Reflections of a traveling veterinarian
It was late in the evening and the sun was about to set, when I arrive at Mrizi i Zanave – Alma’s third and final recommendation. Driving towards a old stone house surrounded by olive trees on a small hill, one might have been forgiven for assuming to be somewhere in the middle of Tuscany. …
Continue reading “Rose water and a colourful car crash at Mrizi i Zanave”
The diesel engine coughed a few times and then went out in a cloud of smoke…. We had been on our journey for not more than 3 minutes and that after having to wait for four days for the water level to rise, so that we could travel at all….. Alma’s (and, to put the …
Continue reading “French engineering, Albanian fjords and the beautiful valley of Valbonë”
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 …
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” …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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