It’s a beautiful country. We are looking forward to exploring more of it. It helps us that it’s outside of Schengen; it makes it so much easier as Americans to return. Thank you for watching. -Judy
I am moving to Tirana in 3 weeks. Going to live there for 6 months and explore the country and around the rest of Europe. Was there in the Spring and I loved it…except for the driving and the smoking culture. Sophie is great and I love byrek!
How awesome, BW! One of the couples we met there headed to Sarande (which is a beach town) after us and really enjoyed it as well. However, they did say it was a bit dead in the off season (beginning at the end of September) and that a lot of good restaurants had closed down for the fall/winter. They mentioned that they'd prefer to be in Tirana in the winter if that helps at all. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie I was in Sarande in the spring. From there, I went to Corfu, Greece, then Barcelona, and then Morocco, which completed my 22 countries on that trip. Truthfully for me I really didn’t like it that much and would really have no desire to live there.
We heard there were a LOT of expats and full-time travelers in Sarande, which matters to some people, but we were thrilled to meet up with three couples in Tirana, which sounds like a much more diverse place to spend your time. We love a good promenade and a body of water, but we prefer culture and history. But it sounds like you'll be moving around a bit during your six months there. Will you have a home base? We are enjoying our time in Morocco so far. We have a lot more of Greece still to see, but we also want to visit new countries. It's such a balancing act! -Judy
@@bw5911 Sounds so fabulous. We hope you have a great time exploring from Tirana. It will be a nice home base. Keep us posted on where you're visiting. We'd love to follow along (and get recommendations)! -Judy
Hi! Judy & Kevin, Wow! What a beautiful video about Tirana!! We are adding it to our bucket list! We love how you weave history, expenses, food & attractions together seamlessly. Thank you for your kind & generous spirits. You have both been very encouraging & helpful to us. We will look forward to your video from Morocco! Blessings to you both!! Marion & Jan 😁❤️👍🏼
Thank you so much for watching and for your thoughtful comment. It means a lot to us and you are certainly encouraging and helpful to us as well. We'll actually have an entire series from Morocco since we've been to Marrakech, Fes, and did a Sahara Desert tour. We have a lot to share with you! -Judy
Hey K&J, this is a lovely video! We've had Albania on our list and hope to get there in the near future. Thanks as always for the great beta, and will be looking forward to your vlogs in Morocco!
Thanks for watching, Dan. We really did have a great time in Tirana and there actually are more parts of the country we still want to see. We didn't try to do too much because it's a great place to do the Schengen shuffle, and I know we'll find more occasions to visit. Tirana is especially easy because it's got the only international airport in the country at this point, so we didn't have to hop on a bus to get there. It's not got beautiful architecture for the most part, but we really appreciate how the country is working to move beyond its communist history, not forgetting or erasing it, but looking ahead. -Judy
Hi @europeanlover, It isn't the most beautiful city architecturally, but its history, great food, fascinating history, and affordability really makes it a top choice especially if you are trying to get out of Schengen or just want to hang out in a low-key, comfortable part of Europe. Thanks for watching! -Judy
It was so nice to meet you both. You gave us so many good tips for our TH-cam channel. We have followed you for a while and felt we knew you both. Thank you for spending so much time with us! It was like hanging out with family. Good luck with your travels and hope to meet up again, maybe you will come to Sicily again. This time for a visit to our hometown of Balestrate! Ciao❤
We loved meeting you, Diana (and Joe!). We wish you all the best and wish we could have spent more time together, but we're so happy for the healthy birth of your new grand baby! There definitely is more of Sicily we'd love to explore, so a meetup there would be lovely, including to see your renovated new home! Keep in touch. We are following along with you, too! -Judy
Great video about Tirana. It was great meeting you guys. Thanks for the endorsement!! Hopefully we can meet up again. Our journeys have alot of similarities.
