Dog days....

While Tirana is changing for the better in many ways, one sore sight is the presence of stray dogs everywhere. Some roam around the garbage disposal bins, or sleep in sunny spots along some quiet old streets, just like a few homeless people that are also present in this city. Others boldly travel in large groups, criss crossing the boulevards, and dodging their way through the heavy vehicular traffic that barely misses them.

The other day a strange sound of a cry reached me through the open windows while I was doing some computer work. I was appalled by the scene in a nearby empty lot of one dog being viciously attacked by the rest of its gang.


Dog owners in this city seem to prefer small pooches; at least, this is what I have noticed being walked so far, while the roaming ones are usually larger in size.

Today I received, instead, a pleasant surprise when I entered my property. The people that take care of it, having learned that I love dogs and haven't had one since I was a child, presented me with some lovely puppies, recently born in the household of some friends of theirs.

Two of them were destined to me, while the 3rd went to a young neighbor. They assured me that they had been checked by a vet and found healthy, and wanted me to name them.

My pair is both brown and white. Unaware and unconcerned about their breed I was thrilled to see them cheerfully playing with my shoelaces, and thanks to the gentle suggestion of a friend, I choose their names.

And here they are: 'Pepe' the male (on the right), and 'Ina' the female (on the left)!

its' hard to keep them still for a pix...

Spring chores

A strange noise and a strong smell of grass reached me this morning all the way up to the 12th floor! A quick look from my balcony and I realized that city workers were manicuring the slope grounds bordering the Lana Canal.

Again, the week started with 2 full days of heavy rains, and the canal was dicharging dirty water at a fast pace until last night. This morning beautiful sunshine added a extra layer of green to the blooming trees, and the grass needs attending to.

Some of the men were manning the machines, while some took a break on the sidewalk benches......


while the all women crew followed them to collect the cut grass by rake or hand.

Sunday escape

After a few days of rain, today started in bright and warm sunshine and it was perfect for getting out of town.

My friends, who work very hard all week, on Saturday, or Sunday usually take time off and get away from Tirana, even if just for a few hours. They took me along to the beach area of the port city of Durres, where they have summer lodgings.

Here distances are short and in 1/2 hour we reached the city of Durres, where they do have an apartment overlooking the beach, but, to my surprise, they didn't stop there. They drove further south, to the coastal area known as Golem, where they own another apartment, hidden in the midst of a maritime pine forest.

This area, once completely uninhabited, has been built up during the past 15 years, and is now well known for a variety of restaurants, hotels, and all sorts of accomodations. One building after another line up the highway toward the south, which has been doubled in size to accomodate Tirana outgoing traffic during weekends. Entire villages have sprung up here and there in the midst of pine forests that follows the coast line.

As I got out of their car, I was hit by the fresh smell of the trees and a whiff of sea breeze.

Unloaded from the car all sorts of goodies, we quickly set up a home precooked lunch, which we enjoyed in the open veranda in the tranquillity of this setting.


Toward evening the rain returned and we headed back to Tirana. Taking advantage of my friends' car, I purchased household necessities at the huge new CityPark shopping mall, in the outskirts of the capital. Notwithstanding the late hour, business was in full swing there.

Cappuccino anyone?

Albanians are great consumers of coffee. They enjoy either a cup of espresso, or turkish coffee at any hour of day or night. Anywhere you go you're offered one or if you meet someone for whatever reason, it's also always in a cafe`. These establishments are everywhere in town and, needless to say, they thrive.

Yesterday, my friends showed up with an Italian coffee machine that they'd like me to try. They already use one that only makes espresso in their own offices, but this one also makes cappuccino, all prepacked, and measured by cup. Once the machine was setup we all tried a cup of both alternatives.

Thus, this morning I treated myself to a home made cappuccino for breakfast with a piece of "colomba".....Ummm!

Supper surprise

It's a quiet, sunny, but cool Sunday afternoon and I am alternating some computer work with a batch of laundry. While having a snack of Easter "colomba" I get a phone call from my hosting friends.

....the tail is gone....
The husband was announcing that his wife was on the way up to my apartment to bring me a little surprise.
Knowing that I love eggplants, she added and extra dish for me, while baking for the company they had this afternoon.

....still warm, it smells delicious!
As I was remarking about the size of the dish, she assured me that the complete vegetarian dish was assembled with "no fat"..... I know I'm going to enjoy its content for supper!

