Tirana

The hostels in Tirana are in a category all of their own and I have the great honour of experiencing two of them first-hand.

1. accommodation

At first glance, everything seems to be fine:
the facilities are generally in very good condition - with a communal kitchen, lounges, terrace ... wait a minute… the description of the hostel room is not correct. The promised 4-person room has no dividing walls to the other sleeping alcoves in the same room. Only a curtain separates the alcoves from each other. 🤨
My bed is between the entrance door and the toilet - so I can hear every movement in the room 😕
The emergency exit sign illuminates my bed throughout the night - and OF COURSE one of my neighbours snores. 😖
Rating: 2/7

After that night, I notice the many small bites on my body that the nasty bloodsuckers have left behind. During the course of the day, the itching increases so much that I have to sigh a little with every step I take on my walk through the city - or, to be precise, with every second that I don't move - because the itching starts again.😬

2. accommodation

This room can be locked and has solid walls - but the insulation of the outer walls and the door leading to the outside is so poor that the inside temperature is no different from the outside temperature and I sleep with my mum's knitted hat on at night.🥶

One day I'm sitting bored at the kitchen table in the accommodation. I have to decide what to do today. A difficult decision for which I have no preference.
Today, a good friend of mine will make that decision for me. He gives me the task of not leaving the city until I have eaten with the locals.
Challenge accepted.

I wander the streets for half an hour in search of someone to talk to. That young man over there looks nice. Or that one?
The search makes me hungry. I'm about to buy an apple in a minimarket - the shop assistant tells me to just take it with me - and the conversation begins.
Thirty minutes fly by and I have gained a few impressions and two free apples (and an invitaion to take tomatoes as well).
And once again I have the confirmation that there is a story behind every person and that we all strive for similar things, no matter how differently we look and live.Читать далее