First things first, before we talk about Albania, please for the love of all that is good in the world, delete the movie Taken from your mind. Sure, like everywhere in the world, you can find crime, but Albania is without a doubt one of the most hospitable countries I’ve ever been to. We felt safe the entire time even when taking buses and furgons (basically private minivans that serve as buses) around the country by ourselves equipped with only a few basic Albanian phrases (but more on that later). We heard numerous times that you can literally knock on someone’s door and they will take you in and feed you. It’s a place where hitchhiking is still common and widely considered safe (we actually met quite a few other travelers who had hitchhiked across the country, and one of our Albanian friends told us a recent story of how she stopped to give some hitchhikers a ride a couple months ago – yes in 2022). It’s a place where you can find churches next to mosques, where Christians and Muslims have lived peacefully side by side for hundreds of years and even attend services with each other on special occasions. You can hear story after story from after the fall of communism in the early 90s when local Christians helped Muslims rebuild their torn-down mosques and local Muslims helped their Christian neighbors rebuild their churches.

Our first day in Tirana, we took an excellent free walking tour to see some of the highlights of the city and had a fabulous fancy lunch for only about $25 total. We learned a lot about Albania’s history, a little about its oppressive and brutal communist past, and a lot about modern day Tirana.

One of the darker things we learned about was Albania’s brutal past. I didn’t realize that Albania’s universally hated dictator built arguably one of the most oppressive and closed-off regimes in history. The country was so closed in the 1980s that it can only be compared to present-day North Korea. Everything Stalin did, Hoxha did too and maybe more. It was rare for people to even try to escape during that time because their families would be punished for their acts 3 generations removed: your parents, grandparents, siblings, uncles, and nieces and nephews would all be punished on your account. We’re talking concentration camps, imprisonment, torture, starvation, and worse. It wasn’t until the early 90s when people began to find access to Italian media, tv, radio that the regime was finally crippled. The 90s was hardly 30 years ago, so pretty much everyone knows someone who was directly affected by this. Like in the former USSR, people were encouraged to spy on their neighbors, friends, and family members and turn each other in. One of the challenges that remains is that many people feel like they never got closure. The perpetrators of such policies, acts, and ratting-out went widely unpunished and uninvestigated and roam free to this day, some even still holding positions of relative power.

Our free walking tour guide told the story of a friend, we’ll call her B, whose father was a teacher back in the 80s when the regime was at its most brutal. Someone meritlessly ratted him out as a capitalist spy, and he was promptly arrested, tortured, and eventually executed. In recent years, B was able to gain access to her father’s file. During that time, the government had files on pretty much everyone. It held a detailed account of every single thing about her father down to every inhumane detail. She read enough to know she couldn’t read on anymore. But then she came across another document… a document that showed WHO had turned her father in. To her utter dismay, she found that it was her own uncle, a man who she had spent her entire life around, who had attended her wedding, and who she would continue to see on a regular basis going forward. Can you imagine? It reminded me of a story an Albanian friend had shared with me years ago about her own family’s experience during that time in history, but that one’s not my story to tell.

All that said, it’s pretty amazing how things can change in just 30 years. While Albania is still developing and recovering from the past in many ways, it’s also thriving and very modern in many ways. The new buildings coming up in Tirana are unique and innovative with creative shapes and designs. In fact, next to the city square, they’re working on a building in the shape of a man’s face! The nightlife is hopping (though the city just made a rule that bars can’t play loud music after midnight anymore). Young people are all about the glitz and the glam, and you can find tons of swanky places to stay, eat, visit, take a photo, etc. Also, Instagram is all the rage in Albania. People don’t Google information, they Instagram it. Still not 100% sure how that works, but it’s a thing.

After our free walking tour, Anxhela (sister of the bride) picked us up and took us to this swanky restaurant in the mountains overlooking the city with an incredible view. They serve traditional Albanian dishes with a twist – they’re all made into small side dishes so everyone can have a taste of everything. AMAZING. The flavors were amazing! Local made cheese, meat pastries, breads, veggies, and a delicious roasted lamb! We also tried Albanian traditional alcohol – Raki. Think of it as the Albanian version of moonshine (but more delicious). Pretty much everyone’s uncle has their own recipe from home-grown grapes. We made sure to take some photos for the restaurant’s Instagram since they don’t have a traditional website, just an Instagram.

After dinner, Anxhela took us to one of the streets where there’s a bunch of bars with outdoor seating along the street where a lot of people to go have a drink and to enjoy the nightlight. Unfortunately, it was already after midnight and they had turned down the music per the city’s new ordinance. We still enjoyed our drinks! And then something very interesting happened. Just before 1am, the waiter started closing people out and looking like he was ready to go home. Anxhela confirmed he wanted to go home, but she didn’t seem to be in a rush. I tried to go with the flow, but I felt bad if we and the 4 other tables were keeping him from going home. And then, they turned off the lights. That, I thought, was surely our cue to leave. Wrong. Anxhela still wasn’t in a rush. I trust her, so we just followed her lead. A few minutes later, we saw the waiter lock up and leave… And we continued sitting… as did the 4 other tables chatting, drinking, and smoking their night away. Apparently, in Albania, you can literally sit as long as you want outside the restaurant, even if it’s closed. What!? We eventually left, but the others stayed there…

Overall, I’d give Tirana an excellent rating. I don’t know if people rate cities, but I HIGHLY recommend a visit! I really think it’s one of Europe’s most underrated capitals and maybe even cities! It’s affordable walkable, relatively safe, and friendly! Everyone we met was kind, helpful, and wanted us to enjoy Albania! I’d absolutely go back. The only big downside is the driving. We had heard that driving in Albania is insane, so we decided not to try and rent a car. While no where near as close to as crazy as driving in India, I can for sure see how driving there would be terrifying. I honestly think we could have managed, but for both of our stress levels, an excellent idea to not try and drive.