Reunited in Albania!
Dear Friends:
A quick note…I wrote this two days again while in Tirana but had serious issues with wifi and I’m just getting it out to you on Tuesday the 29th from Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia! Enjoy!
Greetings from Tirana, Albania, a city going through a major transition. There’s construction everywhere we look, and if you can’t see it, you can hear it. You can see skyscrapers sitting between crumbling four- to five-story communist block buildings and smaller one- and two-story red-roofed buildings from early in the 20th century. There are a lot of tourists for a place rich with history but still developing in terms of common tourist attractions.
We reunited at the Mulhouse-Basel airport (on the French side) on Thursday, with me driving in from Chaumont, France, and Zeke flying in from Amsterdam. After a lunch of sandwiches (which most likely gave me food poisoning), sparkling water, and a raspberry tart at the airport, we made our way through the various gauntlets for an easy two-hour flight to Tirana on the delightfully pink- and blue-colored Wizz Air plane. Unlike some of our other European regional airline experiences, this was quite civilized.
Getting through customs/passport control in Tirana was a breeze. There were electronic passport scanners that had us first scan our passports and wait. Then the little door opened, our pictures were taken, and the next door opened and we were released right into baggage claim, where our bags were out within about 10 minutes. When we exited the airport in search of the Enterprise desk, it felt like we were in Tunis or Marrakech but surrounded by mountains like in Palm Springs.
While the Enterprise guy said that driving in Albania is “normal,” I think his definition of normal is more like Tunis than California or France. Our adventure began as I drove us down four levels to the parking garage exit, with cars double-parked on every level and cars entering and exiting single-car-wide spaces. After getting up at 5 AM, driving 3.5 hours to the airport, taking a two-hour flight, and with a cold coming on, this was a lot to take in.
As I hit the exit, the traffic going right was insanity, and I saw two cars go left, so I went with them against the traffic, squeezing out between cars trying to come into the airport. Google Maps then took us on a very backroad and circuitous route to our Airbnb. I kept asking Zeke if we were going to hit a dead end as we drove near a desolate part of the airport, and at one point it felt like we were going in circles.
We hit the outskirts of metropolitan Tirana, which felt very ramshackle and rundown. It could have been Mexico or Tunisia or parts of Morocco. We saw a lot of people walking (someone was even walking their cow), and we later learned this is something Albanians do at around 6:30 or 7 at night — they walk and talk to neighbors and socialize, similar to the Italian passeggiata.
We saw a side of Tirana we wouldn’t have seen if we’d gone the standard route, and we were glad we did. It got us asking questions and doing research to better understand Tirana, its history, and plans for the future.
But the excitement wasn’t over. When we got to the Airbnb, Zeke got the key as I sat in the car with the hazards on, blocking a driveway. Once he had the keys and instructions, we pulled up to the security arm, and Zeke pressed the button for the garage door, surprising me with a car lift that took us down two levels to the garage. That was a first for both of us. As expected, the parking space was tiny, so Zeke parked our Suzuki AWD before we headed up to our Airbnb on the third floor.
Zeke went out for pizza, Coke, and bottled water, as my stomach was not happy at this point and we were both exhausted. We also read that travelers should drink bottled water in Albania, as the infrastructure isn’t necessarily reliable. Something else unexpected but manageable.
Friday I woke up to a truly sour stomach and the beginnings of a bad cold, so I spent the day inside. The weather cooperated with helping me avoid FOMO with gray skies, rain, and a lightning storm. Zeke went out for provisions and checked out the neighborhood. Lunch was leftover pizza and dinner was fresh pizza from the same place. Could we be considered regulars at this point? My travel comfort foods are poke bowls, Lebanese food, and pizza, which is odd because I don’t really eat pizza at home except at Vesta.
