Alma’s first recommendation was to head North to a part of Albania that is geographically more Montenegrin than Albanian, as it is completely surrounded by the neighbouring country. There are only few or probably no regular buses which are going there, so that I had to organise myself a car for this trip. My “brand …
Category Archives: Travel
Mi Casa es tu Casa
It is easy to walk pass my home in Shkodra, the main city in the North of Albania, and that despite the fact that I am staying at the former Russian Consulate and before that the former home of Pietro Marubi, the first photographer in this part of the world. “Mi Casa es tu Casa” …
Going to the vet in Albania
Ilir and Dritan have arrived on time, I am – as usual – a couple of minutes late….Some things never change…… I am meeting my Albanian colleagues in front of a cafe in the center of Tirana, following some communication by e-mail over the last few weeks. My new aquaintances have very kindly agreed to …
Further North to Tirana
It proofed to be not so simple, getting from Northern Greece into Albania. Sensible people – unlike me – seem to fly via Athens to Tirana, which, as previously explained, is not an option for me on this trip. There is no direct bus from Ioannina to Tirana, although rumour has it, that a long …
Three coins and four names
There are three coins on a small piece of paper and a few more just next to it on a table in a room where normally there shouldn’t be coins or a table and certainly not a building…. The reason for this is, that the table in question is just standing next to the abyss …
Costas and Michalis
While strolling along the promenade in Ioannina, just below the Aslan Pasha Mosque, I am coming across the beautiful sculpture of a couple, which – I find – is in perfect juxtaposition to the lake and to the mountains behind it. The elegant simplicity of the figures, reminds me a bit of the “Couple on …
Midnight train to Greece
It was 3 o’clock in the morning just North of Skopje, when the door to the compartment was pulled open and my girlfriend and I, together with an American couple, were told to step outside immediately. Still half asleep we looked at each other when one of the police officers jumped onto the seats of …
Seven guitars
There are seven guitars hanging off the wall in Alistair’s living room and a couple of microphones are lying on the breakfast table – signs of a monastic life dedicated to music and lyrics….. Born and bred just around the corner and living here ever since, Alistair is my perfect host in Manchester, this archetypal …
Morning run in Marseille
There are these irritating first five minutes that are hurting when going for a run in the morning. The whole body has to follow the mind, accepting that from a state of total rest and immobility all systems have to be activated to reach three times the previous heart rate, to adapt the body to …
The German Veterinary Clinic in Abu Dhabi
Rashid’s Lexus had just left Dubai’s alley of skyscrapers and while the silently running air conditioning was keeping an ambient temperature inside the car, we were driving through the desert with the blue water of the Persian Gulf on our right side. About 100 km South of us in Abu Dhabi I was planning to …
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The Blue Vet Diary 