We’ve been in Tirana for 2 weeks, and the love affair continues. We both are especially happy with the walkability of the city, and even though there are hills, the majority of it is pretty flat. A few days ago we found Tirana Park, which is beautiful, and called the “Central Park of Albania.” It’s huge with a path all the way around it, and we didn’t walk it THIS time, but we will in the future. And even though it’s artificial, the setting feels very natural.

I checked out the big Turkish mosque (Namazgah Mosque, AKA The Great Mosque of Tirana), which was surprisingly cool even though I’ve been in many of them. Most have been old or ancient, but this one was started in 2015 and only completed last year. It’s also the largest in the Balkans. It seems that in 1976 the Labour Party, led by their dictator Enver Hoxha, declared Albania to be an atheist country, and many churches, cathedrals, and mosques were destroyed, along with books and religious materials. So it’s rare to find anything more than a couple decades old.

The architecture in Tirana continues to astound us, and they have this large structure, The Pyramid of Tirana, which you can climb. It was built in 1988 as a museum to honor–guess who?? That’s right, Mr. Hoxha, but a few short years later the Soviet Union was dismantled and Albania became a free country. It sat empty for many years, but was renovated, and is now a conference center. They added a new roof and steps leading up to a tremendous view from the top, especially at sunset.

Kathleen and I ask ourselves, “So, what’s missing here?” and the answer is, except for an ocean, nothing really. There are mountains surrounding the city and one of these days we’ll take the bus out to a Mount Dajti cable car to take us to the top to check out the view. There is also a regional bus stop a few miles outside of the downtown where you can catch a bus to almost any city in the country, or in the Balkan region. That’s a really nice option, and I am in discussion with two different motorcycle rentals about getting a bike for a week or so to check out some places worth visiting, or even living for a short time. On top of the beauty, the town is pretty affordable by western standards.

We are finding that Tirana is a crossroad for a lot of expat travelers who favor the Balkans, and there’s a lot of them passing through or staying here. This is one of the more frequently visited cities, and Albania is surely getting more visible and popular with every passing year