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Motorcycle tour through Albania: it remains an adventure
Motorcycle tour through Albania
It remains an adventure
Albania welcomes travelers with great challenges: hardly any infrastructure and a bad reputation for crime. Anyone who tries anyway will probably come back. Like Helmut Rank.
Helmut Rank
06/21/2005
A type of Bodyguard brand makes its mark in front of Eddy and me. “Follow me!” His request to accompany him to his office container is unmistakable. However, the uncomfortable feeling in the stomach area disappears as quickly as it came. In the best of English, the man, who hides his eyes behind huge mirrored aviator glasses, only explains the immigration formalities to us, which are also done quickly. After a few minutes you can leave the port of Durrës. I inevitably have to think of my first trip through this country eight years ago. Out and about with Albanian friends, without whom I would hardly have been able to find my way in a country that was completely isolated and extremely poor for a long time. This time we want to try it on our own.
The condition of the road in the direction of Shkodër in the north prevents any rapid progress: the asphalt is sometimes completely tattered and riddled with huge potholes. After about two hours, a detour forces us to a side street, where a newly built cafe invites you to take a break. We are served friendly, but the many guests don’t look at us. A man at the bar stands out who is openly displaying a pistol in his belt. Weapons have a high priority and Albanian men, we learn from our table neighbor, who speaks a few bits of German, are always ready to use them to defend their honor. Which not infrequently leads to family feuds lasting years. Shortly before sunset, we cross a narrow bridge to Shkodër, where we stay in the first hotel. The owner insists that the motorbikes be parked in the house for safety reasons. Also right.
The sun lures Eddy and me out of bed early the next morning. Vermosh, the northernmost town in Albania, is on the agenda. Shortly before the border with Montenegro, an old notice board reveals that it is 67 kilometers to get there. A narrow, bumpy tar road near the border leads slowly uphill, soon mutating into an easy slope. A short time later we are almost speechless behind a hilltop: We look into a valley several hundred meters deep through which an emerald green river squeezes. The path winds its way down many narrow serpentines to the bank and there over a wooden bridge to the other side. At the end of the valley we stop in front of a house that turns out to be a restaurant. Inside, a dozen young men sit at simple tables and immediately give us a very warm welcome. We use sign language to order something to eat. No matter what. One of the men picks up an archaic-looking stringed instrument and begins to sing Albanian folk songs. We are right in the middle of it, we are included as if we have always belonged.
The next day we set off again from Shkodër to the north into the mountains. First past dreary and completely shabby prefabricated buildings, then past well-camouflaged, former tank shelters from the time of Enver Hodsha. The communist dictator proclaimed the country, which is surrounded in the west of the Balkan Peninsula by Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Greece, a People’s Republic in 1946 and isolated it almost completely from the rest of the world during his almost 40-year rule. Only after Hodsha’s death in 1985 did the first free elections take place in 1991 in Albania, 70 percent of which is 70 percent Muslim.
The two enduros trundle up the stony slope with difficulty, past jagged, snow-covered mountain peaks that are a little reminiscent of the Dolomites. Narrow serpentines lead further up, but finally high levels of old snow slow our forward thrust. There is no choice but to turn back. That was not to be expected at the end of May. In the early evening we are back in Shkodër, sit down in the cafe and watch what is going on. The many emergency power generators on the roadside were already noticed yesterday. A waiter explains that in Albania electricity only flows through the lines from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. And something else stands out: The many Mercedes-Benz sedans – supposedly there is no place in the world where fewer people have to share a Daimler. We don’t dare to ask whether these are also stolen goods.
We finally turn our backs on Shkodër and rush eastward along a freshly paved road that leads to Prizren in Kosovo. Halfway there is the junction in a northerly direction to Bajram Curri. And contrary to what is shown on the map, we are no longer rolling along a well-developed main road, but rather along a single-lane path, the asphalt surface of which is only rudimentary. Actually a great route: just below a green mountain ridge, curve after curve is lined up. But in order not to fall into every hole, we have to take a wild zigzag course that costs a lot of time. In Bajram Curri we learn that the only hotel is fully booked because of a folklore event. For a surcharge, however, you can quickly find two beds in a private house. In the evening we mingle with the large crowd on the village square and let the dances and music affect us. We feel more strange than seldom before.
The next morning begins covered with rain. We are approached by a man over a cup of coffee. In German. He is unemployed and meeting strangers promises to be something of a pastime. He says that around 90 percent of the city’s residents are unemployed. An improvement in the situation? There is no help in sight in this remote part of the world. Thoughtfully we leave Bajram Curri and head south.
