Tirana, Albania

What could go wrong with my trip to Albania?

Two things were potential roadblocks to my trip – an airline strike and the weather.

The Air Canada strike did not happen, with pilots settling for a 42% increase over 4 years! I covered myself with a Westjet flight that was cancellable for a credit.

Weather has been unpredictable in eastern Europe this fall. After a summer of temperatures up to 45, there has been torrential rainfall and deadly flooding. Looking ahead in my weather app to my time in Albania, I saw a day when 70 – 100 mm of rain was predicted, and temperatures of 30 in early October.

I added some hot weather clothes to my rain gear, and that was all I could do! I managed, with weather that did not reach the extremes predicted.

And, an added potential threat – what about the Albanian gangsters that we’ve all heard of? I’m not worried, Liam Neeson got rid of them all in the three Taken movies, didn’t he? I never felt unsafe, despite the knowledge that Albanian gangs control a lot of drug trade in Europe and much of the rest of the world, and most of the Mercedes cars on the streets (a lot of them!) are driven by mafia members.

What to see in Tirana

Tirana, the capital of Albania, is surrounded by mountains and hills. The view coming in by plane is dramatic, and I should have seen it with my afternoon arrival, but that was not to be.

My LOT Polish airline flight left Toronto a couple of hours late, just like it had the night before, and I missed my connection. I was then sent off on a couple more flights before getting to Tirana about midnight.

Before I left home I checked taxi prices, then asked my hotel if they sent a pickup. They did, for the same price, 20 euros. So, a guy was waiting for me at midnight with a sign with my name on it. That’s always nice when arriving in the dark. When we reached the hotel, he demanded a tip while holding my bag, so I was happy I had euros.

I have a little ritual of sitting outside with a glass of wine on arrival, so off I went with my wine from the duty-free store in Toronto to the front porch of the hotel. I chatted with the guy who was working at the hotel reception and his two friends, and only one of them spoke English. He learned the language from watching Netflix!

The next day I set off to see the city. Most of the major sights within Tirana are near Skanderbeg Square, a massive pedestrian area surrounded by unusual modernistic buildings. The square, and many other sites around the country, is named for a warlord from the 15th century.

Near the square were massive churches and mosques, and wide boulevards.

Communist era attractions in Tirana

I went to the House of Leaves, where I had my first look into the working of the communist regime that existed here until the 1990’s. This building covered in ivy was once a hospital, but was turned into a center for the interrogation and torture of anyone not loyal to the party.

Not far away was the entrance to Bunk’Art 2, leading down to a nuclear bunker right in the center of Tirana. The bunker was built in the 1980’s to protect government officials from attack. The museum in the rooms inside shows the persecution of dissidents by the Albanian police. Torture, imprisonment, internment camps, and executions are depicted. A list of torture methods was particularly shocking.

I climbed up the Pyramid, another interesting structure near the town centre. Originally built as a mausoleum for the communist dictator Enver Hoxha in the 1980’s, at that time it was the most expensive structure built in Albania. It was later a museum, conference centre, and NATO (North Atlantic treaty organization) base during the 1999 war in neighboring Kosovo. Now, it’s a technology center of some kind.

When I returned to Tirana at the end of my tour, I went to the outskirts of the city to see Bunk’Art 1. This is a massive five story bunker built into the side of a mountain, to protect the dictator Enver Hoxha and his cronies. You are warned at the entrance that you should not enter if you are claustrophobic, or if you have mobility issues.

There were heavy rains the night before, and the entrance was blocked by downed trees, so I entered through the exit. Once inside, signs warned that in case of a blackout of the generator, you should calmly remain where you are. Oh, great.

Who was Enver Hoxha?

Enver Hoxha ruled Albania for over 40 years, from 1944 until his death in 1985. He converted Albania to a communist state, and outlawed religions. Any dissidents to his regime were tortured or executed. He had a paranoid fear of nuclear war, and ordered the construction of who knows how many bunkers to protect the people, at least in the tens of thousands – some sources say over 700,000. Many of the forced labourers died while building the bunkers into mountains. He promoted an autonomous society, breaking ties with almost every country in the world. Albania was left in an isolated position, even more extreme than that of present day North Korea. Quite a resume!

The mountains above Tirana

Close to Bunk’Art 1 on the outskirts of the city is the Dajti Express, a 20 minute gondola ride up the mountain. It was sunny at the bottom, but the top was shrouded in rainclouds. There were still amazing views over the city.

When I got to the top, the gondolas stopped for a while due to the steady rain, so I had a coffee and waited a bit. At the top there is an adventure park for kids, and hiking trails, but it wasn’t a day for any of that. The gondolas started again not long after.

And that was all the time I had for Tirana.