Impressions of Albania

Albania was on our lists of must see places, so the disappointment we felt when we discovered it was not covered under Dora’s insurance was devastating. We worked around that problem and are we glad we did.

This was a real change for us, a change in pace, bought about by travelling on public transport and with the locals, but also the change of pace of the country. You can tell that Albania has changed dramatically since the fall of communism, but it still decades behind northern Europe, intensive agriculture is still rare, with much still being done by mule or hand, and you wonder why.

This is also apparent in some of the developments. The hotel we stayed in was not up to western standards of fire safety, so a warning to those that visit, look around and check out your escape route if the worse would happen, and if it looks too serious, move on.

The people, like the Greeks, appear incredibly genuine and are keen to help you in anyway they can, and there is a real energy and optimism among the young who appear really motivated, but when you talk to them they are suffering, like the rest of Europe with high rates of unemployment, and are overeducated for the jobs they are applying for. They don’t all speak English though, as our guide suggested, in fact in the rural areas, no one does.

The landscape is beautiful, but it is so let down by the people who are frankly dirty, littering every roadside, riverbank and field, it is such a shame.

Let us hope this is transitional, and as tourism becomes more important they will recognise the importance of being clean. The north of the country, Valbona and the ferry trip on Lake Koman was the  highlight of the trip, but turned out to be the most un-Albanian. We were in guesthouses run by a foreigner, and surrounded by north European’s. We thought this may have been because Albanians didn’t like the outdoor lifestyle, not so. Or maybe they couldn’t afford the higher prices, also not true. There was another hotel up the road where they would stay, of a similar price, but apparently with loud music up until 3.00am, so maybe it is just a difference in what they are looking for.

It is difficult to say whether Albania has put its communist past behind them, or whether they should.

They don’t however, seem to know what to do with some of the relics of the past, which is a shame, it would be good to see them back in use, even if they are reminders of a difficult past.

I wouldn’t say that Albania has been a surprise, not like France, Italy or Greece. But it has been incredibly rewarding and a fascinating memory.

“After being to a few countries over the last few months, we make an hard attempt to come up with the highlights of each of them. We will always remember Albania for the way we travelled: leaving Dora behind, backpacking, travelling with locals in public transport, eating home-made food every night, meeting local people…This is the best way to know a country” SM

GDR