Ever heard of Albania?
Letter #41: Well, it's been on my travel list for the past 5 years, and I finally got to visit this Eastern European gem. <3
5/28/23
The problem is everywhere I go I accumulate more stuff. Even though I had just paid $157 to ship a box of stuff from Nepal back to my parent’s house in Wisconsin, I received gifts from the aunties in Palestine, and I had foolishly sent a fresh set of my clothes with Yasmin from the US to Palestine (before I ever left NYC, I had handed a bag of clothes off to Bilal for a later date), so that I could re-up on some summer styles in Europe and discard anything that had seriously worn-in like socks and underwear. FOOLISHLY. These extra clothes then created too much bulk for my bag and I hadn’t actually worn through anything that needed to be discarded. That, and I had pivoted my plans to spend a month back in the US, so I could’ve swapped out the clothes myself anyway.
So, again, I have too much stuff, especially because now I’m in Albania, which is known for the amazing rugs—an item I simply can’t resist. Sure, you can buy knock-offs at West Elm and the Pottery Barn all day, but I prefer to wait, travel to the source, and buy them at a fraction of the price. 😈 I’ll be traveling around the country by bus, so lugging around a 50 lb backpack is less than desirable.
Gjirokastër was dripping with handmade wool rugs, and even though I had already peeled off 1/3 of my stuff for luggage storage back in the hotel I stayed at for my *middle-of-the-night* arrival in Tirana, my purchase of rugs had maxed out my luggage again. I’d be heading from Gjirokastër to Sarandë, Sarandë to Himarë, Himarë back to Tirana, and Tirana to Shkodër where I’d cut down my luggage even further before starting the trek through the Valbona Pass in the Albanian Alps.
When the bus reached Tirana from Himarë on Sunday morning at 10am (after a 5 hour drive), I checked with the driver of the Shkodër bus—the next one wouldn’t be leaving until 11am. I improvised quickly. My original Tirana hotel was a 10 minute walk from the bus station (which is not a cute part of town to stay in, but I had wanted to be right by the bus station so I could jet off to the next town after landing in Tirana). Again, I cut down my luggage in the bus station parking lot, knowing full well I wouldn’t need breezy beach clothes up in the mountains, threw my bag into the bottom of the bus, said a quick prayer that they wouldn’t drive off with it before I returned, and hustled my extra stuff over to the hotel.
It’s the honor system here—true trust. I promised the guys at the bus station I would FOR SURE return by 11am, and in return I trusted that my luggage would be ok. I kept my valuables with me. Once I reached the hotel, the owner (who doesn’t speak any English) remembered my face and kindly allowed me to leave more stuff with the luggage I had already left with her days earlier.
My stuff was stored under a banquet table in their elaborate dining hall that seems to no longer be in use. Like I said, it’s the honor system. No ticket for my items, no secured room or locker. Just…under a table covered by a tablecloth. But I guess I’m getting used to it while I travel. Especially at hostels—people leave their luggage in the lobby or in open storage rooms all the time if they need to wait for check-in hours. The idea being that hopefully you won’t mess with other peoples’ stuff, and in turn they won’t mess with yours. And, so, by tomorrow morning, when I leave even more of my things in Shkodër (including my laptop 😱), my stuff will be spread out across two cities in Albania. My next challenge will be how to get it all back to the US…🤔
Albania is a charming little country in the Balkan Peninsula in Eastern Europe. So how did I end up in Albania?! (I got this question a lot). Maybe 5 years ago or so, WGSN (the trend website we used at work at that time) featured Albania on the front page as an up-and-coming travel destination. There was an image of this crystal clear, bright blue water of the Ionian Sea. I’d never much considered visiting this part of the world, but that image sent me down a rabbit hole of researching what is known as “the Albanian Riviera”.
And, so, like many of the countries I visited this year, this seemingly “random to Americans” country was put on my “must see” list. I had originally planned to spend a month here, but when I decided to book flights back to the US for June, I shortened my time in Albania to 9 days. But, honestly, this place is so beautiful that I’d love to come back and backpack through more of the north of Albania, Montenegro, and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Even North Macedonia boasts stunning landscapes and quaint villages—we just don’t hear as much about these “off-the-beaten-path” countries in the US.
I started my trip in Gjirokastër, an endearing little town nestled in the southern mountains of Albania. All of the old town architecture is known for its buildings being completely comprised of stone, right down to the roofs, hence the name “Stone City”. The old bazaar, the center of the village, was bustling with tourists, every shop selling colorful handmade rugs, ceramics, and other novelty items. I wanted a glass of wine the moment I stepped foot into that town. I had gone nearly 4 months without adult beverages in Asia and the Middle East, but immediately upon entering Europe..BAM!! The wine was calling my name again.
Rough cobblestone streets, stone houses built into the mountainside, old churches and mosques surrounded the backdrop of a castle dating back to the 12th century.
