Blizzard in New York

Have returned to New York last evening and was very lucky to have made it all the way home, notwithstanding the bad winter blizzard that has paralyzed the city and all its transportation.

I was apprehensive in leaving Tirana, which was enjoying 60F temperature, although soaked by torrential rain, because I was concerned about my plane connections in Vienna and Frankfurt. Most of Europe has been badly affected by an unusually early, cold, and snowy winter, but, I did not expect a worst situation upon returning to New York.

The departure from Germany was only delayed 40 minutes to perform the de-icing of the plane, and the transatlantic flight was very smooth until we reached NY, where we had to reduce speed and circle around JFK airport for an hour.

After landing safely in zero visibility, the problem was to get from the airport to the city. Transportation was lacking and the line of passengers waiting for the occasional taxi that would show up, was extremely long. It was cold to stand on the covered sidewalk, where the wind blowing at 50 miles per hour was engulfing everyone in swirling snow.

I cannot believe how lucky I was to hitch a ride in a private van with a couple other foreigners, and not to get hurt when I skidded getting out of the car and...landed sitting on 2 feet of snow in front of my building! From the plane arrival to my home it took about 4 hours!

NY airports were closed last night and the trains also stopped running. This morning some people here in the city are still stuck inside public transportation since last evening.

New York City has been completely silent for over 12 hours, and only now the noise of snow blowers is being heard......I have seen similar bad storms in this city a few times over past decades, but this was the first time that I was experiencing one in the midst of traveling home from abroad.

Happy New Year everyone!

Holiday Greetings!

I wish you
a Merry Christmas
and
a Happy and Healthy New Year 2011!

Ju huron
Gezuar Krishtlindje dhe
Vitin e Ri 2011!

Snow everywhere

This winter has come in in full force and the snow has appeared in the most unusual places.

Here are a couple of pictures from today's Corriere della Sera:

Can you believe snow in Rome?

And even in the heel of Italy?

When I heard the Italian meteo forecast yesterday for southern Italy, I knew that Albania would be hit next.

Sure enough this morning it was no surprise to see snow that is sticking to the ground in Tirana, although this is quite unusual for this city.


Nothing stops the street vendor who puts his ware on display on the little bridge, but the begging woman that shows up every morning in the same spot is nowhere to be seen today.


Current weather condition in Tirana will not last long, but, for a while even this city takes on a winter wonderland look.....

Winter is here

After the rains of a week ago Tirana was inundated by gorgeous sunshine for a couple of days and throughout the weekend.

On Wednesday, the 8th, Albania celebrated another national holiday: it was the 20th anniversary of the student upraising that challenged and eventually initiated the crumbling of the old dictatorial regime in 1990.

For those of you that might be interested in history, I refer you to a short article by a young foreign author, whom I met over a decade ago, that describes the events of those days. Lots of interesting historical videos of this happening have now surfaced and are also available on YouTube.

On Friday, the temperature suddendly dipped about 20F degrees within 24 hours. The crisp air was rushed in by unually strong wind, and people that nornally stroll around, have stepped up their walking pace, bundled up in heavy coats, scarves, and gloves.

Now, this week is giving us a first look at sprinkles of snow on the mountain tops surrounding this capital.


The early morning rain and cold did not stop the beggar mother that every day shows up on the nearby bridge over the Lana canal, with her young girl. Regardless of weather, and without any cover, she squat downs for a few hours on a blanket and awaits handouts, while chatting with local streeet vendors, who also park themselves on this narrow passage way to sell their ware.

It's sad to think that the homeless situation that, unfortunately, exists in every country, continually produces loss of lives. Provided shelters where alcohol is not allowed are avoided by the lost souls that remain in danger on the streets to maintain their addiction to drinking.

In most cases here and throughout Europe begging is done by women and children, who maintain their male partners' bad habits with their quests, otherwise, unfortunately, they would suffer their abuses.

As soon as the weather clears a bit Tirana's municipal street cleaners in their green uniforms are out, as usual, to perform their duties, which include raking fallen leaves in the parks and the green areas, such as the one along the canal below my apartment.

Nasty weather

Although the temperature remains mild here in Tirana, currently having 57F degrees, the rain does not want to stop. It has been steadily ongoing for 2 weeks now.

