TOODLE PIP TIRANA

21st - 22nd Nov 2022

The statue of the Unknown Partisan, or maybe the Partknown Unisan.

There were bits of blue sky on Monday! Only temporary of course. The statue above is to the east of the Square. I think it relates to the partisans in WW2 who were largely responsible for getting rid of the Germans in 1944.

Left: Tirana Castle, or what's left of it. This 'castle' is in the centre and the original dates back to before 1300, a remnant from the Byzantine era (of which I know little). It was fought over for hundreds of years and is now almost non-existant. The gate at the front, guarded by these odd looking 'sentinels', is rebuilt and there is little, if anything, left of the original walls. Inside there are lots of smart restaurants, cafés and upmarket shops stretching along a wide 'mall'. I believe there are efforts being made to restore the original, but there really isn't an 'original' to restore. They would have to start building from scratch.

Right: The Orthodox Church of the Holy Annunciation. It was close to my hotel on Rruga Ibrahim Rugova. It was only built in 1964 but closed in 1967 after Enver Hoxha began his anti-religion crusade. It became a sports club until 1990 when it was restored to it's original use.

Left: The tall and elegant bell tower at this church. It contained lots of bells, but I never heard them ringing. Maybe only on 'special' occasions.

Right: The New Bazaar. An extensive covered market to the east of the Square. It sold all sorts of things, including fruit and veg, souvenirs, jewellery, tat and elaborate rugs as in this photo. 

I had a good lunch at a very pleasant restaurant nearby (left). I still couldn't get over the sheer number of such eateries and bars in this part of town. 

....most of which catered for the large number of enthusiastic smokers (right).

Over the few days I was here a large open-air auditorium was being set up in Scanderbeg Square (left) to show the World Cup footer. It was enclosed on three side by tented cafés and bars.

Right: On Monday (21st) the England v Iran game was being shown. It cost nothing to get in but there were very few in the audience. They were still in the process of setting up the refreshment stations. When I went in it was still 0-0. The games were being televised in most of the restaurants and bars around the city. You couldn't avoid it.

Left: Interestingly, this construction was sponsored by Coca-Cola and, of all things, Hamley's Toy Shops. The heavens were about to open again which might explain the empty seats.

There were many other sights to see which, largely because of the rain, I didn't. 

I should have spent more time visiting some of the museums but rather idly spent too much time in the local hostelries!

I departed on Tuesday morning having booked a flight back to London via Frankfurt.

The airport buses (LUNA, behind the girls) left from the south side of Scanderbeg Square, on the hour every hour. They seemed very efficient and the journey, which took about 50 minutes, cost a mere 400 Lek (£3 approx), payable on the bus.

I left at 9.00am and the traffic coming into the city was gridlocked. Miles of queues. It must take a long time to get into town at rush hour. Not too bad getting out.

On the way we passed this 'grand' looking building with a statue of a charioteer on the top. Poor photo (right) taken through the bus window and it was raining, of course. I have yet to discover what it is. I expect my 'OMPITA' research department will let me know.

The research department at OMPITA came up trumps yet again! This building above is the Amadeus Palace Hotel, about 10 miles NW of Tirana. It is a very posh and expensive place with swimming pools, a spa and golf course etc. Well above my pay station!

Tirana airport was, compared to most others, a delight. It was uncrowded (OK, it is not a large major hub) with no queuing for anything. 

It had decent cafés (right) selling good food including delicious sticky cakes.

.....and, naturally, plenty of smoking areas.

I discovered the 'VIP' Lounge (right), rather later than I should have. I had arrived with a couple of hours to spare. It was a bargain! For the equivalent of £15 you could spend as long as you liked in there and help yourself to unlimited food and drink. It was very comfortable with all the electronic facilities for your computer etc. I think that there were only two of us in there at the time. I certainly got my money's worth.

Checking-in was entirely hassle-free, and the checks through security were courteously, efficiently and quickly conducted with none of the 'hassle' and 'bossiness' (and queues) you often get at places like Heathrow.

Left: Check-in desks displayed this seemingly omnipresent 'Kastrati' sign, as per most of the petrol stations. Kastrati, as I found out, is a privately owned petroleum company based in Albania. Rather an unfortunate name in my opinion.

The flight back, with Lufthansa, was fairly straightforward except for the transfer at Frankfurt which involved walking for miles, and partly by bus, to another gate, badly signposted, with 40 minutes to do it in. I was convinced I was going to miss the connection but, sweating and irate, I made it. Frankfurt airport is a nightmare.

So that concludes my short stay in Albania. I was left with a most favourable impression of the place and the people. I expect it is a great place to go for a beach holiday in the summer...when the rain has stopped. Definitely recommended!