Americans in East Africa: Kampala, Uganda 12/20/2018
Greetings –
Got a bit of a late start today and had breakfast at our little hotel. Pretty standard fare except for all the local fruits which are wonderful. Then we each did a bit of work (we both brought a lot of work to do and finally got to tackle a little) as we waited for Martin Kamya Muwonge, a local Ugandan architect who was a classmate and friend of our godson and his wife when they were all students at Antioch in Yellow Springs, Ohio, decades ago. We reached out to Martin only a few days ago so plans were a bit iffy.
Martin remembered to bring along a photo of himself and our godson at Antioch, which we all laughed about.
Martin arrived at the hotel (with his driver) at 11:30 and we began a day-long journey winding up and down Kampala’s many hills (some controversy over how many hills there are – Kampala likes to say it has 7 hills like Rome, but in reality there are about 20 or more, which appear to divide up neighborhoods and have some degree of difference as to who lives where. But first we spent time on the terrace at the hotel getting acquainted and providing updates on family. Martin was born in Kampala but his father moved the family to Nairobi (where he had gone to school – he’s an architect too) during Amin’s period and later lived in London – returning to Uganda when the country gained independence and appeared to be more stable. While in London, he worked for the UN. Martin went to school in Nairobi and his father thought he should go to university in America. There are apparently 15 siblings (8 brothers and 7 sisters) – all professionals, living literally all around the world from Albuquerque NM to NY to Alberta, Canada to Nairobi to Kampala and more. Martin is the oldest, I think.
Anyway, somehow he wound up at Antioch, a somewhat unusual university selection, but he clearly has extremely fond memories of school, teachers, friendships, and more. During his years at Antioch (which was based on a co-op program where students were off-campus one semester each year at a variety of work and life experiences), he managed to live and work in numerous parts of the US. But he decided he wanted to be an architect. After graduation he went to live in London for a year and then did the graduate program in architecture at UCLA. He worked in LA for a few years, and then returned to Kampala where he works with his father. Martin provided an interesting look at the city – from the eyes of someone who truly loves his country but who knows he exists as a privileged member of its society.
We headed to Zone 7, a local bar/restaurant located in a neighborhood called Mbuya. Naturally, Martin knew everyone. We had a traditional Ugandan meal (although Martin stressed that Ugandan food is not very interesting and pretty bland). It was bland, but quite good – plantains, bitter greens, pumpkin, something that tasted like polenta, beef, chicken, an okra-like eggplant, and chapati (the Indian influence is everywhere in Africa). We then drove around to see more of the Kampala layout, and then went off to meet Martin’s father, whose own story is quite interesting. We also talked a lot about the role of the US in Africa, building construction, planning (or lack thereof) and family. His father is renovating his own house (the one that Martin grew up in during his early years), so he is living at a hotel that he and Martin apparently developed and own.
Then we moved on through the unbelievable traffic that is apparently an everyday event. Obviously there are thousands of people on motorcycles which can bypass some of the traffic — especially when they jump onto the sidewalk and make that yet another lane.
Like in most developing nations, traffic jams are a wonderful opportunity for entrepreneurial poor folks who hawk everything from toilet paper to screw drivers to water to fruit as they pass between the cars (which are actually already very very close to one another). These products are carried in a variety of ways, including on one’s head. We also passed a strange processional of young men with the leader in painted white face and skeleton followed by about 10-20 young men drumming while they marched. Apparently this is a processional for a circumcision (the white painted young man being the subject of the circumcision)….
We discussed education (similar issues to South Africa and to what we heard in Kenya), health care, transportation (mostly private), planning, women’s status (making small advances, but still very much in the minority in the professions and in seats of power), and more as we meandered (or rather were stuck in traffic trying to meander) neighborhoods. And no discussion would be complete without the topic of corruption, which is everywhere from the police to the judges to every level of government and about bribes to get projects moving ahead. And we talked about Martin’s love of the L.A. Lakers, and local music. We also discussed the role that China is playing throughout Africa and its decisions about investment in the infrastructure of most cities (smart move).
In conversations with both Martin and his dad, it was interesting to see how knowledgeable and aware they were about American politics and American life. They are avid CNN watchers so we talked about the Mattis resignation, the government shutdown, the stock market, and more.
Tomorrow we are hoping for an early start and will head out on our own to two different markets (one of which they say is so chaotic it is difficult to find your way out). Martin was a bit concerned about our safety but we assured him we’d be fine. Then we are likely to head to the Uganda Museum – which includes a center that houses all NGOs dealing with women’s issues and sells crafts made through local NGOs. The museum is apparently pretty weak in the area of museum design and layout, but we shall see. Hopefully we will meet up with Martin in the early afternoon and drive to Lake Victoria.
All my best –
Fern
Goodbye Nairobi, Hello Kampala. 12/19/2018
Greetings –
Somehow packing and unpacking just ruins travel! But we got it all done and left the hotel to get our flight to Kampala.
Took taxi (by the way, many taxis in Nairobi have wifi – so they ask if you want the password. Amazing. I don’t think we have that in the states.) The drive to the airport was quicker than predicted, but a bit of a mess in that the security system is quite complicated:
About two miles before you approach the airport, all vehicles are stopped; passengers must exit the vehicle; drivers move very slowly and then stand by the vehicle. Everything and everyone is searched. Passengers go through a little building with a scanning device.. Vehicles move through some kind of scanner as well. Drivers meet passengers on the other side. No vehicles (not even taxis or buses) can get within about a half block of the actual terminal. So we said goodbye to the driver and to Nairobi and entered the airport.
There our bags were screened at the entrance; we proceeded to get our boarding passes and yes, to actually check one bag each. We weren’t in any priority section and the plane was small so we decided doing all carry-on wouldn’t make sense; also no jetways. Got boarding passes, checked the bags and then went through screening.. computers out, shoes off, nothing at all in pockets, not even paper. Full screening. Then we headed to the gate. Another screening. And finally we wait for the plane which was naturally late. Boarding was a bit chaotic, but once on the plane it was fine. They didn’t have any air conditioning turned on in terminal, nor on the plane until we actually started going. So it was pretty hot and sticky.