Springtime.....

After a full week of gorgeous sunshine, the snow caps of Dajti mountain are disappearing.......

...the air is cleared by a couple of showers........


.....and Tirana is now in full bloom mode.....!

72 years ago.....

on this day, April 7th, it was Good Friday, and the life of my family was totally destroyed by the events of WWII.

As a baby I don't remember much of that day, although I've vague memories of rumbling of cannons and looking at the sky where a military air fleet was flying above Tirana, dropping leaflets asking the population to surrender.

The days that followed were very chaotic, and Tirana became a ghost town for a while. My father chose the road to exile, as most people did then. My mother, I, my nanny, and our dog remained in our house, which, soon after, was confiscated to be used as the general headquarter of the Italian Army that occupied the country.

Much history has gone by since then, lots of which is being documented for the future generations not to forget.

An Italian gathering

On Friday eve, March 26th, I attended a pizza party that was planned by the Italian community in Tirana for the visit of Beppe Severgnini, noted author and journalist of ‘Corriere della Sera’ of Milan, and ‘The Economist’.

He runs some TV programs in Italy and, for the past 10 years, answers daily a dozen emails addressed to the Corriere, in a column entitled “Italians”. He has traveled the world to launch his books, now also translated in other languages, and has also lived for a while in Washington, DC. Since 1999 the tradition is that a pizza party is organized by his fans in every city that he goes to, but it’s never repeated in the same city should he returns to it.

Although he has traveled from one end to the other of the globe, he has never been to Albania, where he finally came this year. I originally met him at the 2nd pizza held in NYC in 1999, and now saw him again at 103rd pizza in Tirana. He made a presentation first at the University in the northern city of Shkoder (Scutari in Italian), and then, rode to Tirana in the evening, accompanied by the Italian Consul of that city.

A young lady that has lived and worked in Tirana in the past year for an Italian consulting firm was the organizer of this pizza, which took place at a well known local Restaurant.

Asia, the organizer, with Beppe
Some of the expected participants did not show up at the last moment, but of the 30 people or so that came, a gamut of Italian businesses were represented, in addition to quite a few members of the Italian Embassy.


Italian Amb. D'Elia (on left), Italian Consul Marguccio (with beard), and Albanian Student of Journalism in Italy, Leonard (on the left foreground)


Members of Italian Embassy
I had the honor of sitting next to Beppe and to chat with the Italian Ambassador that asked me to sit in front of him for ease of conversation. It was a pleasant evening and a nice break for me from my busy move.

Beppe networked with everyone present, and, as usual, then mentioned the variety of people he met in his online column.

The Italian Embassy this year has planned and is carrying out quite a project for the next 3 months to further develop the interaction between Albania and Italy. It’s called “Italia e Albania 2010” with a motto of “due Popoli, un Mare, un’Amicizia” (= two people, one sea, one friendship). It includes concerts of all sorts, a rock festival, dance programs, and even a ‘regatta’ that will be run across the Otranto Canal from the Albanian Coast (Orikum) to the Italian heel of Puglia region.

The Head of the Italian Commercial Office kindly included my email address onto their ad list so that I may be apprised of dates and type of programs as they’re publicized. I look forward to attend some of them, if at all possible, while in town.

New lodgings - Part 2

With this post I continue the description of my new living quarters in Tirana.

An enormous wall to wall unit provides storage of all kind at the new apartment’s entrance. This includes racks for shoes, drawers, shelves, coat closet, and space for storing luggage.

The wide hallway leads to 1 ½ bathrooms on one side, and a master bedroom on the other that has additional closets wall to wall.

At the end of the corridor an additional room that could serve as a 2nd bedroom, has a desk in it so that I could use it as a study. Later on I’ll include in it an ottoman to accommodate eventual guests.

The visitor’s bathroom is closest to the entrance, while the other faces the master bedroom, and, to my delight, it includes a bidet and a washing machine! What luxury! Nothing seems to be lacking here!

The studio has a floor to ceiling, narrow glass wall, kitty corner to another glass door leading to a small balcony. As I sit at my desk, at dawn I can watch the sun rays come up from behind the Dajti mountains. In the evening, 12 floors below, the never ending traffic moves along this boulevard of Tirana, and during the night, when it eases off, I can observe city trucks washing the streets and doing garbage collection pretty much on schedule around 12:30am.