The flooding in northern Albania has created critical situations; thousands of people had to be evacuated from over 1500 homes. The city of Shkodra and its surrounding towns have been inundated by their overflowing lake.....


[pictures from Gazeta Shqiptare]
All of northern Europe, including northern Italy, is under a heavy blanket of snow, and exceptional freezing temperatures. Even Russia, accustomed to cold weather, is experiencing unusual winter conditions.

Most international airports have been greatly affected, such as London's Gateway that had to be closed for 2 days, and I am beginning to wonder what I'll have to face when returning to NY, via Germany, later this month!

Albania's Anniversary

From the U.S.Department of State in Washington, D.C.:

Albania's National Day

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
November 26, 2010

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Albania as you celebrate your Independence Day on November 28. The history of friendship and shared interests between Albania and the United States was cemented at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, where President Woodrow Wilson strongly supported Albania’s independence.

Since then, Albania has made many valuable contributions to promote peace and security in the Western Balkans. As a NATO partner and an advisor to other Balkan countries aspiring to join NATO, Albania plays a crucial and proactive role advancing regional integration and stability. The United States also honors Albania’s commitment to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, and its dedication to protecting peace around the world.

Our support for Albania’s entrance to the European Union remains firm. The EU visa waiver Albania recently received is a strong indication of the progress your country continues to make toward full membership in the Euro-Atlantic community. I look forward to continuing our partnership with Albania on issues of regional and global importance as we work together toward a democratic, secure, and prosperous future for both our people.

I wish all the people of Albania a safe and happy Independence Day celebration.

The American Holiday

In honor of Thanksgiving Day last evening I held a small party for a few of my Albanian friends, who were eager to learn the origin of this celebratory day in the U.S.

The buffet included an ethnic trio of dishes: from Albanian byrek to Italian specialties, and the American turkey could not be missing either (I didn't roast one personally, but found a delicious, freshly cut, substitute for it).

Although there was a brief rainstorm in the morning the sun peeked through the clouds around sunset, creating an interesting light effect on the mountainous areas surrounding Tirana.

The gathering went well and it was a good occasion for me to give thanks to the participants for the help, care, and kindness they have extented to me in the past, and for their continued support toward the the goals I've set in my work in favor of Albanian youth.

Thinking of all those I left behind in the U.S., I hope and wish that they also had a good day.

A toast to all with some 'spumante' ended the evening.

Rain, rain, and more rain!

Meteo news show that rain all over Europe continues to be in the forecast. Northwestern Italy has been devastated by overflowing rivers and the damages are huge.

After some gorgeous days here in Tirana, where, however, the temperature remains mild, we are also hit by daily storms, while in the north there are critical flood damages in many mountain villages that are difficult to reach even by the military emergency units.

One of the borders with Montenegro was temporarily closed, and in the south the Lllogara pass in the national park was also blocked by dangerous icy conditions last week.

It is quite a sight to see the quick changes from my 12th story high apartment.

When I got up this morning the sun was shining, but it quickly disappeared as it did the Dajti mountain chain around Tirana, enwrapped in fog for a while.

The swelling, and rushing waters of the Lana canal look ominous. Fortunately, its green sloping sides do not allow overflowing onto the boulevards, but the poor drainage in some streets greatly affects the vehicular traffic.

We have to resign ourselves and cope with mother nature that looks like it is going to be stingy with sunshine during the upcoming big holidays of this weekend: the American Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, and the national Albanian Flag and Liberation days on Sunday and Monday.

Thanksgiving Greetings!

Another digital scrapbooking design by Smilebox

NB: give it a couple of minutes to get a full download and then see it in full screen format

Care to visit?

Again, another good article appears today online about how Albania is coming up in the world among the more interesting and newest places to visit, especially for aventurous travelers.

It's intriguing to me that it is written by an independent travel company, BootsnAll, which is located on the opposite side of world, the Pacific North West of the United states!

BTW, today it's a national holiday in the country, especially evidenced by the slower traffic in Tirana. Thus greetings should go to the majority of the population: "Urimet per Bairam!"

Meantime, the shorter, but sunny days are finally displaying their fall foliage along the boulevards......

Progress to be proven

Almost every evening there are fireworks bursting, here and there, in Tirana, where any excuse is good to use these displays, apparently easily available even to the general public.