The flight was fine, a little bumpy. Landed in Kampala, bags were searched again; got money from the ATM, picked up the bags, and headed to a taxi stand. Then the fun began. We would be staying at a small (24-room) hotel (Humura Hotel) which is locally owned (we tried to keep the money flowing within each country, but we also knew that meant a bit of a drop in luxury). It is just 25 miles from the airport (which is actually in Entebbe, a totally separate city from Kampala). A quick check on the phone showed traffic and that it would take 55 minutes. Fortunately the taxi was a comfortable four-wheel drive and the air conditioning worked. Only problem was that it had tinted windows so I had my side window open the whole time. It was also clear that rain was imminent. The drive actually took 2.25 hours! And the poor driver had to return to the airport after dropping us off. And wifi in the taxis here too.
There is a new road that is under construction; a fast highway from Kampala to Entebbe. But it is only about 30% complete. Thus, for most of the drive we were stopped dead in traffic until several enterprising drivers sort of made a new road in the mud – a sort of service road – and our driver opted for that. It brought us closer to the little shops along the roadside, which enabled me to photograph along the very slow and winding drive. It started to rain – a lot – so we were really just coasting on mud that was draining from the other real road. Eventually he had to drive up some mud to join back in with the main road.. Rain just kept coming.. really strong at some points and then more drizzly at other points. And then suddenly we were on the new road/highway which was obviously so new that the toll booths weren’t even installed yet.
We arrived at Humura and were warmly greeted and shown to our room.. It is a small little complex (of course we have our own guard on the property, but he seems pretty low-keyed and hangs out near the parking area. Our room is sweet, a bit basic, and not everything works 100%.
In the first hour or so as we were settling in and deciding where to go for dinner (and hoping the rain would stop), the power went off about three times (fortunately only briefly each time – 15 minutes or so). The wifi connection also went down, but we were told that is because Kampala is laying fiber and it’s not done yet (??). The sliding closet doors are wood so they don’t really move too well and there’s only one hanger… But all is good. I went to the reception area to discuss options for dinner. They kept suggesting Italian restaurants. I said we’d really rather have some African food. They eventually suggested a Ugandan home cooking place in the downtown but suggested we go for lunch rather than dinner for “safety reasons”… We said we’d be fine, but decided to head to a game restaurant last night because it was closer to Humura. I think we may be the only guests. We taxied to The Lawns which would be easily walkable if there were direct roads and if it wasn’t so hilly. The Lawns is a meandering restaurant (not so many tables, but on many levels) – all outside. We opted for a middle level table (only about four tables per level). The menu was a bit eclectic, but we had a great Moroccan stew and an order of assorted game (crocodile, ostrich, wildebeast, kudu). Lots of potatoes come with everything. We had drinks and good Ugandan beer. Taxi returned to get us and we settled in for the night.
One quick impression – the roads actually seem to be in better shape than in Nairobi and lots of traffic lights. But traffic is as horrendous as it was in Nairobi. We’ll know and see more tomorrow. We are meeting up with a local architect who went to college with our godson. Should be interesting.
Fern
Americans in Nairobi 12/18/2018
This morning we opted to return to Java House, where we now are familiar faces; two visits and we are regulars!
So after walking back to the hotel to figure out our day, it became obvious that rain would be coming soon. Thus we opted not to walk any where and that maybe we should be real tourists for a day.. or at least a little like real tourists. We decided to rent a driver and head to the neighborhood known as Karen (an upscale area north of the center of town where we were staying). We used a driver from the hotel because we figured we might need the car for at least six or seven hours. The driver (whose name escapes me) was quite knowledgeable and was able to relay a good deal of information and was quite conversant, once he realized our politics. So despite the fact that the drive was long, due to the incredible number of cars, matatus, and buses and trucks choking the air and trying to move from place to place on inadequate roads, we had a good time.
During the drive we discussed local politics (corruption), schools (inadequate unless you can pay to go to private schools of some sort) – 50 students to a classroom, insufficient supply of text books – much like what I witnessed in South Africa last year.
The driver was – in many ways — a typical Nairobi worker – grew up in a rural area focused on farming, with minimal support for schooling but like everyone else saw Nairobi as the dream for a job with potential. We also talked about the role of missionaries in Kenya, historically. He had an interesting line: “The flags follow the crosses…”… meaning that first the missionaries come and then they are followed by the colonizers, with the missionaries making it easier for the colonizers to “set up shop.” We talked about salaries and how one gets by; we discussed the situation in the slums, and we talked about the Kenyan Constitution and the structure of the government. He says they copied the US Constitution.. which actually sounds true.. They have a president and two official houses that make up the legislative branch. One includes one member from each “county” within Kenya; the other is based on many many sub areas within each “county.” He says the problem is that he thinks they copied the constitution and didn’t really tailor it enough to meet local needs.. and we laughed and said that we felt that after more than 200 years it was time for a new constitutional convention and a new constitution for the US that would consider how much things have changed..
We also discussed the land issue which is a complicated and essential topic in African cities. Apparently, the government is beginning to crack down on illegal development on public land. As a result several shopping centers and other buildings have been torn down. Greedy developers just move onto properties and start building. Historically, no one said anything and the buildings got occupied and that was that. Not clear this effort will change things much, but it’s seen as a start.
We headed first to Tamambo, a wonderful little café on the coffee grounds of the original Karen Blixen estate (more on that in a bit); service was incredibly slow and we worried it could put a dent into the very long list of things we wanted to see and do. After lunch I headed to the Kazuri bead factory to see the bead-making techniques and check out their on-site shop while Mike got dropped off at the Giraffe Center where he was determined he would “kiss” a giraffe (apparently you get some kind of pellet of food and stick it between your lips and the giraffe comes over and slobbers over you and grabs the food). Did not sound like something I needed to experience.
So, back at the bead factory. There was a ‘mandatory’ tour which proved informative and also disturbing. The bead center was started by some religious person who wanted to help unmarried mothers. Now, some years later it’s a thriving enterprise with at least 70 workers (mostly women – and the women make the beads; the few men working there make the mugs and newer items they have added to their portfolio). When I went inside the first building (really a series of huts) everyone was singing a religious song – it was Christian but they were singing in Swahili, and then there was a prayer. Apparently this happens twice a day. The bead-making process is very rote and the women have strict quotas they must meet each day. They do rotate the jobs.. two days you are making the clay beads; two days you might be putting the holes into the beads; two days you’re involved with the firing; two days painting (based on a very strict pattern and color scheme you are given); two days involved with firing once the colors are on the beads; two days stringing the necklaces.. etc. etc. Turns out that Kazuri has established quite an enterprise with orders from around the world.