We would absolutely love that, Joe! And had we known that you were solo for part of your time in Tirana, we would have made an effort to include you in more of our plans. Take good care and enjoy watching your new home come together! -Judy
Thanks for watching and for your kind words. Tirana isn’t the most beautiful European city architecturally, but it has so much worth seeing and so affordable! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Will be interesting to see Morocco. We haven’t been brave enough to go there yet, although we’ve seen Morrocan influence on Madeira.
Hi you two, just wanted to drop by and say how much we enjoy your smoothly filmed and considered style. Very enjoyable as always, keep them coming, you know they are appreciated. All the best Yvonne and Mike
Thank you so much for taking the time to watch and leave us this sweet comment, Yvonne and Mike! It means a ton to us, especially from folks with a more "seasoned" channel. We appreciate it! -Judy
Kur shikoj videot ete huajve jam kurjoz te shoh komentet e tyre per vendin tim .po hik o shok del ti dhe po tregon sae bukur eshte Shqiperia dil ne lagjet e Tiranes dhe gjeja qe habiten Turistat jan linjat e internetit jan bo si merimanga .
@klajdidema6319, You've never been to Southeast Asia I take it. Their overhead lines-in Chiang Mai, for one-are like HUGE knots. Despite that, it's still a lovely country. We admit that Tirana isn't the most beautiful architecturally, BUT the people are kind and resilient, the food is delicious, and the country is working hard with an eye to the future and seems to have its priorities in order. That all matters so much more than aesthetics. -Judy
Hi Terena, We're curious to know what pronunciations we got wrong. We did our best and don't think we were too far off for the majority of what we shared. It's great to hear that other parts of Albania are even more affordable, but we found Tirana to be extremely reasonably priced and very budget friendly for tourists and expats. The city has a lot to offer! -Judy
Hi Fran, we are here in Fez until Monday afternoon and then we leave for Argentina. Any chance you’re in the area? We’d love to make something work! We have an episode that we’re releasing today about the do’s and don’ts of Morocco. Very curious to hear your opinion about how accurate you think it is. -Judy
@@FranHenderson-x4k What a bummer! We wish it would have worked out. We would have loved to meet up. We've had such a great time here, and we are so glad to hear you are visiting Fes. Did you also take a Sahara Desert tour? We are so happy to have done it! Safe travels! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie yes, we will be doing the desert trip also. We’ve been to; Agadir, Tamrach/Taghazout, Essaouira, El Jadida, currently in Casablanca and head to Marrakech on Monday, then, desert trip, Fes, Chefchouen and Tangier🇲🇦
Very cool! We don't move around that quickly, so you're seeing a much broader cross section of the country compared to us. We would have liked to visit Chefchouen, but the day trips were too long of a drive for the short time we would get to spend there. What do you think of Casablanca? We've heard mixed feedback, so we decided not to include it. Tangier, however, looks very interesting. Safe travels as you continue on your travels here in Morocco! -Judy
Hi Terena, Interesting. We double checked all of our pronunciation through guides and online resources for each of these words, so this is disappointing that we were so off the mark. -Judy
I have been waiting for this video ! Did you take a bus to nearby cities like Durres ? I understand that there are many Americans in Albania due to 1 year visa free stay. I hv been following a channel “Patrick retire overseas” about an American who has moved to Tirana since April :). He is even buying a property in Albania now ! Wow, Morocco is next ! I cannot wait for that upcoming video - hope to see a Cape Town video also in the future 😀. Morroco and South Africa seem like good places to escape the Schengen zone, and also to time the weather :). A bit worried about safety, though :) Btw, disadvantages of Albania are the regular inhalation of second hand cigarette smoke and the regretful inability to drink water straight from the tap, correct ? 😊
