As I said earlier, if you've never been to Tirana, you need to go at least once and have a look around. My first full day in Tirana saw me begin in the lobby of my hotel where the hotel served continental breakfast. It is a small hotel out of the way in an area away from expats which is normally what I look for when traveling. The eating area was quite small and I sat on a couch with a small table to the front. The guy working the desk had a microwave and coffee pot behind the reception desk and he apparently had the bread, cheese, jelly delivered some time earlier in the morning. He was friendly but his English was minimal which isn't a problem as I've learned to communicate using polite gestures and facial expressions. And, it is his country , not mine so the language barrier is my problem as I see it, not his. Anyhow, the hotel doesn't cater to foreign tourists as often probably as they would like, so it was to be expected. But, that type of environment makes the trip that much more fun.
There were a couple other tourists in the area and I tried to strike up a conversation but they didn’t speak English either and I’m not sure what language they did speak and couldn’t tell. Anyhow, I decided the previous night that I wanted a room closer to the central area so I set out with a map and walked to the area I wanted to stay to seek out a place. And, I figured I’d scope the town out at the same time. I walked around for several hours and finally located a very nice place a short walk from the bus stop from which I would depart in a few days. I reserved a room and off I went.
My friend told me I should visit Dajti mountain (Mount Dajt, Mali i Dajtit) so I headed in the direction as I could see it from where I was standing. On the way I hailed a cab and the driver whisked me up and dropped me within walking distance. I went in the ticket area, purchased a seat and struck up a conversation with a couple people sitting at the care. The one guy was a PHd in mechanical engineering I believe that spoke like 6 languages, an extremely bright guy. We chatted about Albania’s past and his life in general until it was almost time for the car to depart. I excused myself and made my way to the passenger loading area. There were only a couple of us waiting so I hopped on for the ride up, which couldn’t have lasted more than 10 minutes I imagine. From the car I could see the entire city below which appeared to lie in somewhat of a valley. There was some low lying fog the day I went so the whole city was partially obscured but I figured if I waited at the top the fog would burn off and I would be able to get some pictures.
I finally made it to the top after taking pictures on the way up as well as the graffiti in the car and walked up the paved trail to the crest. There was a group of guys burning wood along the walkway for some reason, perhaps to keep warm, I’m not sure. I reached the top and took a couple pictures despite the fog then went back down to where to the hotel on top of the mountain. It was basically a nondescript concrete structure, several stories high and upon entry I wandered around a mostly vacant building and asked where the elevator was. I found my way and up I went to the revolving restaurant on the top. I sat up there for a hour or so and looked out at the city partially hidden by the fog. It looked like a typical eastern European city. I seem to recall a time when Albania was among the last bastions of communism and a closed country more or less. That time is past and people from Eastern Europe seem to travel at leas through Tirana, perhaps to visit family.
So, back on the cable car I went and once at the other end I proceeded to walk back to the city. It didn’t appear to be far so I figured I’d hoof it and take some pictures. About half way I spotted a cabbie and he agreed to take me the remainder of the way explaining that it's a good thing I waved him down as it can be a bit dangerous walking down alleys and side streets in the area, especially for foreigners. He dropped me off in the center and I stopped for a cup of coffee while I planned out the remainder of my day. The city was quite alive with activity both pedestrian and autos but it is the major city in the country so this was to be expected. It was afternoon so I decided to make my way to Biloku to have a look around as I’d heard it is the place to be so I figured why not. More later
Wizard of Where
