Albania travel photos

The coolest flag, Tirana, Albania — August 21, 2007

Albania exudes magic from the moment you enter the country. In my case, this was on an all-night bus from Athens, Greece to Tirana, Albania’s colorful capital. When the sun rose and the all-nighter pulled over, the curious Albanians decided to buy me, the only foreigner on the bus, a breakfast of homemade goat’s yogurt and extra-strong Albanian coffee. During breakfast, the questions began rolling: “Where are you from?” and “Why are you here?” At first, I was a bit hesitant to admit being American; but how could I fib to a group that just bought me breakfast. I told them. And they loved what they heard. Why? Well, as I soon realized, Albania is one of the few countries on Earth that actually loves the current (2007) American government. In fact, I amazingly saw American flags flying at one out of every four businesses. I soon learned the reason for Albanians love of my country is because of US support of ethnic Albanians in the tumultuous Kosovo region of Serbia. It was a good feeling to finally be loved, and this fact made Albania all the much better. In addition to the friendly people, Albania was blessed with hundred of miles of untouched Mediterranean beaches, ample and organic food, mountains, decent beer, pumping music, and a social and economic ambition that has been unmatched locally in the past century. I often heard that now was the time to be in Albania, and I truly in enjoyed my precious few days there.