Hi Mike, We had a day trip planned to Durres but I had a bit of a stomach bug and a fever that day and we ended up not being able to reschedule it. We were super disappointed to miss it and there are a lot of other interesting places to visit all throughout the country. The upside is that because it's a good escape from Schengen, we'll have a lot of reasons to visit Albania to be able to explore more. We had to jettison our plans for Cape Town due to the high cost of getting there-we would really want to plan for a safari trip but we couldn't squeeze it in. We've been surprised at how expensive flights are throughout Africa, even from Morocco. It's deceiving how large Africa is. It would cost about $1100 and take 20 hours to get to Cape Town from Casablanca. Isn't that crazy?! It's still on our list, but definitely not this year, unfortunately. Unless you're renting a car to get around on overland trips, bouncing between countries in Africa also is very expensive. We have opted to skip Johannesburg, but we do plan to visit Cape Town and a few other African countries like Kenya. Second-hand smoke isn't a deal breaker. You can eat inside and won't have to deal with it, but you do have to be in a strategic location when you're outdoors. It's not everyone and it's not worse than many other European countries. We encountered the same in Madrid. Yes, the tap water situation is disappointing. Some people do drink it, but our Airbnb host suggested we don't. I think there are a ton of chemicals in it to keep it clean, so it also doesn't taste great. We did brush our teeth in it though, so we weren't being super cautious like I was in Egypt. Thank you so much for watching and for the great questions. We'll have a few episodes from Morocco, so stay tuned! -Judy
Hi @Rexi-y2e, We were there from mid August to mid September. We had a few rainy days and some very hot days, but avoiding the extreme heat is a smart idea. Thank you so much for watching! -Judy
Hi Mike, Here's a link. It was a studio, but it was nice sized. And we rearranged the night stand so that we could have the beds together. It was very comfortable space with a good kitchen and a great central location. We hope you love Tirana. (We earn no money for recommending our Airbnbs.) -Judy www.airbnb.com/rooms/39518687?check_in=2024-08-19&check_out=2024-09-18&guests=1&adults=2&s=67&unique_share_id=df008b75-8945-4286-a641-5d1b76ba767a
Graffiti can be a blessing and a curse. In one respect, it sounds like there's some powerful, positive artwork in Kosovo, but it sounds like there's also "freedom of expression" graffiti that may not always be pleasant or productive. It's interesting that Kosovo locals have so much to say. Are there other, more productive ways for the people to express their concerns? -Judy
It looks like a really interesting place. We will need to put it on our list. I was especially interested in the historical stuff about the secret police and the persecution of the population. Understanding those episodes really helps with understanding the culture of a place and how it is shaped by historical events. You will notice a lot of that in S. America. In Buenos Aires, there is lots of history with the “disappeared” although the current administration is trying to bury that history. In Chile, you hear all about the 70’s and 80’s during the dictatorship, including the problematic involvement of the U.S. it really gives a lot of perspective, especially since so much of this history is relatively recent.
Thanks for your thought-provoking comment, Stan.I didn't know this about the right-wing leadership in BA, but it's quite disheartening, especially since Tirana is doing a much healthier thing-exposing it in order to ensure it doesn't happen again but also making efforts to change. I do think it's been interesting as an international traveler to hear perspectives of events involving the US. Of course both sides use propaganda to further their own agendas, but there's a truth somewhere in the middle that you don't read about in US history books. Tirana is a fascinating city and knowing its history and what its people have had to overcome helps explain why at times people might seem initially brusque or curt. That was the benefit of staying longer. We could see some of the locals loosen up a bit as they saw us over the course of that time and they'd let their guard down a bit. You could see that some interactions are cultural versus merely being unfriendly. And there were many helpful, kind, and wonderful people. -Judy
When we go to Albania my mom and I always get in touch with aliens for interesting talks, however as we are Native Albanians, therefore it of course is easier for us and obviously for the alien as well
@@FindingGinaMarie By the way, when was the day when it rained? Was it the 4th of October? I am asking so precisely as it's rather rare to have heavy rain in Albania or rain is generally rather rare, however when it rains it's likely to be heavy. For us that was at leastthe day when we planned to depart from Albania back to Germany by car, however it got a bit late (almost noon) and the electricity was turned off for safety at 11:41am. Something common in Albania when there is thunder / lightning, so we weren't able to move our baggage from the 8th floor into the car. Therefore, we stayed until the next day (Saturday), which my uncle actually already wanted a few days ago to spend one addiitonal day with us. Anyway, it definetely was a great day and an interesting coincidence is that we decided to simply one day longer about 5 - 10s before the electricity came back 😊 However, my life is somehow full of coincidences or I simply have an eye for them.
