Interesting countries. Albania
Viva Albania!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tirana Airport welcomed us with warmth and silence. Palm trees, humid warm air. The smell of the sea came from somewhere. . . It's strange, it's almost 40 km to the sea. . . Although. . . everything happens in a fairy tale! - I thought and turned on all my "receptors". The space immediately responded and gratefully opened the doors of the huge gates of life - take everything! Everything inside me, despite the fatigue, everything rejoiced! Arrived Hurray! My companions, Dimka and Oksana, all the same, the two-hour time difference has an effect, everything that happened was perceived with firmness. Dimka was ready to go, fly, swim even further with me, and Oksana turned on the autopilot and she didn’t care anymore - as long as she was delivered to her destination. We were met by Aldor, a Russian-speaking Albanian. We quickly reached Durres, we were given the keys - this is for you, place yourself. Second floor, studio apartment - everything is like a one-room hotel room, equipped with kitchen facilities - great, guys! - I said - who likes a sofa? Oksana stopped her choice at the window - mine! - Shall we go to the sea? - I was impatient to see the sea and my question sounded rhetorically - idiotic. 2.30 am? - Certainly! From our house to the beach is only 100 meters. Some buildings… Hotels! We must at least remember where we stayed! So, two identical houses. Remember! The night Adriatic lay before us in calm night beauty. Sandy beach, wide enough and clean. And the sea is warm - warm, even though it’s already September 15 on the calendar... Of course, I swam in the Black Sea on October 3, it was in Abkhazia and therefore I easily took off my clothes. Nobody, silence, only the bright light of some hotel illuminated everything around. Unusually salty, warm sea, flat bottom - a thrill!
Day 1! It turns out that only 3 hours of sleep is enough! Morning greeted with a light breeze. On the wall clock 7.30 - I had a good night's sleep! And in Moscow already 9.30. My companions continued to sniff, and I was eager to plunge into a new, unknown world! It was not difficult to find a swimsuit and a towel, and I slowly “escaped” from the sleepy kingdom. Bright blue sky, air filled with unusual notes of the sea… Adriatic! Having dived into the water from a running start, I felt a complete merger with the aquatic environment - a thrill! Warm water accepts, envelops, dissolves all troubles, problems disappear somewhere... But I like it here! Several people on the shore gave me a surprised and approving thumbs up: good-good! Really gud! I haven’t felt so cool for a long time... the water is unusually very salty, it pushes out, it’s shallow - I immediately remembered Anapa - you go, you go - and everything is knee-deep... Yes, the children are great here, and the parents are probably calm, the bottom is even, sand, a wide strip of beach, small shells, sun loungers, umbrellas, several people slowly stroll along the shore. The smell of coffee made me remember the time. How much did I swim? An hour or two? And we didn’t really eat for a day - vanity, fees, flights - I didn’t want to eat, but coffee... Oh, but I don’t have money with me... I urgently need to change the euro to the local currency! With this thought, I returned to our apartments: - Rise! Sea, sun, vacation! We had breakfast quickly - they were already waiting for us. Svetlana, our guiding star from Finland - it was thanks to her that we found ourselves in this most beautiful place, kindly agreed to accompany us to the center of Durres. It is only 100 m to the minibus, the fare is 50 leks (1 euro-140 leks), Svetlana showed and told where and what to change, buy, where to go, where to go online, where you can drink coffee. We changed the euro in the exchange office - now you can look around. By the way: coffee is insanely delicious, it costs 50 leks, but, as Dimka says: terrible! - ends terribly quickly! Small cups and served by half a cup! But we can say: big cafe and you will be served almost the usual amount. And one more thing: sugar and cold water are served separately. Bar-cafe in Durres at every step, you can also eat there, but not everywhere!
Ask for the menu or see if they eat there? The portions are really big - when Oksana and I saw these portions, we were horrified, and Dimitri rubbed his hands pretty! No one suffers from ignorance of the language - they saw familiar words: cafe - coffee, pilaf - pilaf (pilaf is served separately: rice is a slide and separately they brought meat with sauce in a bowl), they brought an ordered salad - mix. This was our big mistake! Three huge plates with 5! different fillers! There were tomatoes and cucumbers, and pickled cabbage, and cheese, and olives, and paprika, and much more. In fact, we ate one - there was simply nowhere else to go! We were remembered in the cafe! We reacted so loudly to everything new that the local population began to actively help us - with gestures and words they explained what was what, why and how much it cost. How to eat it and how delicious it is! They brought the bill - we ate for three for 10 euros! - I had to order wine! Then we went to the market - we need to buy groceries. In a cafe, of course, eating is quite inexpensive, but we are all used to having breakfast at home. So: the market! Those who have been to the regular market will understand me! - all products are sold here! Clothes elsewhere - do not be confused! Prices: 3 kilos of tomatoes -100 leks-28 rubles! Bananas are imported, but they cost 40 lek kg. Fruit is everything! We tried everything! Olives in different marinade, different flavors, different sizes, unusually large and very tasty! I was alerted by green pomegranate and persimmon, which are eaten with pleasure by local sellers. After tasting (it must be said simply: a test is a test and everyone is allowed to try), everything turned out to be ripe and tasty - such a variety. Svetlana said that everything here is tasty and natural, but we haven’t eaten such delicious products for a long time! Sour cream -200 leks per kilo! - 1.3 euros - a spoon is worth it! Incredible yummy! We, like children left without parents with a full refrigerator, ate full spoons of sour cream, cheese and delicious tomatoes, washed down with white wine, with a delicate taste and amazing aroma...
And then we went to the beach - but that's a completely different story....
