Jul 21st, 2006 at 7:01AM:
Tirana is not the place to go if you want to cut loose and go a little crazy. Nightlife here, which really didn't exist under communism, is calm and relaxed and very mellow. Dancing on tabletops and getting visibly drunk is just not done.
That's not to say there is nothing to do in Tirana. An entire section of town is basically dedicated to nightlife. The Bllok (The Block) is crawling with bars ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
balkan posts
Balkan Odyssey Part 4: Drinking in Tirana
Jul 21st, 2006 at 7:01AM:
Tirana is not the place to go if you want to cut loose and go a little crazy. Nightlife here, which really didn't exist under communism, is calm and relaxed and very mellow. Dancing on tabletops and getting visibly drunk is just not done.
That's not to say there is nothing to do in Tirana. An entire section of town is basically dedicated to nightlife. The Bllok (The Block) is crawling with bars ...Balkan Odyssey Part 3: What to See in Tirana
Jul 20th, 2006 at 7:57AM:
Like all former communist capitals, Tirana was socially engineered with the required injection of culture in the center of town. Skanderbeg Square boasts a Palace of Culture, National Library, and National Historical Museum-all of which loom above the expansive square where a mammoth statue of former dictator Enver Hoxha once held court. One's eyes, however, are naturally drawn to the very ...Balkan Odyssey Part 2: Tirana, Albania
Jul 19th, 2006 at 7:58AM:
The capital of the poorest country in Europe is a surprisingly pleasant place.
Unfortunately, I awoke to it at 4 a.m. when a rather large minaret right outside my Tirana hotel window began broadcasting the morning call to prayer.
Thanks to decades of rule under the Ottoman Empire, Albania is one of the most Muslim countries in Europe. It doesn't seem like it, however. Sure, there are a few ...Balkan Odyssey Part 1: Getting to Albania
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Jul 18th, 2006 at 7:55AM: Places so far off the beaten path rarely have good air connections. Albania is one exception, sort of. Shortly before planning my trip, British Airways announced that they would start flying direct to Tirana, the capital of Albania. This was a no-brainer: fly into London and catch the connecting flight onward.
Here's the problem, however. Don't ever let British Airways snooker you into the old ...Balkan Odyssey: Or, What I Did on My Summer Vacation
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Jul 17th, 2006 at 8:34AM: Today begins a short series on a long trip from which I've just returned. As you can tell from the title, my journey took my through the former Yugoslavia. Fifteen years ago, the majority of my trip would have been a visit to a single country. But today, after far too many years of horrific civil war, Yugoslavia has split into five separate countries. I was fortunate on this trip to have visited ...
