Bar – Shkroda – Tirana: 157 km

After just two nights and three very rainy days in Montenegro the next border already presents itself. I’m crossing into Albania today. Man, I know very little about Eastern Europe and the Balkans. But I’m keen to find out.

Through Warm Showers I’ve found a place near Shkroda. Due to my misjudgement in distance and weather, I arrive two days later than originally planned. But once I do, it feels like coming home. Kastriot runs an eco-social farm project on a hill about five kilometres from the town. He aims to “increase social inclusion and provide space for social economic integration.” When I arrive, that means the volunteers are busy preparing a lunch of a lifetime. Freshly caught fish from the nearby river is being grilled, potatoes cooked and salads tossed. An Albanian sweet bread-like desert and meringues for dessert. We eat with about 15 people involved with the project. But what tastes best, is how naturally invited I am at the table, and how inclusive this group feels.

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The next morning I wake up early. The road to Albania’s capital Tirana is flat but over 100 kilometres from the farm. The goats and dogs greet me as I pack my bike. There’s basically one road I can follow. It takes me through a wide valley, the mountains on both sides provide nice views, but it’s hard to really enjoy them. Because although the road is flat and in great condition, it’s not accommodating cyclists at all. Cars fly by me constantly. Well, cars, Mercedes first and foremost. Do they love their Mercedes here. I pass tiny dilapidated homes, with shiny Mercedes in front of their door that seem to cost more than the home itself. But any kind of Mercedes will do in Albania, old ones, new ones. The ones from the eighties that carried dictators.

Tirana surprises. I ride into the city in heavy traffic. The kind we’ve all seen images from like New Delhi or Mexico City. A mix of dust and emissions shrouds everything in a haze, and when I close my mouth I can feel a thin layer of it grate between my teeth. Arriving in the city centre, every street corner seems to be bustling with life. The seasoned faces of the farmers from the villages I passed today, make way for younger ones, contemporary ones, with something to prove and dreams to accomplish. A kind of energy washes over me. I’ve heard people say that when the iron curtain fell in Berlin, the city was radiating a new kind of energy, that can still be felt in the city today. One of opportunity. Albania was one of the most secluded countries in the world following the second world war. After 40 years of self-reliance and dictatorship, the country just transitioned to democracy and open borders in the early nineties. Maybe that same energy, people describe to Berlin can still be felt here in Tirana today too. It feels like anything is possible here. It feels both chaotic and welcoming. I’m fascinated by just walking around, watching life unfold along the busy streets, the grand squares with immense statues and tiny meandering alleys.