TimeOut

Quick transit through Albania

 

As promised in the Plovdiv post, here are some other pictures from the same road trip, of places perhaps less frequently visited by the forum members - namely Albania. We crossed it in a day (short one), entering from the Ohrid side in Macedonia and then continuing to Kotor, Montenegro.

Driving in Albania is a full time, high concentration job. Ideally with a co-pilot, whose job is not to read you out notes on corner severity but on vehicles approaching the main road at high speed and with no intention of giving right of way While the car park is reasonably new and very Mercedes Benz heavy, the driving skills do not yet match the capabilities of the vehicles in question

One still sees quite some reminders of the centrally planned past - and Albania was probably not the best example of how to go about it...

In terms of pure driving enjoyment, the roads are spectacular - fun, fun, fun

Cityscape on the way, was particularly amused by the petrol station chain's name

Albania is apparently the country with the most bunkers per inhabitant - cement manufacture must have been a booming business back in the day...



And there are still old style heroic monuments around.

Entering Tirana, the capital. It is a mix of developing world (as on the picture) and a massive building boom.

Again a reminder of the old days - quite nicely maintained, still.

And some much older times - more Skenderbeg than Enver Hoxha

The scenery is largely stunning, and often also fairly pristine and untouched.

As a tourism destination it is not for the faint of heart - especially not if you drive. Lots of fun in a way but not somewhere, where on the strength of the road trip some years back I would be willing to travel with my faimly, yet. Still, a truly beautiful place and possibly one of the few remaining exotic destinations in Europe.