The blog intruder will write in bold.
The blog owner will write in normal font.
Hello all! This is Katie's friend Beth, who descended upon Tirana last Thursday in a blaze of glory (actually, in a sweltering bus crowded with people speaking Albanian)...the past few days have been awesome! I'll let Katie take the controls for a moment. Perhaps she will tell you about the time I won Settlers of Catan.
Yes, Beth may have triumphed in Catan, the great land of settlement, discovery and trade. However, I stand on top when it comes to bowling. Beth's bowling alias, Bridget, was not feeling the love of the black lights and glow-in-the-dark bowling balls of the Spare Time bowling alley.
Enough boring stuff. Let's get to the real reason for this visit to Tirana: food. Stories of the delectable wine, qofte, sufflaqe and byrek were enough to make me jump a plane from Germany to Athens and then ride a bus 13 hours overnight on broken roads....
Qofte: spicy little sausages (I think they are made of lamb). Thumbs up for deliciousness and price.
Sufflaqe: Like a doner kebab, only with the bonus addition of french fries, ketchup and mustard. HALLELUJAH!
Byrek: Flaky phyllo dough filled with feta. Served warm and with a smile!
I may shove an Albanian cook lady into my backpack.
The only reason she's alive after consuming vast abouts of Albania's finest is because we made her take breaks between her binges and also forced her to walk long distances for extended periods of time at least once a day.
One such tour provided a glimpse into commie life. The teleferik (a glorified ski lift) took us almost to the top of Mt. Dajti where we saw bunkers upon bunkers, communist buildings, guards with machine guns (not an uncommon sight here) and government property. Naturally we had to do some off-roading. What fun is it to stick to the beaten trail? So much more invigorating to blaze your own.
After reaching some barbed wire that really didn't keep intruders out, despite signs about miltary property or soliders only, we climbed in an exceptionally large bunker to see just what these communist protections were all about.
It was exceptionally large, full of exceptionally disgusting trash.
Mount Dajti was the inspiration for the following haiku, so aptly titled "An Ode to Mount Dajti:
High upon Mt. Dajti
Bunkers burrow in the trees
Commies safe from raid.
Along with the writing of such a glorious poem, this weekend's crowning moments had to do with Albania joining NATO. Flags and banners everywhere in the city. Seriously, I am so glad that I was able to be here and share in this moment in history. We went down to the square tonight and the prime minister, Sali Berisha, was speaking! We managed to get pretty close to the stage. If this was the States, security would have kept us miles away. Here in Albania, not so much. There were fireworks shooting off the roof of the opera house, zillions of balloons released to the heavens, and people dancing and music blasting....it was amazing. Perhaps we will be able to post a video. Otherwise, use your imagination.
Ah, yes. With children on our shoulders (Sara, Danja, and Joni) we paraded around, got close to the staged, danced, ran around, watched the confetti fly and fall, and apparently came within feet of some sort of huge snake. Why someone would bring that out at a public event of this calibur is beyond me. All I know is that I did not see it or hear about it until the end of the evening. Otherwise the tale would not have been so cheerful. Neda and Ledio were also with us to experience the festivities of this once in a lifetime event.
Remember in my Greece picture how I mentioned that I can't help but feel the need to pose like a statue whenever I see a statue? I am not alone in this matter. Beth and I have mastered the skill to a degree that we can even pose as statues that are frozen in an action shot. We have pictures to prove it. But again, let your imagination take over.
Our statue posing, bunker exploring, NATO celebrating selves will be moving the shenanagins across the Adriatic Sea tomorrow as we descend upon Rome.
dum dum dee dum, dum dum dee dum dum....disturbia....
Buona notte! To Rome and beyond!
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