This country could possibly be the next big thing in Europe

PLEASE READ RETURN TO ALBANIA 2015 FOR A MORE IN DEPTH LOOK

When someone asks me the question “What is Albania like?” my response is usually “It is like a European Egypt.”  This is a country who saw hard times under the communist leader Enver Hoxha for over 40 years.  Under this time he tried to socialize the country, pretty much banning all religions, even though this country is predominately Muslim.  As of now it is still Muslim, but much different than any Middle Eastern or Asian Muslim.

It has always been my dream to take a backpack and nothing more, and hike around Albania until my legs run out of steam.  Many parts of the country are not inhabited and in some isolated villages, they still do things my medieval code.

Like I said, if you look at some of the pictures, then you will see that it is very mountainous and also somewhat isolated.  The two cities I have been to here are Durres and Tirana.  Both very interesting in their own way as you could be walking down the street and see a Mercedes Taxi right next to a donkey pulling a cart of hay.  The nightlife in Tirana is actually pretty good as they have a bar/restaurant district with plenty of places to go and hang out, and if you get bored you can always find some old Communist statues to jump on!!!  They are still messing around with the infrastructure as it is very dilapidated, but everything is coming along nicely.  I am assuming in the next twenty years or so, this could be a major tourist attraction, but for now, I like it to remain isolated…..for that is what keeps its uniqueness….