This may happen after a soccer match, or during a political demonstration, and this week because Albania is achieving visa-free status for its citizens to travel in Europe.

The reality of Albania's current state of affairs is succintly described in an article of SouthEast European Times that appears today online.

Let's hope that Albania makes a judicious use of this additional achievement in the use of freedom so that it may become a worth European ally.

Rain, or sunshine.....

In a corner of a little park across the street from my apartment building some elderly people gather every day to play some games.

They seem to be there all the time for a couple of hours in the morning, and then they reapppear again for another two hours in the early afternoon. Their outings seem to be on a pretty steady schedule, even now that the daylight time is shorter. They show up even if it rains on and off since these type of days are quite predictable here. The rain comes for a while, followed by sunshine, and then the rain reappears, and so on....

The ladies employed by city hall to clean the lawns in the parks and along the boulevards (recognizable by their green overcoats), are also present regardless of weather conditions. They pop in and out of a couple of shacks, where they gather during a downpour, otherwise, armed with large plastic bags and rakes they walk along and gather the fallen leaves during the fall or the fresh grass cut by a group of men during the other seasons.

Today the weather has turned for the worst. A real and heavy storm is creating havoc in traffic, as I can see through my glass wall, and an unusual fog is obliterating the view of the Dajti mountain that towers over Tirana.


Undeterred, the street vendor that shows up every day on the narrow bridge of the Lana canal is present with his ware, and stands tall under his umbrella, and above the rushing and swelling waters below. Their level is visibly rising.....

I have the luxury of being able to work from home, but now it's time for a warm soup lunch!

Food lessons

Yesterday I was a guest for lunch at some friends' apartment where, with the delicious dishes expertly cooked by the lady of the house, I also enjoyed learning a lot more than I ever thought of about food shopping and preparation.

BTW, these friends I have known for a dozen years have a very talented son, who was a gifted painter since age 7. He earned several honors for his early works, and now is pursuing a degree as an architect.

When I arrived the father was out shopping, while his wife had ready on the stove the vegetable soup, made from scratch with chicken stock, and the potatoes and chicken were roasting in the oven. Upon his return he personally wanted to prepare a 'little' appetizer, as he called it.

He had bought freshly baked white corn bread, which he topped with feta cheese, crushed garlic, pitted olives, fresh parsley, and finally drizzled some extra virgin olive oil upon it.

After a few minutes in the oven this was a delightful beginning of a very good meal that included a carrot mixture that was served in addition to the never lacking (on albanian tables) tomatoes and cucumber salad, and some small byreks filled with cheese.

The light and lemony tasting dessert, topped with crushed walnuts, was also made from scratch. I was astonished to learn that one of its ingredients was "panda's" milk (yes, the milk from the real animal!).
This is another product that I am surprised is available in Tirana, where nothing is lacking anymore, imported from anywhere in the world, as long as one can afford it.

When I questioned the husband about his shopping habits I had quite a lesson and learned a lot about how to choose food. We were talking about fresh foods that Albanians buy on a daily basis and that come directly from local suppliers.

The mandarins that are extremely sweet and grow in a lot of backyards, are deliberately picked with their stem and a couple of leaves attached to them. From their cut one can determine the freshness of the fruit. The leaves of mine below look shriveled since they have been stored in the fridge, but Albanians usually buy daily what they consume within the next 24 hours.

In addition to the fresh vegetables and fruits that come to street markets within a couple hours of being picked, the large supermarkets also stack packaged foods, imported especially from Greece and Italy, which are of excellent quality. One example I came across recently is about a series of Italian soups contained in pouches, such as the one pictured below, made of a variety of beans that takes 3 minutes to serve and it's delicious.

I also think that the frozen foods, of which there is a great variety here, are much better prepared and tastier (probably due to fresher basic ingredients) than the ones in NY stores.

My friend also talked about how to distinguish meats, from organically or not fed animals, from their color and smell. Lamb, pork, veal, beef are excellent here and very tasty everywhere they are served. After all, most animals are still raised in free ranges, and the chickens like the one I ate yesterday can be picked personally from a suburbian farm.

