When dental work was required…a specialist was chosen in Albania’s capital city Tirana. Arrived from Canada via Paris and Belgrade, Serbia where an unexpected delay upset scheduled dental appointment (and basically our lives). See SERBIA, Belgrade for that drama. Suffice to reveal now is that my leg was in a cast.
Tirana is a sprawling metropolis of congested traffic winding thru’ old, very old, newly constructed, current construction, and road works! A Google location pin and experienced taxi driver were not sufficient to find our lodging without a call placed to our host for directions! Greeted upon arrival by a super young man, welcoming and attentive throughout our stay.
The dental clinic is a clean efficient corporate entity hosting specialists for all procedures, with modern equipment our Canadian province seems to lack. When a week of appointments finished, was time to check out the big city. Our nice apartment was booked by others, had to be vacated. No worries, found another apartment on my regular booking platform. When the taxi did not arrive, our host drove us to the next apartment!
Forget ‘no worries’…this address was even more difficult to find as this building’s entrance is in a narrow lane! A laneway with surprising flow of 2-way traffic–cars, bicycles, baby carriages, trucks, taxis. There was no lift to our 3rd floor apartment so I was practically carried up the stairs between husband and host from previous apartment.
The advertised feature of this apartment emphasized a large sundeck which was true to description. The remaining rooms of gloom of wood paneling, low ceilings, dull furnishings. Entrance shared space with dining table and chairs squeezed in beside low sofa– all in kitchenette area…the popular open plan (gulp). Stress from 3 flights of stairs with this depressing unit brought me to tears. Sobbing I hugged our previous host goodbye, then continued crying as I opened laptop to find alternative lodging. Booked an airport hotel and a taxi to get there. We weren’t going to fly anywhere but the airport would ensure a rental car for our trip south to seaside city Vlore.
The new host understood my plight, offered a downstairs unit at higher cost, but we (both of us) wanted OUT immediately! Tirana could be visited some other time. Off we went to a recently renovated airport hotel, designed and furnished well. A fabulous staircase spiraled from lobby, but I could take the LIFT!!!