Albania Day One. December 15, 2017

As they say here in Albania —- Përshëndetje (Hello)

It’s now after midnight on Saturday night (Sunday morning) and we are in Tirana for the second night.

Arrived in Tirana last night (Friday) after a long, messy, and somewhat stressful trip involving three planes and four airports (SFO, Paris, Rome, Tirana). We had to have only carry-on baggage in spite of the fact that we were in first class from SFO to Paris. Packing that lightly was challenging considering the weather we were about to enter, so we needed to have boots, sweaters, heavy coat/jacket – in addition to computers, cameras, gear, etc. The issue was that we had to change planes and our carriers were not compatible, and our connection times were very tight—- thus we needed to do only carry-on if we were to make the timing work. Frankly, I’m not sure our connection times were legal.

It’s a given that we were up until the wee hours on Wednesday night packing and re-packing —- especially difficult for me since I am a bit of a clotheshorse. Mike had no trouble.. and I admit to having snuck a second pair of boots into his suitcase. Speaking of Mike’s suitcase (Tumi, but has had a lot of wear and tear)… the handle broke as he lifter the case onto the security device! Flight to Paris was a breeze. Being a status flier and getting into first class always helps. But once we landed at CDG, we were with the hoi polloi. Fortunately we were able to get to the Alitalia counter before changing planes and we each checked one suitcase. But this involved transferring some things from one suitcase to the other. Finally we were headed to Rome

As we landed at Fiumicino we realized that the connection for the flight to Tirana (Albania) was so tight that it was already boarding as we were landing. We were met at the gate by an Alitalia concierge who warned us that we needed to run to catch the flight. We ran and ran — 1.8 miles according to the app on the phone — and barely made it to the Tirana flight. Because we were so late, our bags did not fit on the plane and eventually, the flight attendants took the bags and got them loaded into cargo.

We landed in Tirana about 75 minutes later and took a taxi to our hotel (MonarC) which we booked online. It’s a sweet, small, very centrally located hotel (that lists as part of its amenities: toilet paper!). Actually, it’s quite modern and situated at the intersection of Boulevard and George W Bush Avenue (!!!). We literally dropped our bags, jumped in the shower, and headed to one of the recommended restaurants: Mullixhui (billed as fusion food)/ pronounced Mullee-gee-oh. The taxi had quite a problem finding it and we had to walk the last block and a half in the rain. But dinner was fantastic:

• Started with raki – an unsweetened alcohol made with fruits and very very strong (45% alcohol) as an aperitif
• Squash soup
• Pumpkin salad with cranberries and sundried tomatoes and some kind of pickled onions… Pumpkin was shredded very thin.. not sure what the dressing was, but it was fantastic
• Linguine with wild berries
• Goat accompanied by vegetables and potatoes
• Dessert was incredible – served in a ceramic vessel that had a spout; it had a birds nest kind of edible topping with graham cracker-ish grounds and some cream.. you eat this and then you drink from the spout what is sitting at the bottom of the vessel — some kind of yogurt-y liquid. Totally yummy.

Left there by taxi and crashed at the hotel!

I’ll get into what we did today (Saturday) tomorrow – will combine with Sunday events, I hope.

But for those who don’t know… Mike and I are here in Albania – a destination we didn’t exactly pick initially, but it probably is the only country in Europe that we have never been to. Anyway, turns out that a former student from ASU, on whose dissertation committee I sat had been here three times and he encouraged me to make the trip. Once we made the decision, he linked us up with all sorts of people and now our vacation has turned into part work as I’m lecturing at the university and also giving a talk to city staff here in Tirana.  So far, first 36 hours — Tirana is a bustling city with lots to offer.. wish it wasn’t rainy season. But you can still sense the life and also the intensity of its history all around. It’s also phenomenally inexpensive. The meal I mentioned above cost about $25 including a very nice Albanian red wine and the aperitifs!!  Maybe a good place to retire. Social Security would go a long way. They also have a socialist government – more on that later.

Best –

Fern