Albania -- August 2016

Seems like forever since our last entry...where has the time gone and where have we been?  Thanks for hanging in there with us...we do have some travels to share...

We're not sure we ever really thought about Albania, let alone thought we'd ever visit.  But what a gem of a country.  Nestled in the Balkans, it's the small orange country (see map below) on the Adriatic and Ionian coast, north of Greece, east of Italy.  It was one of the last countries to fall from communism in 1991 and it's taken this long for word to get out that this is a country very rich with history along with natural beauty with both mountains and beaches, including 2 World Heritage UNESCO sites, and is well worth a visit.
Albania is roughly the size of Maryland, Belgium or Rwanda with about 2.8 million people.  Of those, 430,000 live in Tirana, the inland capital of the country at only 361 feet above sea level.  Back in the late 1960s, after many mosques and churches were destroyed, Albania was proclaimed by the then leader, Hoxha, as 'the worlds 1st atheist state' yet today 58% of the country declare themselves Islamic, 17% Christian and 25% non-religious, atheist or other.

We were lucky enough to spend 10 days in the country and 7 of those were in Tirana, where Aly attended a conference.  We managed to get out in the evenings and even went on a 2.5 hour free walking tour of the city one weekend morning.  Here are just a few of the sights...

The city on a crystal clear day

Tirana from the Sky-view revolving restaurant

a multi colored city

with lots of green space in the city as well

and wide boulevards

with a beautiful carousel at the end of the main street

lit up at night

traffic blocks on the main boulevard

Lake Tirana near city center

beautiful walking streets

Albanian men catching up...

...and some Albanian women doing the same

Presidential Palace

Parliament

Roman Orthodox church--Resurrection of Christ Orothodox Cathedral

Skanderbeg Square -- the largest and main plaza in downtown Tirana where the Natural History Museum, Opera, Skanderbeg Monument, Et'hem Bey Mosque, Clock Tower, and the International Hotel of Tirana are all found.

 Clock Tower of Tirana and the 18th century Et'hem Bey Mosque

Natural History Museum with a beautiful mosaic featuring Albanians from various times in history

Skanderbeg Mounument -- George Castriot 1405-1468
Albanian nobleman known as Skanderbeg-- he reigned from 1443-1468

Tanners' Bridge -- an 18th century Ottoman footbridge -- one of the oldest around

statue of Mother Theresa - she hails from an Albanian-Indian family

just 1 of approx 185,000 bunkers found throughout the country dating back from
communist times--this is across the street from our hotel--the Rogner

Some interesting statues in and around the city...

Abdyl, Naim and Sami Frasheri -- heros and brothers from the 1800s

a woman giving a soldier water

children playing leap frog

wire man figure off the main street

Conference is over...a photo of the attendees...

A few of us took a gondola up to the top of the mountain just outside of town...beautiful views of the city where we had a delicious lunch and went on a lovely 2 hour hike.

Buddy, Aly, Haishu, Doug and Megan out on a hike

After the conference, we, along with 2 friends, took a trip to the south of the country, visiting the 2 World Heritage sites in Albania and taking advantage of the aqua-marine waters of the sea.  Our 1st stop was Gjirokaster--Its old town is a World Heritage site--a well preserved Ottoman town which is overlooked by the Gjirokaster Fortress.  The town and Fortress date back to 1336...

the Fortress overlooking the town

the town of Gjirokastra

inside the fortress

beautiful panorama from the Fortress

amazing stonework

Megan, Carol and Aly inside the Fortress

the old town of Gjirokaster

Albanian arts and crafts

Albanian enamel bowls

lunch on the road--literally

lunch for 4--cheese, potato, spinach, meat and bread--all very delicious

leaving Gjirokaster with some Albanian humor (check out the sign!)

From Gjirokaster we continued south and stopped at the 2nd World Heritage Site in Albania, Butrint, the Roman ruins which date all the way back to the 10th to 8th centuries BC.  Butrint is located at almost the southern most tip of Albania facing the sea and the Greek island of Corfu.

more amazing stonework

a ferry crossing into Greece

After driving and visiting the 2 World Heritage Sites, we headed to the coast and spent our last night in Albania in the southern town along what people call the Albanian Riveria in the town of Serande, so close to Greece, you could almost touch it.  Beautifully clear warm water, delicious food and wonderful temperatures.

our hotel beach and umbrellas

looking south at the Greek coast line

the peach-y colored hotel on the left was ours

sunset

early morning on the coast

Corfu, Greece -- 6 kms from Serande

the beautiful town of Serande

the steep, twisty road back to Tirana

at the top of the coastal range, heading back to Tirana

Ten days flew by and we left Albania heading for Austria for another bike trip in Europe...that trip will be next...