Vibrant capital Tirana / Albania

08/29/2023 - 0 09/01/2023

Tirana surprises Magda and me again with attentive people: Once again it seems impossible to find the Airbnb apartment in Albania because Google Maps shows a completely different location.

When we asked an Albanian woman named Lorena for help, she finally found the way for us. We exchange numbers and Lorena sends us a whole list of valuable tips for beautiful places in Albania, transport options, restaurants, other stuff and invites us for a wine. Our apartment is in the trendy Bloku district with lots of small bars and clubs where countless young Albanians hang out alongside tourists.

Since Magda has to work during the day as a virtual “digital nomad,” we usually only discover the city together in the evening. I discover Skanderbergplatz and the Bunkart 2 Museum alone. While the place doesn't impress me much, I find the museum about Albanian history in a preserved underground nuclear bunker from communist times far more fascinating, especially the oppressive atmosphere in the bunker rooms brings back the atrocities of times gone by.

Magda and I spend relaxing evenings on a walk-in pyramid at sunset, in a traditional garden restaurant listening to Albanian folk music or go shopping for new clothes in a second-hand shop because I urgently need something new because I gave my son so many items of clothing that are now useless turned out.

Over the course of 4 days, Magda grows so fond of me that it's not easy for me to leave again.