Meanwhile, Mike got his wish in that he fed the giraffe, but didn’t do the pellet in the mouth deal. (For images of Mike feeding the giraffe, you need to contact him directly)
By now it was pouring and we were glad we hadn’t decided to walk.. From there we went to an amazing craft store to check out the wares… Many really spectacular things, but pricey and too much to carry home.
Then we headed to the Karen Blixen Museum. (This is the “Karen” for whom the whole area is named and nearly everything around is named Karen something.) Karen Blixen is the Danish author of “Out of Africa” – goes mostly by the pen name Isak Dinesin. The museum is actually her house – the one depicted in the film version with Robert Redford and Meryl Streep and the one described in great length in the book. The grounds are quite wonderful and many of the artifacts in the house pointed to an independent woman with big ideas. Apparently she left Kenya after 18 years to return to Denmark, never to come to Africa again even though she lived another 30 years. For some time the house was rented out and then after her death the Danish government bought the property and held onto it, hoping it would become a historic place of interest. When Kenya became independent, the Danish government gave the property with all of its artifacts to the new nation, which has clearly invested in preserving it and promoting it as a destination.
After all of these stops, we headed to Talisman, a much recommended restaurant (in Karen – down a small side path and rocky road). We told the driver to go home to his family (two daughters and a 4-month old son) and that we would find a way back to the hotel. He seemed pleased with the arrangement. And it was now really coming down, with lightning and thunder.
Talisman was a pleasant surprise – a “gastrolounge” in an old farmhouse with meandering rooms for the bar and the restaurant. Crows was a total fusion of Nairobi (albeit, missing poor people). Following drinks (I’m now really into these “dawas” we headed to one of the dinner spaces. The menu was totally eclectic – we opted for samosas, Moroccan spiced beef, and also the ostrich dish (great!) and couldn’t resist dessert – chocolate malva (sort of mousse with a champagne orange curd). The house and each room had several fireplaces, which was good because the rain was unrelenting and the spaces were sort of open… and clearly no heat.
We fetched a taxi back to the hotel to pack… It was an intense 4 nights and 3.5 days. All good. Highly recommend a trip to Nairobi.
Fern
Americans in Nairobi 12/17/2018
Salamu Kutoka Nairobi (Greetings from Nairobi)
Hope you are well.
While it is only the end of our second day here in Nairobi (third night), we are packing so much into each day, it feels as if we’ve been here for at least a week.
So a few observations and comments and then some descriptions of our adventures today.
- Very few people assume we are from the US as it’s clear there aren’t too many Americans coming to Nairobi to stroll the city; true there are probably many Americans here in Kenya – but they just stop off in Nairobi to prepare for safaris. Thus we are a bit of a rarity. Taxi drivers, shop keepers, etc. all ask where we are from. Oakland or San Francisco don’t prompt any real recognition; California prompts some small familiarity, but mostly we are sticking to the big picture – “We’re from the US”
- Being from the US brings an immediate response – “Obama!!” which easily leads to a few fist bumps and smiles and comments like “good president” – which leads to the Trump comments: “bad president!”
- Workers leave their houses at about 5:30 am every morning in order to be at work by 8 am; they need to avoid the likely traffic jams which would make them late. They travel on “matutus” – little vans or minibuses that take passengers (for low fares) from outlying slums and low income areas into the central area and other destinations. They operate 24 hours a day and have distinct routes. They are very crowded and not in great repair. Until recently these matutus were privately owned but we were told that the government recently took them over because the drivers (owners?) kept threatening to strike which would truly screw up the “functioning” of the city. Some of the matutus boast portraits of famous people; music is generally being played on the vans — I think this attracts passengers.
- Again, because not many Americans seem to be here in Nairobi several people think we are from Iceland – not sure why they chose that country, but they are surprised when we respond in the negative to that question.
- Women are clearly much friendlier than men (although the taxi drivers – all male, I think – are also quite chatty if you engage them).
- We’ve been asked if we’ve been anywhere else in Africa and people are surprised we have traveled in Africa several times before this trip, and perhaps surprised we have returned.
- When we explained to one taxi driver that we were planning to visit a bunch of different neighborhoods and then listed a few, he said “So you are going to see both sides — the poor and the rich..” True.
- Very little evidence of Christmas here; in fact, other than the market selling some handmade little angels one wouldn’t know the holiday is just around the corner.
We bypassed the hotel breakfast this morning and got out into the streets; walked about .75 miles to the Java House which is like a Starbucks with a restaurant menu. There are Java Houses all over the place. We obviously stood out a bit as the only White people in the place, but everyone was either friendly or totally ignored us. Our waitress explained that Java House was started by an American couple in the 1980s and after opening a few stores sold their ownership to locals who have expanded the “chain” – She was quite proud of the operations with 60 shops and more coming, including expansion into Uganda. I guess it is the Starbucks of Africa (by the way, don’t think there are any Starbucks here – so Howard Schultz, watch out. Interesting, since there are Starbucks all over Asia and Latin America).
After breakfast, we walked to the Maasai Market which takes place only on Tuesdays. The walk was pretty straight forward, except for crossing multi-lane roads without any pedestrian walkways or traffic lights (there are very very few traffic lights in Nairobi); it’s sort of run for your life. Our trick in these situations here and in other developing nations is always: find a group of locals trying to cross the same street and get in the middle.. when they move, you move!
The Market is filled with craftspeople selling their wares. The sellers probably outnumbered the potential patrons 30 to 1 so there are a lot of men trying to tag along with you as you meander the “stalls” (really just goods on the ground and the seller sitting on a chair nearby).
The market had some nice things, but we’re conscious of the fact that we need to think about packing and also we are so early on our journey… bound to find other things. From the market we walked back to the hotel (and into another world)… to just freshen up and head to the “shantytowns” or “slums” where the marginalized population of about 2.5 million live.
Enroute back we stopped into the University of Nairobi, which is located down the street from our hotel. It’s a typical large public university – Getting onto the campus wasn’t so easy; and like all the students we needed to show identification and go through a security check. Mike joined some students on a bench as I checked out the bookstore. By the way, there are signs all around the University that state “University of Nairobi is a corruption-free zone”
We knew we needed a taxi to get to Kibera (the largest of the slums – housing about one million people, although no one really knows the count). I had a conversation with the woman at the desk at the hotel – I explained that we wanted a “street taxi” to drive us to Kibera and then to wait to pick us up; we would walk around for about 90 minutes. We knew it would not be possible to find a taxi in or near Kibera to bring us back into town. And we also knew we didn’t want a hotel taxi.