@@pewpew6091 This particular rainy day was September 13. We were headed to get groceries and when we finally arrived there, we looked completely like drowned rats! It was so nice of the store to offer us dry towels to shake off! Interesting that the electricity shuts off. Are the lines sensitive to moisture then? That can be pretty scary. We did find that our power in our Airbnb went off a few times when we were there, including on the day we were recording our video. We were so grateful to have a battery backup for our lighting system! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us. We love hearing them. It's convenient you had the flexibility of adjusting your plans. We don't like driving cars during our travels, but we were very happy with the bus ride we did, and some friends had a great bus ride to Sarande. We love "coincidences" and appreciate when we see them, too! -Judy
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
The City i was born and where I grew up. I've been living in Florida for over 25 years now, and I'm glad more Americans are visiting Albania lately
It’s a beautiful country. We are looking forward to exploring more of it. It helps us that it’s outside of Schengen; it makes it so much easier as Americans to return. Thank you for watching. -Judy
I am moving to Tirana in 3 weeks. Going to live there for 6 months and explore the country and around the rest of Europe. Was there in the Spring and I loved it…except for the driving and the smoking culture. Sophie is great and I love byrek!
How awesome, BW! One of the couples we met there headed to Sarande (which is a beach town) after us and really enjoyed it as well. However, they did say it was a bit dead in the off season (beginning at the end of September) and that a lot of good restaurants had closed down for the fall/winter. They mentioned that they'd prefer to be in Tirana in the winter if that helps at all. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie I was in Sarande in the spring. From there, I went to Corfu, Greece, then Barcelona, and then Morocco, which completed my 22 countries on that trip. Truthfully for me I really didn’t like it that much and would really have no desire to live there.
We heard there were a LOT of expats and full-time travelers in Sarande, which matters to some people, but we were thrilled to meet up with three couples in Tirana, which sounds like a much more diverse place to spend your time. We love a good promenade and a body of water, but we prefer culture and history. But it sounds like you'll be moving around a bit during your six months there. Will you have a home base? We are enjoying our time in Morocco so far. We have a lot more of Greece still to see, but we also want to visit new countries. It's such a balancing act! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie I need to be in Tirana because of the airport and I really dig the city. 💕
@@bw5911 Sounds so fabulous. We hope you have a great time exploring from Tirana. It will be a nice home base. Keep us posted on where you're visiting. We'd love to follow along (and get recommendations)! -Judy
Hi! Judy & Kevin,
Wow! What a beautiful video about Tirana!! We are adding it to our bucket list! We love how you weave history, expenses, food & attractions together seamlessly.
Thank you for your kind & generous spirits. You have both been very encouraging & helpful to us. We will look forward to your video from Morocco!
Blessings to you both!!
Marion & Jan 😁❤️👍🏼
Thank you so much for watching and for your thoughtful comment. It means a lot to us and you are certainly encouraging and helpful to us as well. We'll actually have an entire series from Morocco since we've been to Marrakech, Fes, and did a Sahara Desert tour. We have a lot to share with you! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie can’t wait!! 😁❤️👍🏼
Hey K&J, this is a lovely video! We've had Albania on our list and hope to get there in the near future. Thanks as always for the great beta, and will be looking forward to your vlogs in Morocco!