Thus, yesterday afternoon turned out to be pleasurable from both a culinary and educational point of view. Of great help in furnishing most of the detailed explanations to me was also another member of my host family (the wife's sister), who joined us for lunch, and spoke fluent English. She and I will also meet again soon since, I discovered, she resides not too far from my apartment.

What is surprising to me is that all this information comes from people that do not operate or have been educated in the food field, but have gained personal experiences from their families, who are also well versed in old fashioned house remedies. I might add that most persons I deal with, including some laborers, have quite a knowledge of what we consider today as good eating habits, and I believe that this is probably their secret for keeping fit and prolonging longevity.

Security issues

In the last couple of days a few references appear online about Albania being picked by Lonely Planet as one of the Top 10 places for tourism in 2011.

This country is already doing a booming business in this field with a vast numbers of hostels, motels, hotels, and apartments, accomodating more than 300.000 visitors a year in the south alone. In addition to many young people, armed with backpacks, who like to explore the unknown, rugged, inland mountainous areas, a large influx of summer tourists come from the Albanian populations living outside Albania's borders. They don't have access to sea coasts of their own and now can enjoy Albania's long shore extending from the Adriatic to the Ionic-Mediterranean waters. (BTW, this week temperature in Tirana is still in the low 70's F during midday)

Building of necessary infrastructures needed to support this industry, such as new roads and modern servicing conveniences even in the most remote, and once inaccesible areas, are also intensified by both the governmental and private sectors.

Today another piece of news is also the re-opening of underground caves in the Dajti mountain chain bordering the capital city of Tirana, which were built by the ex dictatorship as an hideout in case of a political crisis.

The outcome of this precaution is now described as another folly of that isolationist regime when thousands of bunkers were also constructed around the entire Albanian territory to safeguard the country against foreign invasions. As some of these mushroom-shaped, reinforced cement structures are now being used mainly as tourist attractions, and in some cases, also converted as guests accomodations, today's article questions the possibile future use of these newly accessible hidden mountain places.

One thing that comes immediately to my mind is that of the "Iron Mountain" type of concept, very useful and fully functional in the United States.

As known, in Utah the Mormon Church has preserved, in environmentally setup caves, archival and historic records of generations of Americans that can trace their ancestries electronically from them. In other states businesses such as "Iron Mountain" provide storage-as-a-service facility for data recuperation, maintenance, and archiving for thousands and all sorts for companies, financial, and governmental institutions that have established very specific plans for disaster recovery from all sorts of destructive events, including natural calamities.

Let's hope that Albania makes a good use of these natural resources, among the many others that it is endowed with, and not only for tourism, but for more peaceful preservation of its history and its modern development.

A bit more about the Arbëresh...

In my post of October 13th I had mentioned the Arbëresh, the Albanian communities that settled in southern Italy and Sicily centuries ago.

For my friends who might be interested in learning more about this subject, I refer you to another blog entry, by ‘The Expresso Break’, which gives you a good background of this historic shift in the Albanian past.

Another interesting bit of input along this line comes from a 2006 entry in ‘Metafilter.com’ confirming what I had learned long ago: that the mother of the noted American TV personality Regis Philbin, originates from Arbëresh people.

All is well that ends well

Yesterday morning, while my housekeeper was cleaning my apartment, I decided to use my reliable car service to go shopping at one of the new, large complexes in the suburbs of Tirana.

Although I've a valid license, I would never drive in Albania, and never did in Italy either, for that matter. I prefer to let the locals handle their own unruly traffic, and, at times, unconventional vehicular behavior. My chaffeur in Tirana is an elderly gentleman, who has worked as a driver for 55 years across most of Europe, and I've been one of his steady customers for the past 10 years when in Albania.

I had quite a few to-do's and purchases on my list and I know I could count on him, as usual, for promptness and help in handling bags and packages. In less than than 1 1/2 hour I accomplished a lot with him, and was serviced expeditiously at all stores with typical European courteusness by the sales people that are always willing and ready to help here. Upon my return home, however, I had to face an unexpected, and unpleasant surprise.

As I entered the lobby of my apartment building I noticed quite a bit of water on the floors and stairs, both elevators out of order, and my floor neighbor, who was also loaded with 3 shopping bags, discussing with other people what had just happened. The problem originated on the 6th floor, where the bursting of a water pipe flooded the elevator shafts, and the administrator shut both water and elevator service off for safety, while waiting for a technician to arrrive.