I stayed in this amazing little apartment/guesthouse a 15 minute walk from the old bazaar. Many of the older generation don’t speak English here (including these guesthouse owners), so we rely on gestures. The place had everything I needed for my two night stay, with a view of the castle from the property. The weather is cool and sunny, perfect for having the windows open to welcome in the fresh spring air. There are very few mosquitos, flies, or any bugs in general here, so I could leave the windows open, even though they didn’t have screens. I spent a day and a half wandering around the streets. The old town is TINY. The newer are is slightly larger. I grabbed dinner at a nearby restaurant—the food is similar to Greek food—and finished off with a Nutella crepe for dessert.
On Saturday, there was a heavy downpour in the afternoon, so I enjoyed tea and some amazing apple/filo dough roll dessert at a coffee shop called Te Kubé, that’s built into the tunnels that run under the mosque.
In the early 1970s, Albania’s communist dictator, Enver Hoxha, known for his paranoia, built a series of underground tunnels in Gjirokastër, spanning over 800m, featuring 59 rooms, that acted as a bunker during the Cold War era. During Hoxha’s 41 year reign, travel abroad was outlawed as well as private proprietorship. It was fascinating to be in a country that has only newly experienced so many of the freedoms that we are afforded in the US and many other Western countries such as land ownership and even the opportunity to own and drive cars. Albania is FULL of Mercedes Benz’s—the citizens weren’t allowed to own cars, but the dictator himself owned several Mercedes. And when Albania became a democracy and later entered capitalism in 1991, the Mercedes became a symbol of prosperity. Not only that—the Mercedes are hardy cars and can handle the rough roads of the country. I’ve truly never seen so many in my life.
On Thursday morning I found an easy running route along the main highway, and went for 2 consecutive runs. On the Friday morning, a stray dog ran with me, all smiles with her young puppy energy. It seriously made my entire week.
Traveling by bus here, from town to town, is not a sophisticated system—ask a local and they’ll tell you to catch the bus at this gas station or outside this market, or at these crossroads. I’ve only seen an actual “station” in Tirana, the capital, and even still it’s just a bunch of buses lined up outdoors—no ticket booth, no time table, no signs announcing arrivals and departures. And, yet, the system works very well. You walk up to whatever “station” you need to, and someone, anyone will approach you and ask where you want to go. You tell them which town and they’ll point out the bus you need to be on. A small white and black sign hangs in each bus windshield announcing which town it will reach next. All the drivers and locals seem to help each other out, and the prices are fixed. (For instance, I’d pay about $4-$7 in cash depending on which town I was traveling to—and the rides were anywhere from 2-5 hours!).
I used this same system to get to Himarë. There were about 18 of us crammed into a 15 passenger mini bus that took two hours to reach Sarandë, where I then caught another bus for about an hour up to Himarë. There I’d spend a couple days in my quaint beach stay. The water IS as stunning as that photo I saw on WGSN years ago. (Those of you who are reading this who have access to WGSN, search Albania on the site and I’m sure the photo will pop up and you can see what I mean 🤤). The beach has course sand and is comprised mostly of rocks, so it’s not the most comfortable to walk on, but totally worth it for the clear, calm water that’s perfect for a swim. The beach was clean and not at all crowded—and the prices in Albania are LOW (for Europe).
This place reminded me a lot of Çirali in Turkey, along the Turqouise Coast. Hilary and I visited there back in 2018 and, to this date, Çirali was one of my favorite beach vacations ever. I love the mom and pop little guesthouses, the humble beach front restaurants offering fresh fish caught that day. The owner of the guesthouse in Himarë was so sweet, and even washed my clothes for free. They came back neatly folded, smelling great, and had me all prepped for the trek in the Valbona Pass.
After lounging on the beach for a couple days, I caught a 5:15am bus from Himarë to Tirana. This was a huge tour bus, so there was plenty of room to spread out and nap in the back. We reached Tirana about 5 hours later. I hopped on another bus and reached Shkodër by 1pm. I checked into my hostel and received instructions for getting to Valbonë on Monday, where the trek would begin on Tuesday.
Shkodër is SO cute. Tons of people ride bikes around (and the rest drive Mercedes), and there is a bustling pedestrian street with shops, bars, restaurants, and cafes. On Wednesday, when I return from the trek, I’ll rent a bike and ride around Shkodra Lake, which I’d heard is beautiful.
Podcast Recommendations?
Since I’ve been back in Wisconsin for a month, I’ve been running about 5 days a week outside with my mom’s dog. Katlin has sent me a couple great podcast episodes to listen to, one of which I’ll share more about later. But I’m not very good at finding inspiring episodes on my own, so I welcome some suggestions! I’m curious about wellness and self-growth, history, social issues, and trends in changing your career. So if you have a recommendation for me, I’d be very grateful as it will help me learn and make my runs that much more enjoyable. 🤪
Hey! Would you like to connect over creativity, self-growth, and problem-solving? Or just to have a virtual glass of wine or mocktail? Please book a time on my Calendly for us to chat! I can’t wait to see you. XOXO.
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The stray dog running with you made MY day just reading about it!