She was quite sweet and understood, but explained that the hotel could not do this; they are only allowed to call for official taxis, or take us by hotel car. Their “taxis” are fancy cars (including Mercedes), so we opted to walk around the neighborhood to find a taxi and do our own negotiation. We actually only had to walk across the street to find a bunch of cars waiting for passengers. We explained what we wanted and the driver, Julius, was most accommodating, although he was a little nervous about our walking through Kibera on our own. Like all “visits” to areas of this sort, it’s challenging. You stand out as an outsider on more levels than it is possible to describe. But we insisted and Julius said he’d just wait for us in a designated location. We walked and chatted with a few people and realized once again that slum dwellers may be the most entrepreneurial people in the world.
People in Kibera earn just a few dollars a year; there are virtually no services; and education is hard to come by. We did however see that there is a strong movement against violence with campaign-type signs everywhere pushing for “peace” and against all forms of violence. Interestingly this is the only place in Nairobi we didn’t see police or guards or machine guns. We also saw a lot of signs about HIV protection. According to the research we did, Kibera has one of highest rates of HIV in the world.
The “shops” in Kibera are about 10’ x 9’ at most; they are built of mud or tin or random pieces of found wood. Electricity is gerry-rigged and water is all but unavailable. Garbage collection is very infrequent, if at all. And raw sewerage is evident as you walk through the town. Supposedly there have been recent reforms and experiments and education in Kibera is supposed to be the best of all the slum areas. Still, we strolled for more than an hour and never saw a school. Kids loved to speak with us and loved having their pictures taken. With the adults, it was once again the Obama connection – once they knew we were from the US. Amazing!
We rejoined Julius at the taxi at the appointed location about two hours later, and headed back to the hotel for a drink.
Tonight we were planning to eat at Amaica, some kind of fusion African restaurant we read about. But we wound up having dinner at Nyama Mama, because Amaica was closed for the holidays (very difficult to find these things out in advance!). Still we were set on eating African food, so this place seemed to make sense. It was fine, but not great. Crowd was very mixed.
Fern
Americans in Nairobi – 12/16/2018
Sawa (Hello in Swahili)
We’re on our annual winter travel trip: Nairobi, Kampala, Kigali, Dar es Salaam, and Zanzibar. … an overview of East Africa’s major cities.. No safari! We saw the Big Five at a reserve in South Africa some 15 years ago. Been there; done that. Only kidding. Still we made a conscious choice to ignore the animals (along with the related cushy accommodations and the great food). That said, Mike is thinking about going to see the gorillas in Uganda. We shall see. If he does, that will be without me.
The trip was tiring. SFO to Frankfurt to Nairobi. We are at the Fairmont Norfolk Hotel. Somehow between October (my last overseas travel, just two months ago) and December, the rules changed. US now photographs each passenger in addition to triple-checking passports. We were both in business class, but somehow not seated together. But it was one of those flat-bed flights and the seat configuration was 1-2-1, so it really didn’t matter much. Service on United was pretty terrible, so we were happy to switch to our Lufthansa flight once we got to Frankfurt.
We had only 60 minutes to change planes, and naturally our gate was .9 miles from where we landed. We had only carry-on bags (yes!) which meant lugging them through the long airport walk. Naturally since it was Frankfurt, we had a 10-minute bus ride within the airport from our plane; the long walk; a train ride to the terminal; had to go through security again (German side) and the lines for that were unbelievable. We ran and then just hoped for the best. But alas, although we got to the gate totally out of breath, but on time, only to discover that our departure was delayed and delayed. We finally took off about two hours late – postponing our arrival in Nairobi from 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm (Sunday).
The Nairobi airport is pretty “basic” without any of the cushiness we find in US and European airports and even in some North African airports. Naturally, the jetway didn’t work so we were left with stairs.
Upon landing, we were greeted immediately by armed guards with machine guns (Hadn’t really seen that since Ecuador – I think); and another photo for the Kenyan Airport folks. I feel like my photo is now everywhere. We headed to an ATM machine and then looked for a “somewhat legitimate” taxi. We arrived at the rather snazzy colonial-style Fairmont Norfolk at about 1 am. The hotel was built in 1904; it’s a sort of hidden gem with its elegance and understated charm. The hotel, just like most restaurants, shops, businesses, public buildings, etc. have tons of security – and lots of men with machine guns; not sure they really work. So to get into the hotel (and all the others) the taxi has to stop at a barrier while we sit in our seats – two guards come to open the car doors to “inspect;” mostly they look at the floors and in the glove compartment and the trunk; then the car moves to another arm that has to be lifted and we get out. Then we go through a screening process (airport-like) and then you’re inside the hotel. Frankly, I don’t think any of it works because today I forgot to take my cell phone out of my pocket and no alarms went off. One of the interesting things is that everyone you talk to or meet – from taxi drivers to front desk hotel staff to shopkeepers – assumes you’re in Nairobi to go on a safari (Guess that’s what foreigners do). So they just ask what day you will leave for your safari or if you liked your safari. I think it’s like assuming that everyone who comes to California goes to Disneyland. So they are all caught off guard when we say we are here to see their city.
While we were exhausted and wanted to sleep – we opted to unpack and head for the hotel’s delightful bar for night caps. And then we crashed. By then it was 3:30 am. This morning we got to actually see the hotel. The grounds are truly beautiful and the location is great. Lots of gardens…but right in the center of town. We opted to have breakfast at the hotel so that we could get an early start checking out Kenya’s capital city – home to about 6.5 million people. Following a great breakfast, we decided we needed a real street map of the city in order to figure out where we were and where we’d head. This is actually a difficult thing to find. Finally the hotel suggested we go to the “text book center;” the hotel is located just across the way from the University of Nairobi. Naturally, they thought they should take us there; but we assured everyone we were fine walking to the shop. We did get a map (two in fact), although they look used and really worn. But they will work.