Thanks for watching, Dan. We really did have a great time in Tirana and there actually are more parts of the country we still want to see. We didn't try to do too much because it's a great place to do the Schengen shuffle, and I know we'll find more occasions to visit. Tirana is especially easy because it's got the only international airport in the country at this point, so we didn't have to hop on a bus to get there. It's not got beautiful architecture for the most part, but we really appreciate how the country is working to move beyond its communist history, not forgetting or erasing it, but looking ahead. -Judy
Wow 😮 Albania looks really great county
Hi @europeanlover, It isn't the most beautiful city architecturally, but its history, great food, fascinating history, and affordability really makes it a top choice especially if you are trying to get out of Schengen or just want to hang out in a low-key, comfortable part of Europe. Thanks for watching! -Judy
It was so nice to meet you both. You gave us so many good tips for our TH-cam channel. We have followed you for a while and felt we knew you both. Thank you for spending so much time with us! It was like hanging out with family. Good luck with your travels and hope to meet up again, maybe you will come to Sicily again. This time for a visit to our hometown of Balestrate! Ciao❤
We loved meeting you, Diana (and Joe!). We wish you all the best and wish we could have spent more time together, but we're so happy for the healthy birth of your new grand baby! There definitely is more of Sicily we'd love to explore, so a meetup there would be lovely, including to see your renovated new home! Keep in touch. We are following along with you, too! -Judy
Great video about Tirana. It was great meeting you guys. Thanks for the endorsement!! Hopefully we can meet up again. Our journeys have alot of similarities.
We would absolutely love that, Joe! And had we known that you were solo for part of your time in Tirana, we would have made an effort to include you in more of our plans. Take good care and enjoy watching your new home come together! -Judy
Thanks for sharing your experience in Tirana. Appreciate your intelligent approach.
Thanks for watching and for your kind words. Tirana isn’t the most beautiful European city architecturally, but it has so much worth seeing and so affordable! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Will be interesting to see Morocco. We haven’t been brave enough to go there yet, although we’ve seen Morrocan influence on Madeira.
@Fell214 It’s been fascinating so far! We are here for another 10 days and are looking forward to sharing it soon. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Safe?
Overall, we’ve felt very safe. -Judy
Hi you two, just wanted to drop by and say how much we enjoy your smoothly filmed and considered style. Very enjoyable as always, keep them coming, you know they are appreciated. All the best Yvonne and Mike
Thank you so much for taking the time to watch and leave us this sweet comment, Yvonne and Mike! It means a ton to us, especially from folks with a more "seasoned" channel. We appreciate it! -Judy
I just love your videos. They are so beautifully made. Kudos 🎉
Wow, Jeannine, we so appreciate the compliment. We are so glad to have you here with us! -Judy
Beautiful Albania 🙏🇦🇱👋👋
Kur shikoj videot ete huajve jam kurjoz te shoh komentet e tyre per vendin tim .po hik o shok del ti dhe po tregon sae bukur eshte Shqiperia dil ne lagjet e Tiranes dhe gjeja qe habiten Turistat jan linjat e internetit jan bo si merimanga .
@klajdidema6319, You've never been to Southeast Asia I take it. Their overhead lines-in Chiang Mai, for one-are like HUGE knots. Despite that, it's still a lovely country. We admit that Tirana isn't the most beautiful architecturally, BUT the people are kind and resilient, the food is delicious, and the country is working hard with an eye to the future and seems to have its priorities in order. That all matters so much more than aesthetics. -Judy
We thought so, too! -Judy
@@klajdidema6319 gjithsesi është e bukur 😊👋👋
Really appreciate this information packed video.
Hi Christine, Thank you so much for watching and for your thoughtful comment! We always appreciate hearing when a video is helpful! -Judy
WOW - what a fascinating city! More power to you! Thank you!!!
It was a very fascinating place! We really enjoyed it! Thank you so much, as always, for watching, Enrique! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie 😁
With the exception of the pronunciations, great video. I forgot how much more expensive Tirana is than the rest of Albania.
Hi Terena, We're curious to know what pronunciations we got wrong. We did our best and don't think we were too far off for the majority of what we shared. It's great to hear that other parts of Albania are even more affordable, but we found Tirana to be extremely reasonably priced and very budget friendly for tourists and expats. The city has a lot to offer! -Judy
Bravo bravo bravo 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Albania 🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱
It's a great country, and we are glad to have spent time in Tirana. We are looking forward to exploring more of it as well someday soon! -Judy
Great content. Makes me want to revisit Tirana and spend more time there. We are currently in Morocco, maybe we can meet up? 😊
Hi Fran, we are here in Fez until Monday afternoon and then we leave for Argentina. Any chance you’re in the area? We’d love to make something work!
