Albania oasis, bikes everywhere

Dear friends and family,

I feel like I have entered not only a new country but a new world.

As I rode into the country of Albania and approached the city of Shkodër I noticed bicycle lanes filled with bicycles and the streets filled with them and everywhere they were parked outside stores and restaurants.

I had to check my map to make sure that I didn’t get off track and accidentally ride into Amsterdam.

Everyone I rode by waved and said “hello” to me as I must have looked different enough to speak English to.

When I hear the “you have arrived” from my Google map, I looked and looked and did not see any sign of a hostel. The directions from their booking.com site said “across from the Kinema” and I stood in front of this cinema building and looked across and only saw a restaurant. 

A driver stopped his car on the busy street to get out and help me (in English) and another guy walking by as well. They didn’t know of the MI CASA ES SU CASA hostel, so were perplexed. Finally I spotted the sign in a back alley and rang the buzzer. But everyone wanted to help.

A young man answered the bell and opened the gate and I saw what looked like a two story colorful house in between several tall buildings.

My first impressions were not positive. I instantly wished that maybe I was not that smart to book a hostel when hotels were so cheap and easy to deal with and here I was being introduced to a couple of residents of the hostel in a very homey setting. 

It took me out of my comfort zone to meet the twenty and thirty something people either staying here, volunteering here or just employed here. They seemed like an already established family and I the outsider. And the elder.

As I was getting shown around I met Alma, who answered my question of where she was from with something like “everywhere and a part of the world” , which confirmed my fears of discomfort. Later it turned out that she had the biggest heart and constantly went out of her way to help all get and feel welcomed here. Turned out that she was the founder and with her ( now deceased) partner wanted an oasis and especially for bicyclists.

I had booked this place for four nights as I expected I would like this city and area of the country, and now I have stayed here five, and just this morning added another to the other end to make is seven days.

Over the days, I began to be included in the “family” as we went out together to an open mic night, a meal together for lunch in the country and then on Valentine’s Day, a special lunch of many courses (see pictures) at a “farm to table” restaurant half way between here and the capital city Tirana.

Now I was comfortable in the group and we spent hours at a time discussing our lives and plans and histories, and places to see and things to do in or near Shkoder.

Being a bike tourer here is no oddity as this is a common stop for touring bicyclists, but mostly in season as opposed to my out of season riding. There is a guy here who rode here from Denmark with his big husky type dog on his commercial type bike. 

I learned that indeed, this is the bike capital of the country and has bike lanes everywhere, often used, but not exclusively as bikes are everywhere and just part of the culture and traffic. 

As a group here we share meals we prepare and go out together for local meals to try Albanian food. 

The prices here are ridiculously inexpensive for me bringing US dollars. Their currency is the Lek, but all the restaurants have built in technology to convert the lek to first Euros and even dollars. There are 95 lek to the dollar, so the conversion of moving decimal point two places make makes the approx conversion easy.

A big breakfast this morning for two cost me eight US dollars, which included an omelet, rice and gravy, two big bowls of homemade yogurt, two lattes, and slices of apples and homemade cake. A guy could get used to this!

Lots of cash being used for obvious reasons but in fancier places the Visa card works as well.

Yesterday I walked the one and half miles to the fortress (castle) protecting the town. They had a museum which showed artifacts found at the castle site from the Stone Age the Bronze Age up to the Middle Ages, when the present castle was built, over the remains of the older ones, built over the even older ones, etc.

As I walked towards the castle and could see it in the distance I looked at my google map and it showed 1.5 km yet to go. It seemed closer so I asked this young boy if this was the right way. He said, in perfect English, that I could get there that way, but he and his friends had a short cut. This boy was about four feet tall and must have weighed 80 pounds soaking wet.he said he was eleven years.  He took me through the backyard of his house perched on the side of the hill and to a stone path leading up toward the castle. He ran up the trail like a little goat and I slowly stepped up behind him. He offered “can I help pull you up” to this big old man and I smiled at the thought of this small person dragging the big guy up hill. I must have looked perplexed at the route so he continually said ” Trust me” which I somewhat hesitatedly did.

Once he saw that I could probably make it on my own (very slowly), he ran down to get back home. 

In this castle I had big views of the lake and the two rivers below the castle and could see why this was such an important location to protect this place from invaders. 

And invaders they had. The history is immense and complicated. The Illyrian people were here (approx 4th century BC) until the Romans conquered them and then the venetians about 1396, and then later the Ottoman Empire conquered in 1479 for about five hundred years and converted the residents to be Muslims. I was told that the residents could keep their prior religion but would have to pay a heavy tax or convert and pay no tax. (Not confirmed by my history research).

Once it was communist the religions were all banished and everyone had to act as atheists, but when communism fell, people went back to practicing their religion as before communism or what was done secretly.

Presently it seems from public information that about half of Albania is Muslim and half Catholic. I asked why I don’t see Muslim women out on the streets and was told because they are staying in the home, but they are plenty. 

I funny thing about this city is that when you approach a crosswalk, people don’t even think about it but just wade into the crosswalk without looking and so far every time all the cars come to a stop to let them by. I am not trusting enough to do this and am taken aback when walking with the people from the hostel who practice this.

Maybe you can tell from my writing, but so far I really enjoy being here and don’t mind the Hotel California feeling of never getting out. I haven’t managed to leave yet, so not 100% sure I can.

This hostel really is an oasis in the center of the city and attracts very kind and open people from around the world.

In this last week there were people here from: Albania, Denmark, USA, Argentina, Italy, Crete, Bosnia, Germany, Australia. Luckily, English is the common language. Most of these people speak several languages.

So, the discussions have been lively. More on that next blog.

Sending love,

Charley