Then off we went for a most interesting day – to the top of the KICC (Kenyatta International Conference Center) – a strange 28-story building built in the early 70s when the country became independent. It is one of the few buildings with a viewing deck where you can get an overview of the city. Of course, lots of security every step of the way, plus signing in and out and giving up your passport while you’re inside the building. The elevator takes you up to the 27th floor and then you climb up the thirtieth floor which is really the roof. The air was not very clear so we didn’t get quite the effect we hoped but we did get a sense of the city’s form, including some very large parks at the outskirts.
We strolled (a bit of an exaggeration since you’re always watching your every step when you walk in most cities in developing nations because the sidewalks are always chopped up and there are always uneven steps and unexpected barriers) to have lunch at the Thorn Tree Restaurant – a patio café that has fed everyone from Hemingway to Gregory Peck. It’s got an eclectic menu – from Indian to Italian. We opted for the former. Interesting we keep asking about good, local cuisine (Kenyan), and everyone sends us to Nigerian or Ethiopian restaurants. We also tried the restaurant’s famous drink – the dawa – vodka, mint, lemon, and honey. Quite good. No surprise, no one really knows how to tell you how to get anywhere. The Thorn Tree (located in the Stanley Hotel) has been in the same place for well over a century, yet shopkeepers and guards, and others cannot tell you how to get there, even though it’s within a block of where they are standing.
Following lunch, we searched for a taxi (not wanting to use taxis at hotels because they are really spiffy and sterile and I think the drivers are trained on how to answer questions so as not to get into any heavy dialogue). Finally we found a group of drivers with taxi “medallions” on the top of the car and walked up to one – explaining that we wanted to go to the Africa Heritage House (which we had read about) and which is located adjacent to (or perhaps actually within) the Nairobi National Park. We knew it was in Mavoko (or Mlolongo) which was about a 20-minute drive. Got into the car (as the driver removed the “medallion” from atop the car) and off we went. Before this, the driver (in Swahili) was clearly asking the other “drivers” for directions. Traffic was horrendous. In the end it took about 1.5 hours to go 20 kilometers (12 miles), but the drive took us along the edges of several shantytowns so once we left the CBD it was interesting. At one point when we were just stuck sitting in traffic I contemplated heading to Marg’s Hot Hot Hotel.. which was on the route!
We stopped numerous times for the driver to ask for directions again and again. We were a little surprised since we thought this was a major museum. However, as we meandered on the road to Mlilongo we began to wonder why a museum would be so far out of town. We rationalized that they had probably chosen a tranquil location in the national park. But as we approached a dirt road (naturally with a gate and a guard), we figured we were there. We were. But , it turns out, it is not really a museum, although it should be.
It is the private house of an American (Alan Donovan) who has lived in Kenya for more than 50 years; he came in the 60s with the US State Department, during the Biafra/Nigeria war. He fell in love with Africa (initially Nigeria while on a trip to a small village of craftsmen) and with African art and artifacts; left the State Department, and settled in Kenya where he became best friends with the first Vice President of the country, Murumbi and his wife, Sheila. Anyway, as we approached this spectacular mud-dabbed building designed by Donovan and based on the architecture of three different African cultures, we realized this was a pretty special place. But, they said we could not enter because we had not made the proper arrangements. Indeed, we had not made any arrangements. Apparently you need to book a tour in advance. You can also book lunch at the house. Of course, my NY-style surfaced immediately as I explained what we each do to the man at the house (who was clearly an assistant to, and not, Mr. Donovan), and explained we had made a special trip to see this place. I think he realized that we weren’t leaving, so he told us to wait and he went to speak with Donovan. During the time he went to speak with Donovan, we meandered gently into the house but there was so much to take in. This guy had collected amazing artifacts and also nurtured the careers of scores of then-young African artists to develop profitable careers. He also founded several African bands and Afro-jazz groups.
The Kenyan assistant reappeared and said that he would do the tour because Donovan could not, but that we would hear Donovan’s voice on this tape recorder that he carried from room to room and area to area. At the end of the “tour” which began at the railroad tracks (built by India) adjacent to the new tracks built by the Chinese government which defines the edge of the property and from which you get two spectacular views.. one of the house and the other of the vast national park where the major big animals still roam. It’s the area where the wilderbeast migrations took place annually (until recently).
I photographed pretty consistently on the ‘tour”.. (about 285 images in the 90 minutes), but this sample hopefully gives the story.
At the end of the tour, we met Alan Donovan who has been ill for the past year. He apologized for not taking us on the tour personally – and we chatted for a time. The house – in all its splendor – and his astute eye for both contemporary and ancient African tribal artifacts brought up old issues for me: the dilemma of making “little ‘a’ art” into “big ‘a’ art;” private ownership and commodification of art; etc. At the same time, it is clear as one traverses Nairobi, that there is little acknowledgement of history and of the amazing contributions of tribal cultures and their forms. So at least someone is protecting these artifacts. The good news is that it appears that Donovan (Murumbi and his wife are deceased and he credits Murumbi with the idea of this kind of preservation and also economic development through craft and art) has plans for the house and its content after his death. He has approached the Obama Foundation!! And offered everything to them – as a total donation, on the terms that they preserve it as a place to retain African culture. He’s also offered that the Obamas can visit and stay at the house as frequently as they’d like. We shall see… Interesting politics there!
We returned to the hotel.. and again traffic was horrendous. After a very brief time at the hotel, we headed to an Ethiopian restaurant in the Westlands neighborhood. Food was great. Lots of students from Nairobi colleges.. It too, was down a winding dirt path.
We returned home to our little abode at the Norfolk at about 11:00 pm..
Best –
Fern
Day Five – Tirana to Berat. December 19, 2017
19 December 2017. Berat, Albania
Greetings from central Albania. We arrived in Berat!
Started the day at the City of Tirana’s Office of Parks and Recreation (an agency just formed two years ago!) I had been asked to give a talk to the department staff, which is led by a delightful, exuberant, and very committed young woman named Erinda. They are advocating for and developing parks within the city, planning bike routes, maintaining existing parks, and managing all recreational facilities throughout the city — and looking for new ways to engage local neighborhoods, to build public/private partnerships to help support their programs, planting street trees, and energetically finding ways for Tirana to be more green. Interestingly, voluntarism to keep public facilities in neighborhoods clean is shunned by many because volunteering wreaks of the old Communist days when “volunteering” was “mandatory.”