In less than a week, I moved out most of my personal stuff and furniture from the old quarters I used for 9 years, as a residence and office. Thanks to small rearrangements and the available spaciousness these fit and blend in just fine in the new residence, while the balance of office furniture and stuff will be moved out in another week. Thus, the old apartment can be released back to its owner, who is sincerely sorry to see me go. The organization I am running can now be housed separately, free of charge, on my property in another part of the city.

As most of you, my friends, know it took years to re-obtain possession of my ex residence and land, after decades of use by the government. Last year it was finally released to me, as a rightful owner, but in a terrible condition. It will take quite a bit of planning, time, and money to put it to good use, but a wing of it is already in good shape to store what the organization will need to operate from there in the future.

Two days ago 2 young workers came to install the communication wiring inside my new apartment, where a router will provide wireless connection throughout, while my host was assembling a huge antenna that will be mounted on the balcony, with a terrestrial digital, for clearer TV viewing and access to all other foreign channels. Meanwhile I was busy washing, cleaning and organizing my belongings of all sorts and cooking my first home meal. There is still quite a bit to do, but I’m making good progress.

Internet communication in my property will be provided soon by existing coaxial cables in the zone, and the satellite TV setup that I used in the old apartment will also be transferred there for the organization.

This is all a simple beginning for now, but hopefully, when the necessary funds, being researched now, will become available even this project will be implemented and eventually fully developed by employing appropriate staffing. Just the other day a high level officer of a foreign bank here was telling me that he was highly impressed by the seriousness and enthusiasm of the young Albanians they have hired here, most of them trilingual.

Thus, I am pleased that, with some effort, good beginnings are being put into effect all the way around. This, indeed, reinforces my positive attitude toward the future and what I am involved in. Onward we go!

Easter Day

Friends drove me out of Tirana to a new restaurant, opened recently, seeemingly in the middle of nowhere, by an owner they had patronized previously elsewhere in town.

peaceful countryside setting wih grazing cows and old bunkers around...



He opened this one near the 'lagune' where excellent fish is caught fresh every day. A quick call was made ahead to make sure that they had the latest catch available. Sure enough the all fish lunch was absolutely delicious!

For an opening a small calzone filled with tiny shrimps in a cream sauce, was served, followed by a 'risotto ai frutti di mare' (mixed seafood), then a variety of 4 different types of fish, perfectly grilled and accompanied by a dish of grilled vegetables. As a desert a delectable new kind (for me) of sweet, made with sugary shredded wheat and cream. The whole lunch was accompanied by fresh, pure water from a local well and a good bottle of red, locally produced, wine.

By 4pm we were heading back to Tirana, but stopped at the newest shopping mall, called CityPark, where I was able to refurnish myself of bottled water and the rice milk I use. This place is immense; it includes an ice skating ring, and every European store you can think of is represented here.





miniature model of the entire complex - at right
Back at my own apartment, we all sat down to share a delighfully light cake gifted to me in the morning, and I was ready to offer with it a glass of good Italian 'Prosecco' I had cooling off in the fridge since yesterday.

We chit chatted for over 2 hours and were joined by other (Muslim) friends, who came 'armed' with a huge Italian Easter 'Colomba'. The son of that family, who will graduate next year in Jurisprudence from Rome's University, is in town for a holiday break and wanted to say hello to me again.

It was a pleasant an restful day for me, spent in lovely company. Here everyone respects each other religious afffiliation and there are no conflicts of sorts, including intermarriages among faiths.

Greetings

It's a gorgeous day here in Tirana, and I am happy to be able to be online in my new apartment, finally.

The service (wireless-router-broadband) became functional last evening around 9pm. Such a wonderful gift in time for the holiday and it works well (and fast) in every room!

I am backlogged in posting, but my friends just called to invite me out for lunch out. Soooo.....must get ready to be picked up, and have time to just wish HAPPY EASTER to one and all!

New lodgings - Part 1

Even before reaching my old apartment that needed some cleaning after being closed for quite a while, on the way from the airport to Tirana, my friends convinced me to go directly to the new quarters, which, I knew, they prepared with care for me during the past months. How could I refuse such an offer, knowing that I’d be sleeping in a brand new, clean bed, and have at my disposal a fully furnished, modern apartment, equipped with all new appliances and necessities?

