Albania for the communists for protection.The flag symbolizes more than just an eagle. It represents the mother to all Albanians. And to all those living in the Balkans for that matter. The wings protect the brothers and sisters of the region and will always help another fly if the other is struggling.Albania is very proud of its harmonious nature between all religions.

It's very hard to explain what it feels like to be in a country who has recently become democratic and has joined the rest of the "western world". Albania was literally in the dark. Things I have all grown up with my whole life, such as bananas and Coca Cola are still "new" to them, only being introduced a little over twenty years ago. Same with driving, it has only become somewhat easy to get your license in the last twenty years....so imagine the drivers ;) haha.A good friend of mine had the perfect words for it, "it's like you're time traveling" and I could not agree more. Thanks Alex!

To sum it up....GO HERE! its underrated and amazing. I know I will & I cant wait to see what time I'll travel to next time.. haha. I was only here for a few days, but within that short time, the city, the people, the culture had all found a way into my heart.