Tirana Wisdom
Legend has it that Norman Wisdom was a big star in Albania, a country where all foreign films were banned until the early 90’s with the sole exception of those of the British comic. The country has opened up in the past couple of decades and the capital provides enough diversions for a 2 or 3 day stopover. It’s pretty compact so easily walkable even in the August heat. We stayed at the perfectly decent Hotel Mondial with it’s very welcome rooftop bar and pool, around a 20 mins stroll to the central Skandberg Square, an impressive marble-floored expanse with some interesting modernist buildings, the Historical Museum and the Central Bank
Like many tourists we were headed to the fascinating Bunk’Art 2 museum, an underground network of rooms, once the home of feared security services under the repressive regime of Enva Hoxha. It was busy, hot and claustrophobic but nonetheless quite chilling to learn of the full extent of state control over peoples lives. We needed a drink to revive ourselves, duly provided by the wonderfully atmospheric Komiteti Bar, conveniently located across from the Pyramid of Tirana. In truth there is not much to see here, you walk up a few flights of external stairs but the view at the top reveals little. Still, the area around here is leafy and pleasant with some engaging street sculptures. We headed back to the hotel pool to catch the last of the afternoon sun and a cool Tirana beer. For dinner we eat a pizza locally (quite decent) and headed to the highly recommended Hemmingway Bar for a couple cocktails, the bar rocks a funky, eclectic vibe with Hemingway collectibles, followed by a closing digestif back on the hotel roofbar.
Next morning we took a trip out of town to visit the original Bunk’ Art 1 museum, a much larger but still fully underground facility built into a hillside. We arrived early, conditions were cooler and less busy. This museum added more context to Albania’s recent history, it’s role in the WW2 and formation of the Hoxha regime. The bunker itself is remarkable, on 3 levels with a full-size conference hall and multiple rooms inside. Leaving the museum, a 15 minute ascent brought us to the Dajti cable-car base station and a 20 minute, 5km ride deposited high above the city. From here, we scrambled for a couple of hours up the col de Qershia to reach the summit and some spectacular views back over Tirana. The return journey was a little quicker and were were back at the hotel by mid afternoon for a reviving swim and a beer before heading out for the evening.
We headed to the Observatory Bar to catch a spectacular sunset accompanied by a decent aperitif. From here it’s a 5 minute walk to the bustling Pazari I Ri market, in truth there’s not much to buy beyond the usual cheap souvenirs but the area is lined with decent looking bbq grill restaurants. We were headed to Oda, a traditional restaurant favoured by tourists (plus a few locals) - it’s worth booking ahead to get a table in the garden but the main rooms have an interesting selection of socialist posters. The food is ok, nothing special but the atmosphere is great especially when the band turns up to get the party started. Suitably fortified, our digsitif was taken at the equally charming Radio Bar, full of old TV’s, radios and assorted ephemera.
For our last day in Tirana we strolled over to the Blloku district, a leafy precinct full of quaint shops, cafes and bars. We stopped by Enver Hoxha’s old residence, a handsome modernist villa sadly closed like many ‘public’ buildings in the city. Coffee was required to revive flagging spirits and the very lovely HANA corner cafe duly provided. We went shopping for interesting antiques, the new bazaar was disappointing but the roads running north proved more fruitful, if a little random. Lunch was taken at the very decent Zagora Pezari - grilled kebabs, sausage and fries. The afternoon heat required a retreat to the hotel pool before heading out in the early evening. Pre-dinner cocktails were provided in the garden of the rather lovely Mimoza bar before heading to the equally marvellous Vena Bar for an evening of Albanian Wine tasting, surprisingly good and varied, paired with some excellent Mortadella chichetti and a ragu pasta - the best food we eat on the trip. Full of joy, we finished the night at the classy Kultura bar. Tirana proved to be a surprisingly cool and buzzy city with plenty to entertain both day and night.
From Tirana we headed south to the fabled ‘Albanian Riviera’. We weren’t the only ones, visiting the coast in August is perhaps not experiencing at it’s best - it’s busy, the traffic is terrible and the road surfaces worse. We had the good fortune to stay at Roots Dhermi, a comfortable 1-bed balcony apartment in Dhermi village, a forested 45 min walk (the Mills Trail) through the hills from the coast. It’s a charming village with a superb terrace bar for a sundowner, a perfectly serviceable souvlaki joint and a terribly overpriced restaurant Zoe Hora that’s worth avoiding. In the holiday season you can join a speedboat tour of the coastline and visit the local caves and spectacular secluded beaches, at least until another 20 boats arrive. The coastline here is justifiably prized as some of the best in Europe, the beaches at GJipe, Grama bay and San Andreras bay particularly beautiful. A couple of recommendations for beach clubs in and around Dhermi beach include Lucianao, a decent Italian-style operation close to the main parking lot, and at the far end of the beach, the secluded and chic Rosé by Havana.
On our return from the coast we visited Berat, a Unesco-listed ‘city of glass’, so called because of the glass-fronted terraced houses tumbling down the hillside. We visited the castle citadel, an impressive hilltop site with orthodox churches and assorted buildings to saunter around. A steep 20min walk takes you down to the river and the charming old town, all cobbled streets and characterful alleyways. After the tumult of the coastline this was a welcome antidote, we had a decent, cheap and filling lunch at the Friendly House followed by a walk around the Gorica district on the opposite riverbank. It was a shame to leave and gave us a flavour of Albania away from the holiday crowds.
One last treat was the airport hotel next to the rentacar depot, it was perfectly comfortable and served a decent wine but the real bonus was an opportunity to add to my Absolutey Wes Anderson portfolio with this snap of the hotel corridor.