My immediate needs of sleep ware were picked up from my old place, and then, even before unpacking, we all went to lunch at a new ‘Pasta e Basta’ restaurant a block away from my new lodging. Here they make fresh pasta dishes on the premises, and serve it with a wide selection of sauces. I was not hungry, but enjoyed as appetizer one of my favorite dishes here: a plate of thinly cut, grilled to perfection vegetables of all sorts, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar. The 3 varieties of pasta we chose were all excellent. As usual also in Italy, they are served family style, so that one can pick and choose among them, or have a taste of each one. This way variety is provided, and one can control his or her own portions.

A short walk back to the new place, gave me a first glimpse of my new neighborhood, which is well furnished with all sorts of offices, stores, public transport, and even a Casino. The building is on a long boulevard that runs along the Lana Canal that crosses Tirana in its center.

I have bus stops within a block, and at the corner of my building there is also a taxi stand. Part of our complex, at the street level, a wonderfully spacious snack bar and café, offers excellent food. Here I already have a favorite, efficient waiter that speaks fluent English. He is a young student that attends school in the mornings and works the afternoon shift at the restaurant.

I occupy an apartment on the 12th floor of this 7 year old high-rise, while the original construction owner lives above me. Most of these new buildings are 13 stories high, which brings to mind that Albanians may not be superstitious?

The view from both of my balconies dominates most of Tirana that is surrounded by the Dajiti mountain chain to the East, and lower hills to the South. Still noticeable on top of Dajti is lingering snow from the long winter, but since my arrival we have had very good weather, and just a couple, brief rain storms at night, which clear the air and make Tirana sparkle.


The apartment exposure is East-South, thus the sun inundates my apartment from sunrise to almost sunset, which makes it very cozy at this time of the year when the evenings are cooler, but the midday sun burns you up.

Tirana's misty dawn....
The average temperature has been between 17 to 20 degrees Celsius. Ideal! No need now to use either the heating or air conditioning systems, which are available all around the apartment.

...and the rising of the full moon...
Like most European lodgings the size of these apartments are around 120 square meters, which are almost twice the size of my NY residence! I have to learn to navigate it from one end to the other …. and not forget to take along the cell phone as I move along!! Most communication here is done this way, and no one uses landline phones, even when available.

Everything in the apartment is brand new and I love the huge, ceiling high, built in, wall to wall closets, that even have space for luggage storage!

A small kitchen has a full size window that looks out onto the city, spacious, deep drawers where I can store all my pots and pans, an Italian electric stove, and most welcome, an upright refrigerator (out of sight, on the right), with the huge freezer at the bottom so I don’t have to bend down to get to the other daily used stuff, as I do at home in NY.

The living room area is mammoth with glass, double doors leading to the balcony.


It includes a 42 inch TV, a set of long sofas, kitty corner, covered with specially ordered Italian leather, 2 open book cases, and a big, square, glass coffee table, on which my hostess had placed a big basket full of fresh fruit, a box of cookies, and even a set of candles the color of which matches the rest of the decor.

A supply of bottled water was stashed away in one of the closets, near the entrance, and in the fridge I also found 2 containers of rice milk, which my hostess knew I now use instead of milk. A huge real plant and a couple small others completed the setup of these two areas, which are totally color coordinated, including the carpeting.

I couldn’t be more welcome and I’m really overwhelmed by all I found waiting for me here!

Part 2 describing the rest of this apartment shall follow soon.

Traveling to Albania

I was hoping to be back online soon after my arrival in Albania, but a set of circumstances disallowed me from using not only the high speed connection I have available here, but also my computer for over a week. That boils down to technical starvation for me , but the expected move of residence took precedence over everything else when I arrived in Tirana.

As usual, notwithstanding all my planning, when in Europe one must go with the local flow, and adapt to all sorts of situations because life is lived quite differently everywhere in the old continent.

In NY, check in at Lufthansa went smoothly, as accustomed to. I paid the difference for my 2nd valise, as now expected, and my luggage was handled as “priority’ thanks to my ‘silver’ age! I was really loaded, carrying heavy stuff that included my new notebook, wireless keyboard, and a deskjet printer/scanner/copier, plus all the paraphernalia of cables, adapters, and other technical accessories. The plane’s doors closed on time, and we rolled on the tarmac for about half hour before liftoff.