Anyway, the department is located in a building adjacent to their large Olympic training facility and both buildings are quite modern. We got a chance to glimpse the facilities of a city department. First, you should know that I don’t think the building has heat. Everyone (except us) seemed accustomed to wearing their coats inside the building. The staff for each section of the department seem to share large rooms without any buffers between staff members… sort of like long tables with computers next to computers. We visited the landscape architects’ office within the department and they had “fairly new” computers but monitors that were quite small for design work. The number of women far outweighed the number of men and most staff were in their late 20s and early 30s.
My talk went over well with lots of questions and then we had some time to chat with Erinda and learn more about the department. She’s very eager to visit the US to see Central Park in NY! But she’s really most interested in learning about partnerships for parks and how to get the private sector involved in funding park development and maintenance. I encouraged her to visit but to go beyond NY (especially since NYC is three times the size of all of Albania – population-wise). I said she should try to get funding to see other cities, especially where there has been strong leadership and community support for parks – and of course offered to help her organize such a trip. Interestingly, Erinda has lived in Japan for 6 years – and is fluent in Japanese! It is amazing how much travel this upcoming generation in Albania has traveled (or lived abroad) since the end of the dictatorship, when no travel in or out was allowed.
Speaking of languages – Albanian children start learning English at age 8, but they are also required to study another language (in addition to Albanian and English) and most learn either French or Italian. Older Albanians (including taxi drivers) speak Italian and people often offer that as a language to converse with us, but alas we know no Italian. That doesn’t stop them from chatting away in Italian.. So we now quite often say Grazie at the end of taxi rides…
The parks department folks drove us back to the hotel (in a work truck) and we quickly packed up and walked to find lunch and to pick up our rental car from Sixt. The drive out of Tirana was pretty hairy – As I said earlier they are very aggressive drivers; there really isn’t any striping on the roads; there are lots of roundabouts (traffic circles) and people seem to just criss cross to get from one lane to the other. It seems also as if many roads are set for three lanes but people create four or roads that are for two lanes become three, etc. We made a few mistakes getting out of Tirana (mostly due to the GPS saying to exit at the third exit of the roundabout but it was really the second – not sure how they count!) People gave us all sorts of calculations as to how long it would take to drive to Berat from Tirana – ranging from 90 minutes to 3 hours. It took us the latter. Once we got out of the city, it was pretty much one lane in each direction, but none of the overhead “highway” lights were working (once we were out of the city). That made it a bit scary. People were crossing the road, dogs were meandering, and buses were stopping to pick up people. Mike did the driving and I navigated. My big take-away about cars in Albania — pedestrians beware!
Given that is was dark for a good part of the drive, we didn’t see much. Then as we approached Berat, we made numerous mistakes (Mike blames the GPS), but eventually found the hotel which is located uphill on the edge of the medieval quarter. The hotel (which costs about $60 per night for the largest room with best view) was recently renovated. I think they took a trip to Italy and found some of the “modern, Italian bougie” decorator stuff and decided that is what guests would like. That said, it’s extremely clean and functional (although we couldn’t get the heat in the room to work for several hours in spite of having staff come up to help). Naturally, when we arrived to check in they didn’t have our reservation… but we had an email saying the reservation was confirmed. But, no problem getting the best room in the place – we are the only guests!
We settled in and then figured we should just eat dinner here because we were tired from the drive and we really didn’t have a sense of the town plan or how far things were.. and it was really dark. So, we were the only ones in the restaurant which was even more bougie than the other spaces.. Food was fair and a far cry from the phenomenal meals we’ve had for the past few days. We shared a pasta (simply prepared) and then I had the chicken (special for the holidays apparently) with bland stuffing and Mike had some kind of breaded veal stuffed with cheese (which he proceeded to scoop out so that he only had a small amount of cheese). The wine (Italian – and very cheap) was quite good. At the end of the meal they gave us dessert even though we didn’t order it… sort of a brownie.
Anyway, it is now morning and we are heading out to climb the steep walkway to the 13th century castle, where there are still people living in a little village in the castle walls… Then we will explore the rest of the city.. and hopefully find a really good country-style restaurant for tonight. We leave Berat tomorrow for Gjyrokaster. By the way, much as it may not sound like it — we are really excited to see Berat in the sunlight.. It’s a UNESCO heritage town, as is Gjyrokaster.
Onward for the adventure.
Fern
PS – I’m caught up now.. so that tonight’s notes will be about today. Whew… Hopefully I will be able to keep up as I also need to complete my syllabus for Winter Quarter which begins a day after we land in California.
driveway of building where the “art” is the wall of hearts.. couples come and write their names on the hearts as high as they can reach… On this day we stumbled on two women who were there on a mission — to cross out their names… I assume love gone bad!
Albania Day Four. December 18, 2017
Përshëndetje nga Shqipëria – Greetings from Albania (writing this on Day 5, but it’s all about Day 4)–
Following breakfast at the hotel (Tirana – Hotel MonarC) — which has been a buffet for the previous days, but today we were told to just order anything we wanted, because we were the only guests in the whole hotel! We then asked for a taxi to take us to Polis University where each of us was to give a talk, to separate classes. The front desk said getting a taxi would be very difficult and she advised we walk… But Polis University is about six miles from the hotel. I told the front desk that we had to give presentations/ lectures at the university and she suddenly figured out a way to get a taxi. Turns out there were demonstrations against the present government (Socialist) and many downtown streets were closed; there was heavy police presence in the downtown area. Somehow giving a lecture seemed very impressive and she was able to find the ride for us. I’m not certain but I think that the taxis in Tirana (they are everywhere) have some kind of app system because the hotel always seems to know how far away the taxi is.
Taxi arrived and we managed to get to Polis University which is located about 5 or 6 miles west(?) of downtown. It’s an interesting educational institution located in a very renovated/ repurposed industrial building that has a whole new 4-story front section. Polis is about 10-years-old and offers bachelors, masters, and doctorates in architecture, urban planning, and design. The doctorates are offered in conjunction with University of Ferrara in Italy (I suppose there is a long explanation for this.) It’s a private university (technically for-profit, but clearly is not a business model set up to make profit). Anyway, it’s a truly exciting place with lots of activity – students milling about, making things.. very reminiscent of Pratt in the years I was there. I have to admit to a bit of nostalgia and realizing how much more exciting that kind of school is than the typical academic institution (like where I teach). Made me think a lot about what I had hoped might be created at UW Tacoma. Students at Polis are very focused and faculty are intense – all engaged with trying to solve real social problems in creative and collaborative ways. The building uses a lot of glass, so as you walk through the halls you’re very aware of what’s going in in classrooms, project rooms, etc.
