Further travel

The pre-announced general strike in Italy was postponed and I was happy to be able to continue my travel without major interruptions.

In less than two hour, I flew from Milan to Tirana, Albania. It took longer to get from the city to the airport, due to the incredible traffic. Long lines of cars for miles going at a snail pace! The plane (an airbus M-80), was, as usual, always filled up. Most of the passengers are Albanians that hop over to Italy for visits, or special shopping, but there are also always many business people, speaking Italian, German, and English.

A visa to enter Albania is not required, but, upon arrival, foreigners must pay an entry fee ($12.00), after passport control. Thanks to my last name, typical Albanian, the passport officer reminds me every time that I am exonerated from this payment. In less than ½ hour I am out and, met by my usual driver, am on my way to the unfortunately dusty, and smoggy capital: Tirana.

I was here just a few months ago, still I don’t recognize some new tall buildings here and there, along the way and inside the city. The traffic is even worse than I remember, and a lot of the large boulevards are now a real mess. Large excavations are ongoing for the laying down of water pipes, telecom fiber optics, etc. and the many potholes are also a real hazard for pedestrians and vehicular drivers. Nevertheless everyone is on the move!

I notice a larger number of modern buses for public transport, and they are filled to capacity. There seems to be a better observance of traffic lights than in the earlier days, but once in a while some drivers, for expediency, are going the wrong way in one way streets that they know are not patrolled by traffic police.

I am lucky to have good facilities in a modern apartment that I rent in the city center, near the large main (Skanderbeg) square, with shops, cafés, restaurants, taxi stand, travel agencies, nearby. Large supermarkets are not so close by, but immediate needs upon arrival can be taken care of very quickly.