As I was waiting to board at JFK I noticed that the all German crew presented itself at the gate 1 ½ hour before departure and waited like everyone else for the appropriate staff to let them embark. All 16 of them, more men than women, were extremely efficient, throughout the entire flight, which was pretty full. The Airbus (A340-600) is the newest craft in their fleet and the longest plane in service today. It allows a bit more leg room and is much more comfortable than any other plane I have used before.

The young woman that occupied the window seat next to me made me a bit uncomfortable when she began to cough and blow her nose constantly, but right across from me there were 2 empty seats, located right against the top of the stairs leading to the lower floor, which obviously attracted my attention. As soon as the boarding was completed the steward prompted me to move, and in doing so I occupied the new seats 2 seconds before a big blond, German lady, who made herself quite noticeable even at the airport, was also aiming at them. By the end of the trip she actually changes seat location six times.

Arrival at Munich was 25” ahead of time, and I was whisked to the connecting gate via a mobile unit in no time. Two other attendants took care of me when time came to board the connecting flight to Tirana, 2 ½ hours later. I was allowed the use of an elevator to avoid the many stairs, and they also drove me by car directly to the other small plane, operated by Lufthansa CitiLine, which is always parked at the very edge of Munich airport.

I boarded this plane ahead of everyone else, but, unfortunately, this is not a very comfortable flight, because of the cramped conditions. These local flights are always fully loaded, and carrying luggage space on board is practically nil. Everyone has at least one piece that can fit only between the legs during the 1 ½ hour ride.

Finally, in perfect time, I arrived in Albania, tired because I didn’t sleep during the night, but safe and sound, and was met by the friends that drove me to Tirana in no time.

As I am writing this, a huge, full moon is showing its face through one of the windows of my new residence. But more about the latter will follow in other posts. Here both the sun and the moon seem so much closer than in NY for some reason. The same closeness can be said about the environment and the people here that are quite friendly and approachable everywhere you go. Hurrah for Albania!

Albanian cuisine

Every time I am with American friends and the conversation revolves around food, they invariably ask me to mention what dishes or specialties may be considered Albanian. Frankly, I am no expert, but I can describe some unusual treats that I have experienced over the years, as a guest or visitor of Albanian families, where hospitality is tops!

Today, however, I came across an interesting article from the lovely area of Winston-Salem in North Carolina, where, apparently, an Albanian family is becoming known for its preparation of good Albanian food. I thought of sharing it with you since it does provide more insight into what is Albanian cuisine.

Business expansion in Albania

Notwithstanding the still unsettled political situation that dates back to the last elections of June 25th, 2009 being contested by the opposition party, foreign business is booming in the capital, Tirana. Two examples are making news in the press this week.

One has to do with the introduction of a 4th phone operator into Albania, which is going to compete with the other 3 already providing services in the heavily used mobile field in Albania, as indicated in this article.

The other is just one of the many, many businesses that Italians are establishing and are very successful in these days in Albania. It's another giant shopping center that was just inaugurated in the outskirts of the city, and I look forward to visiting it very soon.

Other similar establishments that I have already used in the past, are easily reachable by the public via a free bus service that shuttles continuously from Tirana's main center square. The malls themselves are also equipped with huge garages. Some are spanning several floors on top of the mall that can be accessed by elevators, and, believe or not, they are quite busy at all hours. Albanians, just like Americans, are now in the habit of doing large shopping with and for the family, and in these malls they can find anything and everything, including all sorts of foreign goods or delicacies.

Travel Preparations

Finally completed a lot of tasks on my to do list before my next trip to Albania.

Today the planned pickup of a huge load of donated goods that includes many collections of futuristic publications, training materials, books of all kinds (fiction, non-fiction, historical, etc.), encyclopedias, business journals, and musical collections are on the way to be incorporated into skids for shipment to Tirana soon. They are destined to be used by young Albanian students and, hopefully, they will be of some help to them.
some of the cartons.....


and there are another 50 pieces like these......
All tax returns for myself and the non profit organization I work for have been filed for the past year, and now it's a question of getting together what I need for my trip and the work to be accomplished while in Tirana, where I'll be staying for the next couple of months.

I am really excited about what's coming down the pike over there, and I know that I will also have a change of residence, which will be much more comfortable than the one I have used during the past 9 years. Am literally moving up in the world....to more luxurious quarters with balconies, located on the 12th floor of a new building with city views!