There are several interesting features and historical notes. The school was created by a few faculty who used to teach at the University of Tirana’s architecture department. These faculty were connected to an NGO called Co-Plan – that worked on planning policies and were advocates for environmental and urban issues. The organization still exists, but now it is inside of Polis and seems to blend in easily. Co-PLAN provides technical assistance to communities, local governments, and national and international organizations in the fields of urban management and community-based developments—sort of like community design centers located at some universities.. but somehow this one seemed more intense, more real, and more creative (at least to me). The mission of Co-PLAN is to enhance the environmental, social, and economic conditions in Albanian cities — promoting self-reliance and civil society development. Basically, Co-PLAN promotes self-reliance and civil, society development (civil society is a term used all the time here in Albania, when talking with professionals).
Inside of Polis is also a small architectural firm, called MetroPolis that is for-profit and does architecture and some urban planning (although this subject had never been at the university). They enter a lot of competitions (some with foreign firms) and also get contracts from local and federal governments, as well as from the private sector. Staff from MetroPolis teach at the University and faculty and students often work on project with the organization.
We got a quick tour of the school and then Mike went to give his talk to the architecture students (“Affordable Housing under Capitalism: A Hopeless Quest”) and I went to give my talk (“Strategy + Design — Community Voices to Create Community Visions”) to the planning students. The urban planning program is fairly new and quite small. Polis is considered a school with heavy requirements and a command of English is a pre-requisite. Tuition is considered high at about $3,000 per year (about 40% of students get some kind of aid). The planning program is five years: 3 to get the bachelors degree and 2 for the masters, but that is only if you do the complete 5 years. I think the talk went well, evidenced by strong thoughtful questions. The curriculum of the school and its teaching philosophy are very compatible with my thinking and politics.
After the talks we had lunch with two faculty, including the one who runs MetroPolis.. Lots of discussion on the transition from a dictatorship under communism into a new democracy, the efforts of the population to not forget the past but to learn from it; the US situation under Trump; life under Hoxha during their primary and teen years; all the work they hope will get done to build change in Albania.
We then headed back downtown in a taxi – with the driver’s radio playing “Sounds of Silence” in Albanian! Lots of traffic.. but eventually got back to the city center. Mike took a nap and I headed to find a new shoulder bag as my strap broke two days earlier – sort of a success; not in love with it, but it will do for the time being.
Then we changed clothes and went to dinner with someone Braden connected us with and who happens to be the former wife of the former mayor of Tirana and current prime minister. An extremely interesting woman who is the director of civil society programs at the East West Management Institute, a US-AID funded program. She travels extensively managing programs in the Balkan countries and has an office in NY. She’s also a foodie – so we had not just political sympatico but also gourmet sympatico. It was her restaurant suggestions that we have been using over the past few days. She took us to one, not on her list to us (!!) – Estia – located a few blocks from our hotel – good thing because it was pouring last night.
Started with a pasta with some kind of mushroom thing sitting on top of each pasta piece, followed by a nettle soup with foam and sweetbreads and ginger and vanilla, I think, followed by foie gras with wild figs and toast. The main course was walnut encrusted baby lamb chops with vegetable side. We shared three deserts, but they brought all five to our table. Crème brulee, homemade minty-mint ice scream, poached pear, something that was sort of like deconstructed baklava.
Dinner was fantastic and lots of sharing. We closed the place down at about 11:15 or so, and survived the downpour to our hotel.
I finally finished reading all the term papers and posting grades, so I felt pretty darn good.
A packed Monday with lots of information swirling about, and even more questions — especially about what it must have been like to be at the very start of this new democracy (23 years ago) – living in a house that was assigned to you to suddenly owning that house; not being able to leave the country to having a passport and being able to travel as you wish; not having any religion to suddenly seeing mosques reopened and churches being constructed (although from what people say the majority of residents are atheists); not owning cars to a sudden explosion of automobiles on the streets (with absolutely the most aggressive driving I’ve ever seen – said by me as a New Yorker).
So much more to tell you, but I’m fading… we are now in Berat; more about the drive and Berat tomorrow. It’s about midnight here in Berat.
All the best – Can’t proofread, so hopefully no egregious errors.
Fern
Albania Day Three. December 17, 2017
Greetings from Tirana –
Not really sure where I left off, and I’m already a day behind. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to give these notes their just do. We are going 24/7, and everything is incredibly interesting.
So, while eating breakfast on Sunday the sun popped out and we dashed out to have some set of hours without rain (taking our umbrellas with us – just in case).
We left the hotel and walked about a mile or so to the “new bazaar” – located in the Pazari i Ri neighborhood – a residential area in the Old Town. It’s a residential area but the market is interesting and in addition to a main farmer’s market has many side streets that are typical of older parts of cities all over the world – narrow, chock full of cars, housing, people, and little stalls offering a variety of single items (old tires or whatever) being sold in shops no larger than a typical closet. From there we strolled into some other neighborhoods – always on the lookout for those painted buildings.
Eventually, we decided to hop a taxi to head to the National Gallery of Art (it looked like rain was about to eliminate the sun, so this seemed like a good place to be). The building itself is pretty bland and built in the 1950s when “bland” was in in the Soviet-linked capital of Albania. The best part is the entrance – the “cloud pavilion” – a three-dimensional structure, made of open cube frames of white steel… it creates a semi-transparent, 3-d façade that enables visitors to walk through and climb through (or walk on platforms that emerge from the cubes.. and sort of voids the bland façade..
The museum was in the process of installing a new exhibit so we took a few minutes to see some of the permanent collection of social realist art from the 1970s. From the museum we walked a bit more through the central part of the city and had a late lunch at Delicazzo de Mare – another all fish restaurant.. We shared mussels, followed by a pasta with crab (It’s difficult to have a meal without pasta here and it’s all good, always home made and cooked very al dente). We then walked back to the hotel since I needed to finish reading term papers, do grading, and polish up my talk for Monday morning.
At about 9 pm we headed to dinner at Millenium Gourmet – just a few blocks from the hotel, on the second floor, and on a major walking street. Of course by then it was drizzling (and by the time we left it was pouring!) Dinner was quite wonderful, starting with a veal tartare, followed by a scampi dish, followed by a lamb dish with pumpkin and spicy pineapple – and of course we couldn’t leave without desert – an orange cheesecake. Walked back to the hotel in the rain and finished reading term papers.