The beach in Golem is an area in Durres, I have already described, but during the day it looks even better! Do not think that I am advertising - everyone tried it with their hands, feet, eyes and other parts of the body! I repeat: the beach in this place is sandy - I again remembered Anapa and Abkhazia, rather shallowly. Sun loungers, umbrellas - no problem. They remembered us and only once took 200 leks (I don’t know, maybe the end of the season, maybe we were mistaken for living in these apartments, but they didn’t take any more money), the sand is clean, every morning the car collects garbage, merchants walk along the beach, but that’s all it's unobtrusive. If you want something, you need to wave your hand and they will come to you. Most often, we saw a bike shop with all sorts of hats, shorts, souvenirs, etc. they also sell corn, here it is baked on coals! They wear-put a small grill, 15 minutes and you're done! Serve corn wrapped in a corn leaf, do not salt! It's worth a try, all this "happiness" costs 50 leks. Day 2. Sightseeing in Durres.
All of Albania is a solid attraction and the remains of ancient architecture. The history of this amazing country goes far into the depths of not even centuries, but millennia! They say that Durres is the same age as Babylon, and the old port of Durres keeps in its memory many dates and events that changed the history of not only people, but even nations! And the small streets will surely tell you different human stories, you just have to stop and listen. . . Armed with two cameras and a video camera, having reached the center without any problems, we began our historical journey. . . We had to go to the Volga! An old street that now leads to the port. The name certainly surprised us. Volga? Here? But they explained to us that the Soviet period in Albania left its mark both in names and in life. Of course, it’s difficult without a guide (Aldor, our Russian-speaking friend, was very busy), but I decided - we can handle it! They called me Susanin in a skirt, but there was still no one else to trust, and my beloved companions resigned themselves to the role of followers. Walking the streets of old Durres is a pleasure! Old houses painted in bright colors, cafes at every turn will not leave anyone indifferent! We went to the old mosque - the building is magnificent! Spire, minaret, amazing forging - everything appeared before our eyes. There is also a museum full of details of the conquests, prosperity and decline of this ancient city.
While I was photographing the mosque, and Oksana was looking around (by the way, the view is awesome from here), Dimitri discovered an ancient amphitheater, which he planned to visit. I doubt that 15.000 people could be accommodated here at once, I began the inspection. Before leaving, I read on the Internet that ancient frescoes were preserved here - wall paintings, unfortunately, quite a bit... Sitting on a stone bench, I suddenly seemed to be in the past: I heard the noise of the crowd, the roar of a tiger and the hot air was filled with the smells of the arena... Viva-Viva - people shouted. . . Unfortunately, the amphitheater does not look very festive now, but it is undoubtedly necessary to walk along the ancient steps and feel the full power of this place, and it costs only 300 leks. Going down the street to the sea, we found an Internet salon (by the way, on every corner, like drinking coffee, inexpensive and decent speed), we decided to please our loved ones and get in touch. We stayed in the salon for more than an hour, took 2 computers, gave us delicious coffee, printed documents from a flash drive and it cost us only 200 leks! Viva Albania! - for the umpteenth time I said this to myself - I fell in love with this country! Somewhere inside me, a motor started up - go ahead! Forward - Kruya is waiting! - I said, and we went to Kruya. Of course, I recommend taking a tour - it will be interesting! Kruja is a medieval town located near Tirana (32 km). The city is built on top of Sari Saltiki mountain. The name of the city is associated with the name of the national hero of Albania - Georg Kastriot - Skandeberg, who fought against the Ottoman invasion. A fortress was built near the city, which became the State Albanian Museum. The most interesting place is this town. Near the museum-fortress there is an old bazaar. When I was about to go on a trip, I found out that Kruya is famous for its silversmiths and carpet weavers. It's like that! Silver is, but! I do not recommend buying it near the walls of the fortress - cheap, fake for tourists! It’s better to go down to the shops - shops and ask the master Pheasant, tell him that Alexa from Pyatigorsk recommended him - we met by chance, but when we saw his interesting works, it’s immediately clear what is being done and how. We stayed in his workshop for about an hour - we chose gifts for everyone, I liked the filigree, bargaining is appropriate, we bought for 100 euros - everyone was satisfied! And then there was a carpet workshop - real carpets and rugs are woven there in the old fashioned way - of all sizes and colors! Buy it - you won't regret it! From 10 euros.
Lots of interesting places in Albania! Vlora, Saranda, Berat, Gjirokastra, Shengjin and you can’t see them in a day, although many travel agencies offer to do this - I personally spoke with the Russians, who “galloped through Europe” accepted the offer of visiting Albania while relaxing in Croatia and Montenegro . . UNREAL! It's like looking at St. Petersburg for an hour . . It's easier then to look at the guide. All the photos are there! Sympathizing with our compatriots, time was running out for us, we went down - to the sea, to Durress. Two weeks flew by like. . . Traveling, people, acquaintances. . But Dima had to go to work already. I'm staying here for now - I'll choose an apartment for us, since the choice is sufficient. Many Russians have already purchased real estate here. Here, of course, not everything is familiar and there are many questions . . But! People are friendly - this time! Smile, be happy, help! -that's two! The climate is wonderful, the sea, the products are all natural, delicious - these are three! Property to choose from: from 50 euros per meter on a land plot to 1200 euros per meter in an apartment on the first line with a sea view! - that's four! And you can also have five, and six, and... With my desire to live by the sea, in a good, interesting place, I shoveled more than one page on the Internet... Spain, Greece, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria... Wherever I didn’t look... It’s very expensive, then such difficulties with the execution of all kinds of documents that I want to cry! That living conditions (registration, residence permit, citizenship and other conventions) complicate life! And here... accessible, simple and clear! I realized that I no longer want to live in Spain and Greece!
I have chosen! What I wish for everyone! Viva Albania!
For all questions, simple and not so, please contact us! My name is Elena Vasilyeva, we have made many friends - let's unite!
