Albania and Montenegro: A wild experience is written by Jacob Gowland Jørgensen.
Europe's lowest prices in Albania
It feels like the old Mercedes taxi has got wings, because we are flying away and the dust is rising around us. However, the speedometer shows only 80 km / h, so maybe it's just the potholed country road that is getting worse and worse here on the way from the fine northern Albanian city of Shkodra to the capital of Montenegro, Podgorica, just across the border.
I think back to the time when I got to laugh, sing, eat and experience Albania together with 25-30 other members of De Berejstes Klub, and when Montenegro had just become Europe's newest country.
Tirana in Albania was a travel revelation.
The city, which has almost resembled a bombed locum in a Stalinist amusement park, is finding itself and has become colorful, open and vibrant. Wide sidewalks, plane trees and cafe life with mountain views. Fine old men with hats at an angle, beautiful young women and toothless wives.
Combined with what must be Europe's lowest prices for delicious food and cold beers, it was not difficult to keep the mood up in Europe's officially poorest and most non-religious country. 70% say they are not religious, “so something good came out of communism,” as the hostel-fatter said with a smile as he grilled pork chops and drank beer out in the backyard of the Tirana Backpacker Hostel.
The great downturn
Now I was heading north because I had gotten a cheaper departure via Montenegro, and then I too could just get a shot of civilization before returning home. I had thought. Strangely enough, there were no buses running on this route, just everywhere else. Why is no one going to the capital of this country?
There was one hostel in the capital Podgorica and there I had booked their only room for 20 USD. The town immediately resembled a suburb of a city that was not there, and the building where Steves Hostel was located is one of the most demolishable I have seen in a long time. The musty, cracked concrete and a smell of something indefinable chemical.
"I wonder how asbestos actually smells", I thought, as I edged in from the old door only to be told that they had not reserved anything, because they had no control over bookings. Suk. Double sigh, for this city was notorious for high room rates.
However, I was helped down to the tourist office, which we jointly found after half an hour. In a fit of monster fatigue and powerlessness, I ran the VISA card at an excessive amount. "There is a UN congress in the city, so there are not so many rooms," as the sweet lady said.
The capital of Montenegro was a large one tour de letdown. The center of the city looked like the Soviet Union on a bad day in '82 with many street names written in Russian letters… Including, of course, the "October Revolution Street" and the "Moscow Strait".
The houses hung in gray laser, and everywhere there was graffiti, rubbish and holes. The corners of the mouth hung down on most of the people who served others, for example, the breakfast lady at the hotel was vinegared.
The Albanian women's elegant dresses were here a little too often replaced with Bilka suits, which, as the icing on the cake, could have been raised so far up the crotch that a pregnant woman could be seen smiling at one another. A reasonably bad sight.
Well, I decided to get the best out of it and went on a trip around the city, where the theme of my photography was "Downturn", and then the city was suddenly a paradise. A bit Montenegrin, but still entertaining.
Fortunately, a lot of good has happened in the city since then, but back then it wasn't worth much.
The beautiful coast of Montenegro
The next day I took the bus in full sun towards the beautiful, beautiful coast which with its soft mountains and sharp valleys gives associations to Norway. Here Montenegro stood at its best.
The mountains, which indeed looked dark from a distance, have given the country its name and identity – the land of the black mountains. Old fortifications lay on the cliff tops and showed the way towards the bright light havet and the many fine coastal towns.
In the middle of it all was the UNESCO city of Kotor, whose old town center has been completely restored. The gate in the castle wall led into a little gem of a town, where the smooth cobblestones and crooked streets gave the impression of Harry Potter on a trip to Middelhavet.
The church proclaimed that it had its 1200th anniversary this year, and above it lay ancient castle remains overlooking the deepest fjord in southern Europe. There was, of course, a hustle and bustle, even here in the month of September, for Montenegro attracts many tourists to its shores. Here were many Montenegrins from happy people on holiday.
Kotor's castle wall facing the fjord is impressive. In Kotor, I also saw for the first time the country's flag roads proudly over a building. I had expected a clearer marking of the relatively newfound independence, but perhaps nationalism in the region has, after all, learned some lessons along the way after the atrocities of the Balkan wars.
Lunch was taken at an excellent Italian restaurant in the square, and the light and impressions sat so deep within me that even Podgorica stood in a slightly more light gray light when I returned to the city.
On the way home in the plane overlooking desolate mountain areas, Montenegro Airlines advertised that they had just opened a summer route to Copenhagen from Tivat, which is located on the coast. It is probably a very wise move to use this airport instead of the capital's, if you want people to come back to the small country with the big views.
Have a good trip to Albania and Montenegro Balkans!
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