Tirana, Albania

Description: The capital city of Albania since 1914. The city was founded in the early 17th century, but the area has been inhabited for well over 2000 years. Today, the most striking and noticeable characteristic of Tirana is the commercial building architecture. From centuries old mosques to very modern high rises with unique shapes and construction materials.

Located on the Western edge of Albania, it is a large city of approximately 900,000 people.
The location we visited in our short stay was in the affluent neighborhood known as the Blloku, or Ish-Blloku. It was the area of the city permissible only to Communist Party officials during their reign in Albania. The areas we visited were flat and easily walkable for most of them. Motorized wheelchairs were seen several times. The sidewalks and streets were much better maintained and clean in comparison to other areas of Albania we had seen by this time.

Considering transportation, there is an international airport just outside Tirana, which is the only operational one in Albania to date. There is much said on many sites about the once used railway system in Albania, but it is almost completely non-existent at this date. The only working rail is from Durres to Elbasan, each on either side of Tirana by a few miles. The trains themselves are very old and not reliable at all according to the recent videos we have seen. They may be down to only one or two working diesel locomotives. The buses in Tirana city were modern and clean from what we observed, keeping in mind we did not ride one. For intercity buses, one must venture to a large dusty parking lot in an industrial area of the city that is a wonderful display of functional chaos. Buses, taxis and cars of all types mixed with foot traffic being directed at different buses by helpful drivers. As with our trip from Vlore, these mini vans and buses large and small, are a mix. Some are more recent models, but most appear at least 15 years old or more. They routinely have maintenance issues and are as likely as not to have working air conditioning. Such is the entertaining main method of travel in Albania, along with taxis or private drivers.

Number of Days: 4

Analyzed Costs: Since we had been staying in rented homes for many months, we decided to take a "vacation" in Tirana. For this four day stay we splurged on a luxury hotel and spa. We wanted to pamper ourselves with an ultra-soft bed, a very large shower, delicately soft towels, a breakfast buffet, a gorgeous pool, and a sauna. During our stay we also enjoyed two very elegant dinners with drinks. Entertainment beyond our hotel were museums. While we chose to take the bus from Vlore to Tirana, we had to take a taxi from Tirana to Pogradec because Shannon was suddenly ill.