ON ALBANIA
I first became aware of Albania when I was 14. I had a crush on a classmate who was from Albania and as far as a 14 year old brain is concerned, that’s a rock solid reason for adding a country to your bucket list.
After entering onto my bucket list in 2007, I noticed Albania slowly starting to crop up on the ever insufferable “21 Under the Radar Places To Visit In Europe!” lists, always compared to the Italian Riviera or Greek Isles but cheaper!
To compare Albania to anywhere, framed as an equally worthwhile destination, “but cheaper!!!!” is frankly insulting. First, Albania can stand on its own two feet as a destination worth visiting; and second, they are not similar.
More than anywhere we’ve visited on the Radical Sabbatical, Albania left me scratching my head. I am constantly reflecting back on our time, tying pieces together little by little. Perhaps it’s due to the wildly incomplete picture the aforementioned listicles paint of Albania, or perhaps it’s because I knew nothing about Albania before visiting, or perhaps it’s because Albania is actually deeply bizarre and inexplicable but this country has remained on my mind.
In the event you’re an ignorant girlie like me, I’ll kick us off with a bit of history. Abbreviated, but it will give you at least a bit of context.
So first, Albania was NOT a part of Yugoslavia and Albanians are NOT Slavic. People (me) often get confused because they conflate the Balkans with Yugoslavia and that’s a great way to have both the Slovenes (adamant about not being Balkan) and the Albanians (not Slavic) up your ass. Now that we have that settled…
Ancient History: Given Albania’s strategic location on the Adriatic Sea, Albania has long been a bridgehead for various empires seeking conquest abroad. Think the Illyrians, Romans, Byzantine Empire and then finally the Ottomans. The Ottomans controlled what is modern day Albania for 4 centuries.
Early 20th Century: Albania gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, and then they became a monarchy. You can for sure still feel the impact of Ottoman rule in Albania through the architecture, food, and the fact that about 60% of the country's population identifies as Muslim.
World War II: During World War II, Albania was occupied by Italy and later by Nazi Germany. After the war, communist forces led by Enver Hoxha took control of the country. Here is where we shall focus our energies….
Enver Hoxha: Enver Hoxha became the leader of Albania in the late 1940s and established a Stalinist regime. When he took over, he consolidated power, purged political rivals, and implemented strict communist policies. Hoxha's rule is marked by extreme isolationism and even more extreme paranoia.The legacy of this isolationism and paranoia can still be felt (and seen) all throughout the country,
At points throughout his rule, Hoxa was allied with Yugoslavia's Josip Tito, the Soviet Union's Nikita Khrushchev, and China's Mao Zedong, but he broke ties with all of these powers fearing they might compromise Albania's independence.
Because he broke ties with the leading powers that be, he was hyper paranoid about nuclear attacks from the USSR. Hoxha's paranoia is famously illustrated by his construction of thousands of bunkers across Albania….and these are not insignificant bunkers either. One that we visited in Gjirokastra could support 200 people for 3 months. These were massive undertakings to build and maintain.
Under Hoxha, Albania became one of the most tightly controlled and repressive regimes in the world. Albanians weren’t allowed to leave the country without government approval and foreigners weren’t allowed to enter without approval. Albania's economy stagnated due to its isolationist policies and Hoxha's obsession with self-reliance and the population experienced extreme poverty and shortages of basic goods.
Enver Hoxha died in 1985 but his legacy of paranoia and isolationism continued to shape Albania for years to come. After Hoxha's death, Albania gradually began to open up, ultimately opening to the world in 1992.
I say all of that to say this – 1992 isn’t that long ago.
The country was a completely isolated, secretive state for some 45 years which obviously leaves a lasting impression on a country's psyche. Today, just 30 years later, Albania is a part of NATO. It’s touted by mainstream travel publications as one of the top places to visit in Europe. The transformation Albania has experienced in less than one generation is utterly bonkers.