Barren hills all around, gray skies, drizzle. The drive to Kukës is tough. There we are the only guests in a large former state hotel. The next day is also cloudy and gray again. A narrow, unpaved path meanders along steep slopes, leads down into deep gorges and digs up again a little later – a real dream route. Not until evening do we meet oncoming traffic for the first time just before a village: a farmer with a donkey. We finally stop in a simple dining room and watch schoolchildren coming home through the cloudy windows. Like the snow kings, they are happy about us strange characters with their motorcycles. Unfortunately the rain is increasing steadily and there is no change in the weather in sight. Because we are gradually running out of time, we leave the south course and arrows soaking wet straight down to the coast, where the sky actually tears open.
The last day in Albania is coming up. Since the ferry does not leave the nearby harbor until the evening, Eddy and I decide for a last trip into the mountains. A nice loop is quickly identified on the map, which first leads over an ancient cobblestone path. We are excited. The path leads steadily uphill, now and then through small streams, a little later past an angry shepherd dog, which we can only with difficulty hang out. But now it’s really getting down to business: several times we have to tackle knee-deep, water-filled ruts, which is extremely difficult with the loaded enduro bikes. A little later our detour ends abruptly: The rain of the last few days has triggered a mud avalanche, which now makes the path completely impassable. So back. Suddenly I hear Eddy’s voice. “You have a flat tire in the back!” Bad curses penetrate the silence of the Albanian nature. The rear wheel is completely muddy – a tire repair seems impossible. In addition, the ferry appointment threatens to break. So inflate it and just drive until the air is out again. The fact that we can reach the port on time is almost a miracle. Albania – it remains an adventure.
Info – Albania
Although Albania is practically in the middle of Europe, from a tourist point of view it is considered a white spot. Travelers have to reckon with some inconveniences – but discover a fascinating country.
getting there
If you want to travel to Albania by land, you should allow at least three days from southern Germany. The landscape-
The most beautiful variant leads via Austria to Rijeka in Croatia and then on the Adriatic-
Coastal road to Podgorica in Montenegro. Parts of the route can also be covered by ferry. An alternative to this is that
Ferry connection from Trieste in Northern Italy to Durrës in Albania. The crossing takes
24 hours. Costs per person and motorcycle in the simplest cabin category
(there and back): from around 300 euros.
Information at www.agemar.it.
Documents
Germans need one to enter the country
valid passport and a green one
Insurance card. There will be an in and
Departure fee of ten euros each
collected, on departure also falls
some kind of residence tax of one
Euros per day spent in the country.
Travel time
The months of May are the best time to travel
and June as well as September. It can get very hot in the summer months of July and August. In addition, the entire coastal area is quite overcrowded: Albania is
the main vacation destination for residents of neighboring Kosovo.
route
With a few exceptions like the north-
Southern axis via Tirana or the route from
Shkodër in Kosovo must be expected with very poor road conditions. Asphalt is often only rudimentary and deep potholes are the norm. in the
In the hinterland there are often slopes that are quite passable when dry. After lan-
However, with less precipitation, individual sections of the route may be impassable for days.
You shouldn’t go to Albania without any off-road experience.
motorcycles
Enduros that are as light and robust as possible
the best choice for a trip through Albania, large tread tires a must. Basic tools are also included on board. A petrol station can be found in every larger town, but a range of around 200 kilometers makes sense. An additional fuel filter is recommended.
security
The reputation of the poor and for a long time completely isolated Albania is not the best. However, the security situation has eased somewhat in the past two years. One generally treats strangers with great hospitality. Nevertheless, there are a few rules to be observed, especially in the north.
For example, it is essential to avoid arguments! Pride and honor are special for
the people of the country are extremely important. Disputes in this regard are unfortunately often fought with weapons.
The Albanian language is extremely complicated, and a small phrase book (“Kauderwelsch Volume 6” from the Verlag Reise Know-how; www.reisebuch.de) can prove to be extremely
prove helpful. Since a lot of Albanians were guest workers in Italy, you can get by quite well with Italian. Sometimes English or German is also spoken. Detailed and up-to-date information about
the state is offered by the Foreign Office in Berlin at www.auswaertiges-amt.de.
accommodation
The safest place to stay is in one of the simple hotels, which are easy to find in every major town and cost from around twelve euros per night and nose. However, one should not make high demands.
There are no campsites, and wild camping is not recommended.
literature
The world is a village, and travel guides can be found in abundance for every country – no way!
To date there is no travel guide about Albania. After all, the Freytag publishing house delivers & Berndt a usable map on a scale of 1: 400,000 for 9.90 euros.
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