We have an episode that we’re releasing today about the do’s and don’ts of Morocco. Very curious to hear your opinion about how accurate you think it is. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie that’s a shame, we don’t get to Fez until 7th Nov. Shall definitely watch your Morocco video, we’re really enjoying our time here.
@@FranHenderson-x4k What a bummer! We wish it would have worked out. We would have loved to meet up. We've had such a great time here, and we are so glad to hear you are visiting Fes. Did you also take a Sahara Desert tour? We are so happy to have done it! Safe travels! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie yes, we will be doing the desert trip also. We’ve been to; Agadir, Tamrach/Taghazout, Essaouira, El Jadida, currently in Casablanca and head to Marrakech on Monday, then, desert trip, Fes, Chefchouen and Tangier🇲🇦
Very cool! We don't move around that quickly, so you're seeing a much broader cross section of the country compared to us. We would have liked to visit Chefchouen, but the day trips were too long of a drive for the short time we would get to spend there. What do you think of Casablanca? We've heard mixed feedback, so we decided not to include it. Tangier, however, looks very interesting. Safe travels as you continue on your travels here in Morocco! -Judy
@FindingGinaMarie Dajti is like Dye-tee, Byrek is Buer-EK, and Hoxha is pronounced Hodg-yuh. No worries. It's a hard language. I am still learning.
Hi Terena, Interesting. We double checked all of our pronunciation through guides and online resources for each of these words, so this is disappointing that we were so off the mark. -Judy
I have been waiting for this video ! Did you take a bus to nearby cities like Durres ? I understand that there are many Americans in Albania due to 1 year visa free stay. I hv been following a channel “Patrick retire overseas” about an American who has moved to Tirana since April :). He is even buying a property in Albania now !
Wow, Morocco is next ! I cannot wait for that upcoming video - hope to see a Cape Town video also in the future 😀. Morroco and South Africa seem like good places to escape the Schengen zone, and also to time the weather :). A bit worried about safety, though :)
Btw, disadvantages of Albania are the regular inhalation of second hand cigarette smoke and the regretful inability to drink water straight from the tap, correct ? 😊
Hi Mike, We had a day trip planned to Durres but I had a bit of a stomach bug and a fever that day and we ended up not being able to reschedule it. We were super disappointed to miss it and there are a lot of other interesting places to visit all throughout the country. The upside is that because it's a good escape from Schengen, we'll have a lot of reasons to visit Albania to be able to explore more.
We had to jettison our plans for Cape Town due to the high cost of getting there-we would really want to plan for a safari trip but we couldn't squeeze it in. We've been surprised at how expensive flights are throughout Africa, even from Morocco. It's deceiving how large Africa is. It would cost about $1100 and take 20 hours to get to Cape Town from Casablanca. Isn't that crazy?! It's still on our list, but definitely not this year, unfortunately. Unless you're renting a car to get around on overland trips, bouncing between countries in Africa also is very expensive. We have opted to skip Johannesburg, but we do plan to visit Cape Town and a few other African countries like Kenya.