Lots to tell about Monday (today), but will try to catch up tomorrow… I have to post grades and tweak my presentation to the city for tomorrow. Hope I remember all the parts of today, since it was chock full.
All the best –
Fern
PS – Am keeping up with the nonsense of the US since we get CNN at the hotel. But would love to totally disconnect as it seems to get weirder by the minute.
PPS — For those that asked. Julia’s baby was born three days ago. Mom and Dad and baby are doing well. The name is Louis (but they are French-speaking, so more like “Louis as in Louis the XV” – Louie..)
Albania Day Two. December 16, 2017
Greetings from Tirana –
First, why Albania? We were already heading to Europe rather than going on one of our more unusual and distant locations because Mike’s niece (who lives in Geneva) was having a baby in early December and we wanted to meet the newest member of the family. This shaped the trip and is naturally the centerpiece of the 2+ weeks. So we will be in Albania until Christmas Eve, then fly to Geneva in time for dinner, then head to Bordeaux for New Year’s Eve and back to the US. For us, this is a pretty relaxed trip.
OK… So after breakfast on Saturday, we headed to the Blloku neighborhood (not mis-spelled, they use a lot of consonants bunched together! — tough language which is seen by many as an “isolated language”). Anyway, we walked (despite drizzling rain) along the Boulevard which is split into two parts –on either side of the Lana River, one going east and one going west. The city feels like it wants to be something special–lots of energy, people walking everywhere, shops open until 10 p.m., restaurants and cafes on every corner. Within Tirana city limits there are only 420,000 people (about the size of Oakland), and the greater metropolitan region has about 800,000 residents. The entire country only has about 3 million people.
It’s hard to imagine that within my lifetime, this little country has gone from being a communist state ruled by a dictator (Hoxha) for a 40-year period, in which he initially was loyal to the Soviet Union but then thought Krushchev was too much of a reformer and turned to Maoism (all of this was preceded by occupation by Italy under Mussolini) and then followed by 5 years of confusion and by the disintegration of the Hoxhaist state during the wider collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s. By the early 1990s (and Hoxha’s death in 1985), a large diaspora fled to Italy, Greece, Switzerland, and North America. Somehow in 2009, Albania became a full member of NATO and is now trying to become part of EU. The history is complicated with murders of opposition leaders and the total quashing of the opposition under Hoxha.
We saw this history vividly when we visited Bunk’Art2… a fascinating exhibit situated inside an abandoned bunker in the center of Tirana, utilizing all 24 rooms of the bunker. By the way, these abandoned bunkers (thousands of them) are scattered all over the country. Some have been turned into works of art – another interesting phenomenon in that Tirana is a very arts-oriented community creating a level of funk that is appealing and also creative.
After the death of Hoxha, his daughter commissioned a building in his honor – a pyramid shape — that is now abandoned and in disrepair. But young people climb the sides of it to the top and then slide down sitting on plastic bags… The government is trying to have it demolished. But I must say it’s a bit of irony to see its use today, with lots of young people climbing and sliding – regardless of weather.
Anyway, to continue about Saturday… After walking past the pyramid, we ventured into the Bllilo neighborhood which is quite yuppified. Apparently under communism this was the area where party members lived and it is said that non-party members could not even walk here. We tried to walk between the raindrops venturing out to see the “painted buildings” that Tirana is known for… Story being that when the now-Prime Minister was the Mayor of Tirana, (and previous to that the Cultural Director) he realized that without any budget (the country is still one of the poorest in Europe) he couldn’t do much to address residents’ needs. But he was a trained artist (painter) and figured that he could change the dull grey Stalinist era housing complexes into joyous statements on the outside. I gather that residents were reluctant but agreed and after the work was completed were quite pleased. They say that crime decreased and neighborhood pride shot up. Today many of these buildings have weathered and the bright colors have faded. Everyone is clear, including the then-mayor and now prime minister, that nothing was done on the inside. We are having dinner with a very close confidant of the current prime minister tomorrow evening. Should prove very interesting.
After Bllilo, we went to Bunk’Art, and by then it was pouring rain, so we hopped a taxi to the hotel so that I could get closer to my goal of grading papers, and also to finish each of our talks for Monday (we are woefully behind)…
After about two hours of that, we headed over to a bar we heard about called Radio – it’s set back behind some apartment buildings. It’s a total trip – completely adorned with 1950s era posters, memorabilia from communism, and about 100 or more radios from the 1950s. I had their special house cocktail (whose name I forgot) but which is made with fresh persimmons, fresh passion fruit, and vodka… Quite the refresher (although it’s pretty cold and don’t need much refreshing).
Then we headed to another of the recommended restaurants from these people we are meeting – called Tiko and Muto (described to us as upscale and very expensive for Albanians. It’s all fish… We started with a sea bass carpaccio, followed by a pasta (they eat pasta at every meal) with mussels, crab, and assorted other fish and cherry tomatoes (scrumptious) and then a scampi dish, and finally grilled octopus. We didn’t order any desert but the chef delivered two wonderful panna cottas with fresh oranges and raspberries to the table.. (I think the dinner bill including the wine was about $60.)
Because it was raining pretty hard by then, we taxied back to the hotel and crashed.
A few basic facts — 65% of the country is Muslim and you do hear the unmistakable call to prayer periodically, but it is rare to see any kind of hijab or even basic head scarf. Our hotel is directly across from the city’s largest mosque which is being rehabbed so we have not been able to go inside to see what we hear is an amazing dome. There is virtually no Jewish population here, but we stumbled on a jewelry store that was closed on Saturday and which proudly displayed the Hanukah menorah with electric candles lot for the correct number of days.
It is now compulsory to learn English beginning at age 8. This is new, so we are most often confronted with situations where people do not speak English (and our Albanian just isn’t what it used to be!!).
It feels quite homogeneous, with everyone being white and perhaps the darkest complexions are those of Greek origin.
Tomorrow I’ll tell you more about today (Sunday) – a long stroll to a new bazaar, through old neighborhoods, sun and also rain, a visit to the art museum, lunch, and another great dinner. I’m telling you that this is a great place to retire and where Social Security can go a long way..
Best for this fifth (?) day of Hanukah –
Fern
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
Fern's Travel Notes 