Craving for sunshine

The weather in Tirana during my first few days here is exceptionally cold. This year the winter is bad everywhere and Albania is no exception. The capital rarely sees snow on the ground, but the mountain chain of Dajti, surrounding the city on the west, is snow capped and since my arrival on Wednesday it has rained continuously.

Today, Sunday, the sun finally peeked a bit through the low, and still dark, clouds in the late afternoon, and the wind has picked up speed. The streets are really a mess since many of them have large potholes, and, with the large puddles there is mud everywhere because of the high concentration of dust that still permeates the city, also plagued by heavy smog. When it rains the air seems cleaner, but this city is, unfortunately, one of the worst in Europe for breathing. With many on going constructions, and street repair work, there is also no smoking policy in effect in public places.

I have been quite busy in important business meetings, which are giving so far excellent results, but I feel quite tired and try to pace myself accordingly. Luckily, the electricity that was lacking at times last year, seems to function pretty well now and it’s very helpful to be able to use the equipment available for such purpose in the apartment I rent. Tirana has no city wide alternative for gas heating so far, but many citizens that now enjoy owning their own residences, are buying and installing this facility in their own units, using part of their balconies for the storage of the gas tanks.

Spring here generally comes early, and with its bright sunshine the midday hours can be really quite hot. The unusually hard winter, especially in the northern areas and towns (where the situation is always critical due to lack of facilities), hopefully will end soon!