Happy New Year!

With the new year, I decided it was time I write about my time so far in Albania. I’ve been here for a bit over a month and a half and I’m really enjoying my time here!

Hostel

I came to this hostel on the suggestion of a friend who had been staying and volunteering here. It’s been a great decision. I’ve met a lot of great people and have been able to slow down just like I wanted to. 

The hostel is a social hostel. It’s large – over 100 beds – but with the off season it’s been fairly quiet overall. When I first got here, there were quite a few people, but slowly over time it’s mostly slimmed down to a small number of us. Many of who are long term guests. We all joke that you come to stay for a bit and then you get stuck in the bubble. 

A couple weeks into being here, I helped them out with some tech issues they were having and that ended up turning into volunteering here working on both their system and at their check-in desk. It’s been good to use my brain again, and it’s given me the time to slow down, think about my next steps, hang out with some cool people, and overall take a step back from the hecticness of traveling to 12 countries in 3 months. Eventually I was asked to manage the place for while when the manager/owner went on a vacation and so my 2 weeks has turned into 3 months before I end up moving on.

I think one of my favorite parts about this hostel though is that there are cats that live here! When I first arrived, there were 4. Unfortunately, one of them caught FPV and passed away. Two others caught it but we were able to get them treatment in time. Their names are Daisy (who passed away), Pepi, Shelby, and Straysie. Recently Pepi was rehomed as she was causing some problems with the guests – the bad part about cats that have grown up around a hostel is it can be really tough to train them when they are getting mixed signals from short term guests. Shelby and Straysie are still here though! (and we found out Straysie is a boy haha)

I’ve become known a bit of a cat whisperer here. When they were sick they would seek me out, and they often hang out on my lap whenever they’re in the same room with me. Apparently my cat whisperer powers extend to some of the strays in the neighborhood as well. We had one hide in the toilet (it’s hollow underneath) and I spent some time with her before managing to lure her out. She ran off when she heard some other people – but during my time hanging out in the bathroom with her there was a point when all 3 of the other cats showed up to see what I was doing.

Food

The traditional food in Albania is mostly meat and potatoes types of food, but there is a lot of Italian and Greek influences and cuisines around. It’s possible to find food from other cultures – but honestly they aren’t always the best. Fast food is everywhere but it’s literally shops that call themselves “Fast Food” and you can find quick things to go. Pizza and pastries and sandwiches are just about everywhere and the prices are great. You can get a sandwich for 200lek, pastries for less than 100lek, and pizza is super affordable though the cost depends on the size (slice, personal, medium, etc.).

Tirana

Tirana is a much nicer city than I think people give it credit for on first glance. There is a lot to see and it’s mostly a walkable city. There isn’t a huge amount to see as “tourist destinations” but if you’re looking to get to see local spots – then you’ll find a lot to do/see. This time of year is cold, but even if you didn’t prepare for it (looking at myself) you can find a lot of different markets all around the city. 

The markets are basically thrift stores but outside and much more. Most markets have a focus, like clothes, but you can find some other goods there too. And if you go to the second hand markets compared to the new goods markets, the price is even cheaper. One girl at the hostel got a pretty good winter style coat for only 200lek (about 2 euros/3.5$). I got 4 shirts for 600lek (about 8$). And these are often new clothes or at least close to new. You do have to be willing to bargain as they will give you a higher price when they realize that you’re a foreigner, but if you offer lower they’ll almost always accept since you’re likely still offering enough for them to make a larger profit than they’ll get from locals. 

I’ve spent a lot of my time here wandering around the city. At this point I think that I’ve walked most of the city. There are some side streets and residential areas that I haven’t explored obviously – but often times when I go out I have no real destination in mind and just wander around. It’s one of my favorite things to do in a new place and I’ve enjoyed taking my time to explore even more here. Often I’m seeing the same things, but it’s great to get out and about and every once in a while I see a new shop or restaurant that I didn’t know about previously.

I am a bit of a creature of habit when I’ve been in one place for a while, so while I tend to eat at the same places, it’s still fun to see what’s around.

Kruja

I honestly haven’t done much outside of Tirana since I’ve been here. When I first arrived there was 2 straight weeks of rain and I was still wanting time to veg out. Eventually, the weather cleared up enough that I took a day trip with one of the others at the hostel. We headed out to Kruja. 

This was my first experience with the public transit in Albania. Before then, I had been walking wherever I needed to go – which if you’re following along, you know is pretty typical for me even in places that have a really well developed public transit system with apps and everything. Albania is not that type of place. They have public transit but it’s only just beginning to get put online. The city busses are super easy to use. You can even see a mostly accurate time on google maps. They cost 40lek (about 50cents) a bus and you pay in cash to an employee that goes around and collects it. 

The long distance busses are a bit different. Some of the bus depots/terminals are basically a big parking lot with next to no signage – especially the ones that are undergoing construction in their area. The buses themselves are often just passenger vans with a sign on the front dash/windshield saying where they’re going. Threw me off when I saw it – but it’s super easy to navigate. There are absolutely no signs but every driver there knows where you can find whatever bus you’re looking for. It took us walking for less than a minute before one of the drivers asked us where we were going and then directed us to the correct area for our bus. For Kruja the cost was 200lek one way per person – so basically 3.5$ to go over an hour away. 

Kruja itself is a cute little mountain town. I’m sure there are a lot of hikes in the area, but we went specifically to see the castle and bazzar. It was a lot of fun to window shop – though a lot of the shops had similar items. I ended up buying some handmade jewlery that I liked. The castle itself is mostly in ruins now, but it’s situated right next to the mountains and gives you an amazing view. We could see the ocean and Tirana from up there – which is crazy considering how far inland Kruja is. And when you looked the other way, the mountains look close enough to touch. It was great to see another place in Albania.

To be Continued

\My time in Albania isn’t even close to be doing done yet – I’ll write more soon. Including all about New Years in Albania! But for now that’s, to be continued. I could include it all – but I want to go into more details but not overwhelm with a super long post (this post is already pretty long). So stay tuned!