So, dear friends, keep tuned in here, and I shall share with you more of my travel and Albanian experiences and add a few pictures as I go along. I've just purchased a brand new digital camera, which, of course, I've to get acquainted with.

Having lost already one hour of sleep this past Sunday in NY, it's not going to be easy to change again to Daylight Saving Time in Europe a week later, on top of the jet-lag from the trip, but.....Albania here I come!

Au revoir, arrivederci, and......mirë se vini!

Albanian holidays

Sunday, March 7th, is Teacher's Day in Albania, followed by Mother's Day on Monday, March 8th.

BEST WISHES to all Albanian Mothers and in particular to my Albanian friends, who also happen to be Teachers.

See some of you soon in Tirana! CHEERS!

Albanian victim

The unusual occurrence of yesterday, during the snow storm mentioned in the posting below, fatally struck an Albanian man, who was on his way home from work, as per this article. The place of this accident is in my residential neighborhood.

Snow, snow, snow.....

After wrong predictions earlier this month, we are currently experiencing our third snow storm, which started on Wednesday evening and is till ongoing. We have had one a week for the past three weeks, and our airports, after many cancellations are still experiencing 5 hour delays.

We are fortunate not to loose electricity in NYC, but the Northeast has now more than 800,000 people in the dark! The country occurrence of fallen trees has also hit our city along the famous and fashionable Fifth Avenue that borders our Central Park. One man walking in it yesterday was killed by one large tree that cracked under the weight of the accumulated snow. The plows are working constantly, in long hour shifts, but it is hard to keep up clearing the streets with this steady fall and 40 mph twirling winds that blind everyone.

I canceled a couple of appointments and I am grateful not to have to go out, as I had to, years ago, when employed. Now my volunteer work can be handled from home, thanks to technology, and I am the master of my own time in any kind of weather, but I distinctly remember some very bad winters in NYC in the 1950's.

The only regret today is that I cannot take any pictures, as done many times in the past, because my digital camera has decided to fail me. As soon as the streets become more navigable I'll be shopping for a new one. Meantime, I can proudly say that I have conquered the annual tax related work, and it feels good to have completed at least this boring annual project.

Sunny Albanian Riviera

The snow forecast for today in New York did not materialize, although the surrounding areas are struggling to clean up after a heavy storm that has blanketed for thousands of miles the southern/eastern United States. Washington (DC) was shut down yesterday and practically paralyzed. This is considered its worst snow storm in 90 years.

Meantime, I can't believe my eyes when reading today's report in the travel section of the Los Angeles Times about the writer's visit to Saranda. The displayed picture of this lovely area, considered part of the Albanian southern riviera, where loads of tourists flock to these days, seems a bit too summery since I know that today's weather in that town is in the middle 50's (~12C). Nevertheless, it's heart warming to see it during this long and cold New York winter!

Albania's air transport

Impressive and sustained growth of Tirana's airport during the past 6 years is reported by this airline network news site with good graphics.

Flooding in Albania

Another disaster at hand. This one is in Northern Albania where the Adriatic sea, the Buna river, and the quick snow melting have created havoc. Fund raising is ongoing to help the needy.

http://bw.balkanweb.com/fotoAlbum/dritare.php?id=402&IDFoto=402

-----------------------------------------

Comparison

An intriguing parallelism is made by Prof. Michael Galaty between Afghanistan and Albania in his article published yesterday by the Christian Science Monitor.

Season's Greetings

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ONE AND ALL!

Te gjithe shqiptareve kudo qe jeni, ju deshiroj jete te lumtur, shendet, mirekuptim, dhe realizimin e te gjitha deshirave ne Vitin e Ri 2010.
GEZUAR!

Access of information

A couple of articles from USAID that aim at offering further transparency of information in Albania:

- Tirana Court of Appeals improves Access to Information

- Launch of the National Family Planning Protocol

Financial report

The Financial Times offers a report on Albania on an annual basis. Here is the pointer to the current one, appearing in its edition of December 7, 2009:

http://www.ft.com/reports/albania-2009

Interesting to note that Albanian cuisine, with its Turkish and Italian influences, is emerging a bit, and that frogs' legs export (which I remember started way back in the early 1990's) is still booming! Kudos to Albanian entrepreneurs!