Oddities in Tirana

It does not take much walking around Tirana to find some unusual sights. Here some I encountered the other day, which interested me enough to take a picture of them.

This is an apartment window at street level, but it comes handy for more than light when one lacks a balcony where to dry the laundry. 

The glass doors of a lot of shops, when in open position, extend, for some peculiar reason, beyond the width of the steps leading into the stores, the majority of which are not at actual street level. These openings are so spotless that careful attention must be paid not to inadvertently bump into them when walking along.  They remind me of a funny advertising in the U.S. for a glass cleaning product when two birds crash, while chatting, against an invisibly clear window!

All sorts of lines envelop power city poles everywhere in Tirana.  This massive maze allows not only the supply of electricity, but the connection of telephones and the huge increase of online networks. Apparently, no one seems to eliminate what is no longer needed or is not working; additions are accommodated by just ‘dropping’ new extensions from balconies and hooking them up to whatever pole is available close by. This city is fortunate not to have strong winds or snow storms (a light dusting may last a few hours every so many years!), but some of these lines at times are dropped during a violent rain pour. 

Although many city dwelling Albanians have now adopted pets, there is still an inordinate number of stray dogs around the capital and it’s amazing how they survive. They congregate around garbage disposals where they are befriended by men who collect plastic discards, and some people even put out some food for them on their sidewalk.  The oddity in this case is where they sleep, sometimes right in the middle of a busy street, or on a sunny sidewalk, totally undisturbed by passersby.  

Easter party

It was a pleasure on Easter Sunday to host in my apartment a small afternoon party for a few of my Albanian associates and friends. Even though a couple of them had just arrived back in town after a transatlantic flight, they all attended and, in a relaxed environment, we all enjoyed a three hour gathering.  

As it happens and it is customary here, there is complete respect among people of different backgrounds and religious beliefs; they intermarry, cooperate, transact business with each other, and even celebrate their respective holidays, in harmony, together. My guests are a perfect example of these customs.

I had all good intentions of serving, among the goodies, also an Italian ‘colomba’ (‘dove’ and typical Easter cake, representing peace), but I was greatly disappointed when, shopping in an Italian local store that had a huge stock of them only a week before, I didn’t find one left! They had sold them out all.  A local ‘millefoglie’ type of cake was, however, a good substitute, especially when coupled with some champagne. 

What happened to spring?

The weather has worsened since yesterday in Tirana and it will be bad for the rest of this week. It got cooler, and the temperature ranges between mid 40’s to mid 50’s. The Dajti Mountain chain this morning displayed white peaks with quite a bit of snow!   

Local news indicate that some tourists have been stuck in the north where the snow was heavy, and power lines have crashed; and even the foreign press mentions related problems.

Here the rain is light, but steady, and the Lana Canal water level has risen. After returning from an appointment to my comfortable apartment I decided this is the perfect time to sip a cup of steaming, home brewed ‘salep’ while catching up with my email and looking out of my glass wall! Really cozy and delicious intake!

Enjoyable weekends

While In Albania I am getting spoiled by my friends who always invite me during weekends. This is luxury time for me since I am not used to take rides and get out of town just to get a meal.  This would be unheard of in NYC, where my weekends are usually spent indoors, but in Tirana everyone seems to be escaping the city on Saturdays or Sundays.  Favored by short distances in the tiny country that is Albania, one can have lunch or dinner in the countryside or even in another city within an hour drive.  

Last Sunday I had lunch with one of my friendly families in the port city of Durres, where they wanted me to try a new restaurant called ‘Vertigo’. The name was very appropriate since it was on the top floor of a high-rise, right along the seashore, and totally glass enclosed, with unobstructed views all the way around so that one has the impression, while eating, of being suspended right above the Adriatic sea! 

Here I enjoyed a new, very tasty appetizer made of creamed zucchini in a shell and I had the pleasure of having an Italian “fritto misto di pesce e verdure” (mixed fried fishes and sliced vegetable). A treat I have not had in years!  Although this restaurant had a very nice café`-bar annexed to it on the same top floor, for dessert we moved to another new establishment not too far away that has an enormous showcase of all sorts of pastries, home made ice creams, drinks and coffees. By 6pm we were back home……with a full belly and the need to just snooze a bit….(a habit that Albanians have also during the work week, after their main meal in mid-late afternoon).

During this weekend I went through another round of treats. On Saturday I was invited by an old (dating back from the US) acquaintance for lunch at his home, where I met the rest of the family, children and grandparents included. 

 

They live in attractive penthouse quarters, spanning over two floors, and spacious enough to have separate bedrooms for each child, a playroom for them, a sizable area used as gym equipped with a stair master, and balconies all the way around. 

 

Their building is located near Tirana’s Botanical Garden and Lake area, and offers great views of the entire city.   It was a very enjoyable sunny day, with a leisure lunch for the grownups since the children ate in a separate room, and a great afternoon overall!

 

Today, Sunday, is a grey and rainy day.  With other friends we chose to stay in town, and returned to a favorite restaurant where I always enjoyed a local (very garlicky) dish of stuffed green peppers and eggplants (named Imam Ballajdi). It was served with other assorted appetizers, and was followed by some sizzling fillets of veal, cooked to perfection, in their own hot pan for each individual. An excellent bottle of Chianti accompanied this meal.   

Again we ended up in another café`-bar, also known for good desserts, where everyone chose different pastries and had a ‘macchiato’ to close this other round of goodies!  Thank goodness tomorrow is Monday, and a return to normality is a must! 

 

Capricious weather

An interesting aspect to deal with while living in Tirana is its ever changing weather. It happens very quickly and practically by the hour, and, I guess, it’s probably due to its topography. 

Case in point today: it was pouring rain when I woke up and the city was covered by very low, thick clouds and fog, obscuring even the mountain chain that hug this capital from the East.  

Less than an hour later, after the clouds lifted, the Dajti range showed a dusting of snow on its top, and the sun now has begun to peek through the clouded vapors that are traveling westward toward the sea.  

By midday, as usual, the sun will be quite strong, and it’s a relief to walk the boulevards under the shade provided by the trees that now display a gorgeous new greenery all over town and the surrounding hills. 

The ‘garden patrol’ as I call the group of women in green uniforms that cleanup the undergrowth along the Lana canal, are back at work. During the rain outbursts they take shelter in a wooden shack located in a corner of another small garden across this water channel, where also, during good weather, a bunch of senior male citizens spend hours playing checker or domino.