Yesterday we woke up to some sunshine, and after some research the night before, I had a plan for us, which we mostly executed. We walked through our neighborhood to the Old Bazaar and down to Et’hem Bej Mosque, where we took off our shoes, gave a donation, and were allowed into the 19th-century mosque to admire it and take pictures, which we’ve shared on Instagram. The mosque is located right on Skanderbeg Square. From here, we could see a lot of really interestingly designed skyscrapers and the first of many tourist groups.
We walked to the nearby Orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection, where a service was happening, so we left in search of the MiG Women’s Museum, housed on the fourth floor of an apartment building. We followed the instructions to ring the bell and walk up the stairs but didn’t get an answer at the door. Bummer!
We walked through Rinia Park, continuing to admire the architecture of the skyscrapers and the art (sculptures, murals) while also remarking on the crumbling and dirty older buildings. As we walked toward The Cloud, we encountered the Murat Toptani Pedestrian Street. This is definitely the tourist zone, and as we sat and had a cappuccino and croissant, we watched tour group after tour group walk by, hearing very little English.
The Cloud is an installation that must be pretty at night. During the day, while interesting, especially with the photography exhibit on display, it was dirty and lackluster.
We made our way down to Tirana Castle, where I was hoping to see some archaeological remains, but all we could see were some very nice-looking restaurants and shops as we made our way through with several Italian tour groups.
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Essentially next door was the Namazgah Mosque, which was built in 2024. We were allowed to walk into the courtyard, and it was startling to see the new construction of the mosque with the backdrop of the new skyscrapers. We both commented that we hadn’t heard the call to prayer up until this point.
From here we walked toward the Pyramid of Tirana, a communist-era building that locals attempted to dismantle after communism fell but that was rescued and renovated and turned into a gathering place and innovation/startup hub — and, I’m thinking, a place for art in the future. It’s a funky building, and went in search of the Gallery of Contemporary Art of Tirana (GOCAT) after we climbed to the top to see the stunning panoramic views of Tirana and the mountains.
The exhibit on display in GOCAT was incredible, and I learned about the artist, Bashkim Ahmeti Izano, an Albanian man now living in New York after emigrating there in 1995 at the age of 46. I loved his art and shared some of it on my Instagram.
I’d planned on lunch in Blloku, a now-hopping area with shops and restaurants and lots of people that during communism was reserved for the leadership elite. Now it seems that everyone is there and welcome. We had poke bowls for lunch at a sushi restaurant, which would have been fine if it weren’t for the smoking allowed indoors. This was hard to get used to.
On our way back to the Airbnb, we got into the Orthodox Cathedral for some pictures after watching a wedding party walk down the stairs and take some pictures. Zeke napped while I posted some things on social media.
We’d hoped to get to Bunk’Art 1 and the cable car to see some views, but I wasn’t feeling up to it (I didn’t get a nap!), so we had leftover pizza for dinner, got some work done, and went to bed early. I still feel like crap this morning, but I did get some sleep despite the cold, and we are ready to get on the road to explore more of Albania. In the last week, my sleep debt (according to my Oura ring) has gone from eight hours to less than an hour, although it is reporting that my body is dealing with ongoing stress. Unfortunately, there’s no time to recharge!
Final Thoughts
We’ve decided to experiment with short videos of our experience and sharing some pictures in lieu of long-form videos. I want something as a memory capsule (like these Postcards from the Road), and I’ve taken Zeke’s suggestion to capture moments as we wander and morphed it into something manageable as we travel. We will be sharing these on TikTok (where I create them), YouTube (as Shorts), and Instagram as Reels.
We hope you enjoy our new experiment. Our last spring trip video (Montreal) dropped on Friday, and we are working on the only two we are doing for this trip (Zeke’s cycling adventure and my château experience). No ETA on the release of those as Zeke continues to work through 6.5 hours of video from his solo trip. We haven’t even started mine.
Much love to all of you,
Terri (and Zeke)
P.S. If you’re a paid patron on Patreon or bought us a coffee through Buy Me a Coffee this year, keep an eye on your mailbox. A physical postcard from Orquevaux is headed your way. Thank you for supporting our adventures. TM
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