Albania - Once, Europe's North Korea

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One of the most recluse nations of Europe during the Cold War, the communist state of Albania had been referred to as the North Korea of Europe.  A draconian and isolated communist country nestled between the Ionian Sea, Greece, and the former Yugoslavia, Albania had the least favorable reputation in the world.  How fascinating it would have been to visit such a country? But getting in or getting out would have been damn near impossible.

The fall of communism and the transition to democracy was overshadowed by political instability, violence, inflation, corruption, and organized crime didn’t help.  It still remains a “No Go” destination for many travelers.  But that attitude is slowly changing as I found out during my travels through the former Yugoslavia.  Not through Albania’s neighbors, but through the backpackers I met.  Nearly every backpacker I met who was coming from the country, enthusiastically recommended going there.  The unsavory rumors of the country did not reflect their experience. 

border crossing

First of all, for a European country, it has the cost of living and traveling, similar to Central America or South-East Asia, which makes it incredibly affordable for long term travel.  Rooms, food, and drinks for well under $25 USD a day.  Most travelers ended up staying much longer than planned.

The mountains region of the Balkans gradually gave way to a flat and treeless landscape that felt a little beat up after the picturesque mountainous drive through Montenegro.  We crossed the border from Montenegro with no problem, and stopped for a short lunch at Lake Shkoder on the Albanian side. The look of the Albanian towns and cars we passed definitely conveyed an image of a “developing” country that felt stuck decades in the past.  It wasn’t uncommon to see groups of young boys, dirtied, selling tissues or cigarettes to anyone willing to spare some loose change or a young mother begging with her baby on hip. 

In just a few hours, we arrived in the capital of Tirana.  The city’s landscape was a mixture of old grandiose and fascist style buildings, dilapidated communist block buildings, mixed with a slew of newer but unfinished opulent Chinese style concrete buildings.  Word is, this is the biggest unfinished construction boom in Europe.  The problem is the money runs out before the construction is complete so you just have these random monstrosities throughout the outskirts of the city center.  This is one place where the motto of “you build, they will come” just doesn’t ring true. 

The city is busy like you’d expect in a country where people trying to get ahead is prevalent but real opportunities to get ahead are rare.  Learning about the history of Albania’s communist times, make you appreciate witnessing the current times happening in this country.  To the ignorant traveler, you may just conclude that this place is not worth experiencing compared to the more developed countries surrounding it, but a city tour greatly helped me understand and appreciate the few days I had exploring Tirana.

Woodrow Wilson has a square named after him for US support of independence of Albania after WWI

Japanese art installation

George Bush is popular among Albanians for being the first US president to make an official state visit

Albanians are mostly secular Muslims, but the Middle East is investing in mosques in hope to make it more religious

Imagine, a country where any freedom of expression is suppressed.  Religion is outlawed.  Your income is 600 Lek a month in 1984 and a black and white television costs 4000 Leks.  You are a vegetarian because meat is too expensive.  A family is allotted four pounds of meat per month.  Your living space is 400 square feet.  This is what Albania was like during the forty-year rule of their dictator Enver Hoxha.

This was Hoxha's residence in the center of Tirana.  It has been kept as is since his death in 1985

What did the communist regime bolster?  100% literacy and universal health care.  How is that for the price of freedom?  Very few Albanians remember the pros of the Hoxha dictatorship with much romance.  Indoctrinated in a cult like figure, Albanians mourned Hoxha’s death in 1985 like the loss of a father, but today, his legacy is despised with much hatred.  I met no Albanian who looks favorable to his forty-year rule.  Makes me wonder, how will Fidel Castro be remembered years after his death, if and when freedom comes to Cuba.  Experiencing Albania first hand, made me rethink my opinion of Cuba’s communist regime of equality, universal healthcare, and education at the cost of personal freedom.  The forces of history and the way outsiders memorialize these social revolutions for equality are often romanticized.  Hearing the personal story of my guide’s aunt, who’s eighteen-year-old son escaped from Albania in the 1980’s resulted in the collective punishment of his entire family who was sent to a reeducation camp for five years offers little consolation for the suffering they experienced at the hands of one member of their family who defected.

Hoxha was a bit paranoid of invasion from both other communist countries and the West so he went on a bunker building spree.  750,000 in total.  They are a common sight throughout the country.

Some bunkers have been converted into art exhibits.  This one shows the people killed during his regime

Three years after Hoxha’s death, a West German government official was the first to make a state visit to recluse nation in decades.  It marked the beginning of the end of communism in Albania.  By 1991, protesters and professors rallied to protest the namesake of Hoxha university by pulling down the statue of Huxha.  This was the Albanian people’s movement for democracy.  By 1992, Albania held its first multi-party election.  An Albanian woman I chatted with, told me how it wasn’t until this time she saw her first banana.  American brands like Levis and Coke were so coveted as a symbol of status that people who decorate the images in their homes. 

Albanian men began to grow their beard and hair long as a form of protest.  These simple acts of fashion show how repressed life was during the communist era in Albania.  Today, there has been great social change compared to the early Nineties, but economically, Albania lags behind.  The average monthly salary of a teacher is just 370 Euros.  Even though higher education is obtainable, the salaries make independency unaffordable to live independently.       

the most famous Albanian is Mother Theresa

As a western tourist, the city if a cheap place to travel well.  There are no doors that one can’t afford when looking for entertainment or dining.  The Western standard of luxury is hard to find, but that is changing proportionately to the amount of Western tourist that come here.  I imagine, as Albania attracts more Western Europeans the greater the availability and the higher the prices will rise.  Imagining how quickly change comes in the global age we live in, Albania will look very different from the experience I had ten years from now.  Like Cuba, the current moment of change from where Albania is will be astronomical in the grand scope of time.  Don’t wait for Albania to show up in places to visit in mainstream travel guides.  The time to experience Albania in transition was yesterday, if not now.  Tomorrow, it will be another Croatia.    

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