Imagine being a 45 year old, having grown up in an obsessively insular and controlled state to having Quintin and I splashing about a beach club, ordering Coronas to our lounge chairs. The fuck?
Now imagine being 80 having seen a monarchy fall, a dictator rise to power, your country close to the world, a dictator fall, and then a democracy come into place in a globalized world where now, people from every corner of the world can access your country. The cultural dissonance is unfathomable to me.
Here’s a little example of how you can see still the impact of this as you walk around. You know how hair salons have pictures outside of the salon of models promoting what’s en vogue? In Albania, we saw a hair salon where the models promoting the latest style were Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. Like that was the last time they got updated pictures from the outside world, so that is who is still hanging today. They were CLOSED closed.
This is my favorite part of travel. You can read articles, make a bucket list based on travel listicles, listen to podcasts, and know your history but until you visit a place like Albania, it’s hard to truly appreciate just how much people can experience in a lifetime.
And these experiences are precisely why I am so grateful to be on the Radical Sabbatical. Albania isn’t my favorite place we’ve visited and truthfully, I probably won’t be back. But it is a place I am constantly reflecting on and continue to be blown away by.
I’m more curious about the country now, having been, than I was before visiting and I’m enjoying the process of continuing to learn about its history and how that colored our experiences there.
It’s also the place where I have the most bonkers stories from because again, what a bonkers place. Here are just a few snippets of head scratching interactions….
In Gjirokastra (UNESCO World Heritage site) we were staying at a nice hotel. They advertise having laundry services. After arriving and getting settled in, we brought our laundry down to the desk to be laundered. The concierge informed us that they do indeed have laundry services and they can launder everything but our underwear. Thinking I have SURELY had a stroke I ask the young man to clarify and he confirms that yes, they can launder everything but our underwear. I beg of you to please put yourself in our shoes and really consider how you would react in the situation. What honest to god traveler needs laundry done, but doesn’t need their underwear cleaned. Help me.
At a hotel in Dhermi, we asked the front desk for a blanket for our room as we were provided with a single 12 count sheet. Can you guess what they brought us instead of a blanket?! You actually cannot guess because simply put, it’s not on your bingo card. We asked for a blanket and they brought us a tablecloth. Again, we asked for a blanket and they brought us a tablecloth. My truest wish is that you all could have seen Quintin’s reaction as they handed him a folded up tablecloth for us to use as a blanket.
On one occasion we went for an evening promenade and experienced what can only be the most true reflection of our time in Albania. We’re walking down an unassuming, residential and somewhat rural street and take a right turn. Immediately, our ears are assaulted by the barks of a dog on a roof going absolutely berserk, trying to attack these little scraggly ass kittens on the ground. I’m certain this dog is going to launch himself off the roof to get these kittens and in my absolute shock of preparing to witness one dog and possibly three cats die I completely miss the dozen or so goats barreling down the road, aiming directly for us. Thankfully, before they plow over our awestricken, mouths agape, city slicker asses, the goats veer left and run NOT into a pen, NOT into a backyard, but INTO the living room of a home. The drama doesn’t end there. Not but three seconds later, an old woman who was “shepherding” the goats comes CAREENING around the corner chasing the goats into the house. But tell me why this woman is using a walker? Like she’s Usain Bolt sprinting down this cobblestone ass street, but with a walker. To be clear, the walker was all but raised above her head as she was trying to catch up with the goats and direct them into the house. Never in all my years. (video below, unfortunately I stopped filing the moment I saw the goats because I did realize I needed to move).
My undisputed highlight of Albania’s seaside towns was that on multiple occasions, at multiple beaches we saw multiple families using literal blow up mattresses as ocean floaties. And like queen size mattresses. On one occasion the mattress went from inside the camping tent to in the ocean with everything but the sleeping bags, full family riding the waves. On a goddamn blow up mattress. Absolutely genius, and honestly I can’t wait to bring the trend across the Atlantic. (video of a run away mattress below)
Alania was nothing if not memorable.
