Leaving Ohrid behind, we headed toward the Macedonian/Albanian border about 45 minutes drive away. This was the first time I had ever driven across an international border, and we were expecting to be promptly interrogated and searched as we had to join the ‘other nationalities’ queue. Less than 10 minutes later however, we had new passport stamps and crossed over the border into country number 2.
Albania, more than most former Communist countries, has always had a bit of an unpleasant reputation. Known during the Communist era for being one of the strictest and most brutal regimes (its leader Enver Hoxha famously sticking two fingers up to the USSR and trying to befriend China), it then became known during the 1990s as a hotbed for organised crime and laughably corrupt financial pyramid schemes. Today Albania is progressing forward, but is still rife with corruption and economic mismanagement. The European Union has been pivotal in the development of Albanian infrastructure, but we were still expecting a relatively backward country, with its isolationist past and ethnic homogeneity providing an interest place to visit.
The drive through rural Eastern Albania was relatively easy – once you get used to monumental potholes and reckless driving you can settle down more and enjoy the beautiful, almost Alpine scenery. Albanians in the UK get a bit of an unfair stereotype for all working at hand car washes, but we were amused to see how many car washes Albania really has, and how many of them were busy with people getting their cars cleaned. Another amusing stereotype of Albania is one reported by Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear a couple of years ago – that Albania is absolutely clogged with 1980s Mercedes saloon cars. This is completely true – I reckon at least 70% of all cars in Albania are dodgy old Mercedes saloons – which gives an indication as to the standard of the cars on the road (and the questionable driving). Apparently these are a symptom of the fall of Communism in Albania – where the market was flooded with cheap second hand cars imported from Germany. During Communist rule, ONLY Communist Party members were eligible for a permit to drive and own a car, so with this new capitalist freedom came a huge level of private car ownership. After a couple of hours of Albanian driving amusement, we arrived in the Albanian capital Tirana and found our apartment.
Tirana is one of the largest cities in the entire region and the centre of Albanian commerce. As such, our first adventure was to Tirana East Gate mall and a visit to Carrefour to stock up on water (tap water not drinkable), cheap Tirana beer, and food. The beauty of driving around and self-catering is the ability to pack everything up and take it with you when you leave, and not having to worry about wasting anything. We had 3 days in total in Tirana, and whilst we enjoyed the socialist style architecture and undeveloped capitalism (and cheap food and drink) there isn’t masses to occupy yourself with. We walked around and saw some of the relics of Communism – an army bunker, the former leader’s house, some questionable soviet style architecture and the National Museum of Albania (and a piece of the Berlin Wall, as is fashionable these days) – but other than that Tirana is just a very big, very basic city with little in the way of a developed centre. In the trendier neighbours there was evidence of the beginnings of coffee shop culture, with bakeries and trendy bars forming – but in most of the city there is little in the way of shopping and eating out – and on the road where our apartment was located, most things appeared to be usually closed.
The National Museum of Albania, and a piece of the Berlin Wall
As Tirana wasn’t a metropolis of sites, we decided to drive 40km along the motorway to the city of Durres – Albania’s second city and the main port for the country. Durres beach is a 10km long piece of sand, and from the number of deck chairs laid out and the number of bars and restaurants flanking the beach it was clear that this place would be absolutely rammed in the high season. Apparently it is a major tourist destination for Russians, Ukranians and Albanians who own second homes here. Durres beach isn’t pretty, but we had a nice (cheap) meal overlooking the sea, and had a nice explore of the new city afterwards.
Durres Beach, Albania
We drove back to Tirana and prepared for the long journey ahead – through Northern Albania, all the way across Montenegro and into Croatia – some 5 and a half hours to Dubrovnik.
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