Second-hand smoke isn't a deal breaker. You can eat inside and won't have to deal with it, but you do have to be in a strategic location when you're outdoors. It's not everyone and it's not worse than many other European countries. We encountered the same in Madrid. Yes, the tap water situation is disappointing. Some people do drink it, but our Airbnb host suggested we don't. I think there are a ton of chemicals in it to keep it clean, so it also doesn't taste great. We did brush our teeth in it though, so we weren't being super cautious like I was in Egypt. Thank you so much for watching and for the great questions. We'll have a few episodes from Morocco, so stay tuned! -Judy
Best time to visit Albania is May, September not to hot not to cold
Hi @Rexi-y2e, We were there from mid August to mid September. We had a few rainy days and some very hot days, but avoiding the extreme heat is a smart idea. Thank you so much for watching! -Judy
Can you pls share the link to the Airbnb place (apt) you stayed at in Tirana? Was it a 1BR? Thanks and Cheers
Hi Mike, Here's a link. It was a studio, but it was nice sized. And we rearranged the night stand so that we could have the beds together. It was very comfortable space with a good kitchen and a great central location. We hope you love Tirana. (We earn no money for recommending our Airbnbs.) -Judy
www.airbnb.com/rooms/39518687?check_in=2024-08-19&check_out=2024-09-18&guests=1&adults=2&s=67&unique_share_id=df008b75-8945-4286-a641-5d1b76ba767a
damnn grafiti ❤ love from Kosovo
Thanks for watching. We didn't find more graffiti in Tirana than we did in any other country. Overall, we were very pleased with Tirana. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Visit Kosovo sometimes
Graffiti can be a blessing and a curse. In one respect, it sounds like there's some powerful, positive artwork in Kosovo, but it sounds like there's also "freedom of expression" graffiti that may not always be pleasant or productive. It's interesting that Kosovo locals have so much to say. Are there other, more productive ways for the people to express their concerns? -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie you not gonna regret
@@limhalimi95 Is the graffiti a problem for you in Kosovo? -Judy
It looks like a really interesting place. We will need to put it on our list. I was especially interested in the historical stuff about the secret police and the persecution of the population. Understanding those episodes really helps with understanding the culture of a place and how it is shaped by historical events. You will notice a lot of that in S. America. In Buenos Aires, there is lots of history with the “disappeared” although the current administration is trying to bury that history. In Chile, you hear all about the 70’s and 80’s during the dictatorship, including the problematic involvement of the U.S. it really gives a lot of perspective, especially since so much of this history is relatively recent.
Thanks for your thought-provoking comment, Stan.I didn't know this about the right-wing leadership in BA, but it's quite disheartening, especially since Tirana is doing a much healthier thing-exposing it in order to ensure it doesn't happen again but also making efforts to change. I do think it's been interesting as an international traveler to hear perspectives of events involving the US. Of course both sides use propaganda to further their own agendas, but there's a truth somewhere in the middle that you don't read about in US history books. Tirana is a fascinating city and knowing its history and what its people have had to overcome helps explain why at times people might seem initially brusque or curt. That was the benefit of staying longer. We could see some of the locals loosen up a bit as they saw us over the course of that time and they'd let their guard down a bit. You could see that some interactions are cultural versus merely being unfriendly. And there were many helpful, kind, and wonderful people. -Judy
When we go to Albania my mom and I always get in touch with aliens for interesting talks, however as we are Native Albanians, therefore it of course is easier for us and obviously for the alien as well
Thanks for watching! We hope we characterized your country well! We enjoyed our time in Albania. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Thank you for hearting my comment 🤗
Yes, you did! 👍
@@FindingGinaMarie By the way, when was the day when it rained? Was it the 4th of October? I am asking so precisely as it's rather rare to have heavy rain in Albania or rain is generally rather rare, however when it rains it's likely to be heavy.
For us that was at leastthe day when we planned to depart from Albania back to Germany by car, however it got a bit late (almost noon) and the electricity was turned off for safety at 11:41am. Something common in Albania when there is thunder / lightning, so we weren't able to move our baggage from the 8th floor into the car.
Therefore, we stayed until the next day (Saturday), which my uncle actually already wanted a few days ago to spend one addiitonal day with us. Anyway, it definetely was a great day and an interesting coincidence is that we decided to simply one day longer about 5 - 10s before the electricity came back 😊
However, my life is somehow full of coincidences or I simply have an eye for them.
@@pewpew6091 This particular rainy day was September 13. We were headed to get groceries and when we finally arrived there, we looked completely like drowned rats! It was so nice of the store to offer us dry towels to shake off! Interesting that the electricity shuts off. Are the lines sensitive to moisture then? That can be pretty scary. We did find that our power in our Airbnb went off a few times when we were there, including on the day we were recording our video. We were so grateful to have a battery backup for our lighting system! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us. We love hearing them. It's convenient you had the flexibility of adjusting your plans. We don't like driving cars during our travels, but we were very happy with the bus ride we did, and some friends had a great bus ride to Sarande. We love "coincidences" and appreciate when we see them, too! -Judy