TIRANA
04/26/2026 - 05/10/2026
After our two nights in Berat, we drove about 2 hours north to Tirana, the capitol of Albania. We dumped our car as soon as we arrived so we wouldn’t have to navigate difficult city driving. The driving (and especially the parking) was a little crazy, but honestly a lot more civilized than we expected! We didn’t know what to expect for the city itself, but as far as cities go, we liked it. It is clean, extremely safe, has good restaurants, a lot of electric vehicles, and a lot of trees. It is also in good proximity for some day trips. We had two full weeks here which we appreciated after jumping around so frequently for the previous 4 weeks.
No one really needs two weeks in Tirana, but we needed the longer stay so I could get some more dental work done. It was time for the crown to be fitted onto that implant I had done back in November in Thailand, so we needed to make sure we had adequate time for all the necessary appointments. For anyone wondering how dental care is in Albania… It’s excellent and affordable. We paid about $460.00 for the entire process (consultation, x-rays, abutment/connector, impressions, lab work, fittings, temporary crown, and permanent zirconia/higher quality crown – 5 appointments in all). While I probably liked the clinic in Thailand a bit better, I liked this one a lot as well!
Back to Tirana… We stayed right by Skanderberg Square, named after a guy called (you guessed it!) Skanderberg. He is the only real hero the nation has, and there are statues of him everywhere – including in other countries and even one in Michigan in an Albanian American community!
As a kid, Skanderberg was taken hostage by the Ottomans, where he was educated and converted to Islam. This was common practice by the Ottomans – They would conquer lands and take the boys to convert and train for their military (what assholes!). Skanderberg was a hero in the Ottoman military and served Sultan Murad II for nearly 20 years. He held both military and administrative authority. In 1443, he deserted the Ottomans, embraced his childhood Christian faith, and raised the flag of rebellion against the Ottomans. And he was super successful! For the next 25 years, he defeated multiple, larger Ottoman armies and Albania was independent during this brief time thanks to Skanderberg! Albania eventually fell to the Ottomans after his death, but his actions established him as the paramount symbol of Albanian national identity.
The square is kind of cool. It’s a massive, pedestrian-only plaza that isn’t flat. It’s apparently a “subtle pyramid” with the highest point in the center (I don’t know about all that, but it definitely isn’t flat). Over 28,000 square meters of the plaza are paved with pretty colored stone tiles from every region of Albania and also from Kosovo, and Macedonia (which were once part of Albania).
There were some other cool areas in town, including a market area, parks, and some random statues here and there (including a statue of mother Theresa - who is Albanian). There is also a park dedicated to the communist past with a couple of monuments, bunkers, and even a chunk of the Berlin wall.
We stopped in a winery in town that was super cool! It was run by these two old guys (Toma and Zef) who are twins. They speak NO English! These two were so stinking cute! When we arrived, we were greeted with tremendous enthusiasm. Toma showed us around the winery – we could figure out about 20% of what he was saying based on what he was pointing to. After the “tour”, he pulled a couple of dust covered bottles out of a big bin and washed them off and sat down with us to drink. Zef appeared with a huge platter of cheeses, meats, and homemade chips and we hung out for quite a while drinking wine and talking to Toma (via google translate). It was really awesome and about as authentic as you could hope for.
We visited the National Museum of Secret Surveillance, which is a museum dedicated to the surveillance, interrogation, and psychological terror conducted by the secret police during Albania's communist regime. The museum is located in the former headquarters of the secret services. The lengths the regime went through to control the Albanian citizens for 40 years was pretty disturbing.
We did our 7th cooking class of the trip and, like the others, it was awesome. We were with a group of 15 total and everyone was really friendly and fun. Of course, it helped that they included all the wine and Raki (aka Albanian moonshine) you could drink during this class!
We did a really fun (and funny!) dinner show that told the story of traditional village life and drama, centered around an arranged Albanian wedding. We wore Albanian garments and were guests at the “wedding”. Everyone was invited up to participate in a traditional Albanian circle dance with the performers, but it was a little crowded, so we only joined in once. The show ended with Raki for everyone!
Remember back in the Sarande info when we told you about the 175,000 (ish) bunkers built all over Albania during the communist era by the super paranoid dictator Enver Hoxha? Well there are 2 ENORMOUS bunkers in Tirana that have been turned into museums. Both chronicle the (mostly dark) past of Albania in slightly different ways and timeframes. Bunk'Art 1 was the original command center. It is a massive 32,000-square-foot (106 room) complex that extends five floors underground and is sealed by four-ton concrete doors. You can even walk through Enver Hoxha's personal and political chambers, although he never actually used them.
Bunk'Art 2 is right in the heart of the city center, across the street from the Museum of Secret Surveillance. It was built to shelter the Ministry of Internal Affairs and State Security forces. Like all the other bunkers in the country, it was never used.
Below you can add a comment: type your text in the white box and then Post Comment. If you get a second panel, you just need to enter your name and then hit ‘comment as guest’.
Be nice with your comments, we can always delete them 😊