While he and a couple of men were shuttling back and forth between floors, my neighbor grabbed a couple of folded chairs from the small office cubicle in the lobby and, with unraffled demeanor and resigned manner, invited me to join her in sitting down, surrounded by our purchases. I am not fluent in speaking Albanian, but understand it pretty well and can get along with any native without a problem. The two of us had some small chat while I was thinking that, in the worst of cases, for lunch we could have had some of the ice pops I had just bought.....:-)))!

Notwithstanding the inconvenience, most people accepted the situation clamly, and even the most elderly slowly tackled the stairs to get to their respective apartments. For years Albanians have been used to and had to deal with much more than this!

My neighbor and I were the only ones loaded with stuff to carry all the way to the 12th floor, thus we decided to remain in the narrow lobby, monitor the situation, and hope for the best soon. Thanks to the cell phones, which we both carried, we were able to call out. She reached her husband at work, and I my housekeper, who meantime, not knowing what was happening downstairs, was trying to complete her cleaning by using the reserve water we all keep inside the apartments for emergencies like this.

When the technician, who was summoned while attending a funeral, arrived about an hour later, he put one of the elevators back to work. My neighbor and I, plus my housekeeper, who, meantime, had descended via the stairs, quickly grabbed the ride upward, without a second thought, and safely reached our 12th floor with all our merchandise and a big sigh of relief! What an adventure!

For the afternoon I had a prearranged appointment with a couple of my friends, who wanted, at the end of their work day, to take me out for a late lunch in the country. After hearing what happened, they arrived earlier than expected, and eventually we drove off for one of our favorite places: a restaurant located a few miles out of the city, which I've described here previously. It's always very crowded because of its excellent food. Our lunch was no exception and we enjoyed a variety of their typical specialties.

Usually, we prefer to have the classic espresso at the end of the meal somewhere else, so that we can visit and experience other establishments on the way back home.

Yesterday, we deviated briefly to a side road and reached the sleepy village of Petrela, with its towering castle, which I've visited a couple of years ago.


It's quite a climb to go up there by foot, and we had no intention to do so, especially after a full meal, and also due to the lateness of day.

Later on we stopped at a new, neat looking restaurant/bar that was along the winding road back. It attracked our attention for the interesting style of its windows and the lovely display of flowers along its balcony.

We sipped coffee indoors, prompted by the owner whose place was comfortably warmed up, and watched a beautiful sunset through the glass walls overlooking the surrounding valleys.

Back in town, we stopped for a while at my office to drop some of my earlier purchases, destined to it. Afterwards we enjoyed the first roasted chestnuts of the season that we picked up just before getting back to my apartment where we shared some drinks and chatted some more before retiring for the evening.

The old saying is really true: all is well that ends well!

Blessed sun!

After almost 10 days of on and off, and, at times, heavy rain, which swelled the Lana, Tirana's water canal that crosses the city, full sunshine is finally with us again for a few days.


The million trees that now line up almost every street in this city shed a lot of their autumn colors, but, amazingly, after all the above soak the shade of green is back, especially in the ground areas.

Wish I had more time to just sit on my balcony to absorb some vitamin D, but I did manage a few minutes of it in the past couple of days. What I lack is a nice lounge chair, which would be perfect for an idle exercise of this type once in a while!

A propo of this, the other evening, after dinner with a friend in a wonderful fish restaurant, located just behind my apartment building, a good looking glass frontispice of a business facing the restaurant attracked my attention.

How could I have missed this place, named 'Master Gym", before? It was 10pm and the place was about to close for the day, but my friend and I decided to pop into it for a look. A very friendly and vivacious young lady eagerly gave us a tour of the premises, their flyers and their costs.

They are well equipped to offer fitness programs, aerobics and yoga classes, shower and sauna facilities, and even massages, all for very reasonable fees (ie: 8 session per month for $40.-). Being so conveniently located this is certainly a place to keep in mind for me.

Today is a gorgeous Sunday and I decided to take it easy, after a busy week, but I had to interrupt briefly this writing to catch the view I have from my desk....

The sky above me is crissed crossed by several planes flying south....

I wonder...where are they going?