See the hot spots around The Balkans In 60 Days – Stop 20 Tirana, Albania

5-7/9/2018. I can understand why there were many kebab eateries here. However, I scratched my head about why the pizzerias were so ubiquitous. I finally put two and two together. I did not know that Italy once occupied Albania. I also noticed many pre-loved Mercedes on the streets. Now I knew where Europe gets rid of its old flames. Pizza and Mercedes: Albanians have good taste. They are pretty warm to visitors, too. So, I felt loved, like the pizzas and Mercedes.

It felt like this country had a contorted identity. It had the amazing ability to bend with the times. Loves pizza, embraced communism, Islamic yet also secular, Christian, European but not quite so European, even a touch of Asian. I liked to give them a hug, but I didn’t know what I would be hugging. I didn’t know what to make of it.

开始上街逛时抓不着头脑为什么到处是比萨店。原来意大利曾在这里做过主人。也有不少肉串烧烤，但阿尔巴尼亚人太爱披萨了。只要好吃，我们都可不计前嫌。除此以外，街上奔驰真不少，虽然有些老爷，当地人没做太多解释，就是酷爱奔驰，死心踏地的爱。比萨和奔驰，他们两个都爱上了。在这旅游也经常会受到热情的招待和帮忙，感觉到关爱，感觉很好。

阿尔巴尼亚历尽不少风雨，经历过共产，又是回教但又较世俗，也有基督教在其中，身在欧洲却有点水土不服，我设法了解这里意识形态。总之，陌生，但好相处。

Et'hem Bej Mosque 地拉那老回教堂 — Resurrection Cathedral, Tirana 地拉那地标教堂

As I walked around Tirana, I noticed many bunkers half-submerged on the ground, each with a slitty aperture, staring creepily at passersby. There were 170,000 of them, built during the country’s communist era. The original plan was to build 200,000. I read that the leader back then found the inspiration after visiting North Korea. I had long wanted to go underground, like an earthworm. Maybe that was just my dark side, to be a clandestine smuggler or a tunnel rat. I had the opportunity to visit one. It was three stories down, secured with thick concrete doors, each floor built with small rooms on both sides of the corridors. On display were the telecommunication equipment of the time, the general’s office, a sleeping room, toilets, detox room. Wartime broadcasts played as the mood music for visitors. Kind of creepy, as if bunker busters were coming through the aperture at any moment.

Poor Albanians. They must have felt under siege then, now, hollowed out.

在地拉那市中心闲逛时，几个地方看到怪摸样的东西；大圆顶盖露在路面，前面似邮箱开口鬼祟窥看路人一举一动。听说阿尔巴尼亚共有近十七万共产时期建造的这类地堡，是当时领导拜访朝鲜后得了这灵感，原计划是要建二十万个。今天有幸参观其中一个，这地堡共下三层，厚厚的水泥门，每层走廊两边无数小房间，展示当时所用通讯设备，还有将军办公室，卧室，厕所，消毒间。全程播放当年备战广播，还真感觉四面楚歌，飞弹随水从天而降！

天啊，十七万个地堡，这才叫着危机感! 以前活得提心吊胆，现在又深感国土给掏空了，很同情多灾多难的阿尔巴尼亚人！

With a bit of spare time on my hands, I made a quick day trip to Durres, Albania’s largest port, only 30 minutes from Tirana. It was easy-going but not sleepy. Befitting a seaside town, it comes with an infinite sky painted baby blue, and in some places, gaining intensity to match the glorious sun with cyan and cobalt. Palm trees and gentle breeze encouraged the people to relax and chill; a welcome diversion from the much busier Tirana. The ancient ruins of a Roman amphitheater, built in the 2nd century AD, conjured up a violent past, of gladiator combats, animal slayings, and executions. It was their way of having a bloody good time back then. Otherwise, I just drifted through the streets and waterfront, soaking in it and sucking it all in.

手上有点时间，这天就到都拉斯看看。这是阿尔巴尼亚最大港口，只三十分钟就到。蓝天，棕榈树，凉风，海滩，悠闲节奏，不愧一个海边城市。古人遗留下仅存的半个的竞技场，以前有钱人无聊时没电视没网可上，就看人兽血腥搏斗打发时间，可能也是意大利人赐于的嗜好。今天带着两只腿就够了，头脑根本没用到。大街小巷都是空间，没人多管闲事，由我飘游。