The highlights of the 2011 trip to Albania and Macedonia

Albania - a country off the beaten path. During the years of communism, Albania was the most closed country in the world. Albania started opening its borders for visitors in 1991.

The first thing after getting a bus from the airport to the downtown of Tirana (Albania) was finding a place to have a lunch (and a beer).

It was quite a challenge to find the hostel we had booked in Tirana - they had two different house numbering systems on this street and the hostel didn't have any kind of signs or advertisements. A couchsurfer was working in this hostel and gave us the recommendation. Unfortunately we didn't find a CS host this time.

They used colors to make the soviet style block houses look less depressing. Success?

A rooftop party at the hostel with locals. We offered some Finnish drinks - Salmari and Jallu.

We took a minibus from Tirana (Albania) to Ohrid (Macedonia).

The road wound its way through the mountains.

Duty Free Shop at the border between Albania and Macedonia. Lots of emptiness for sale. 

After seeing this bus, we decided to take a taxi from the Macedonian side of the border.

The taxi drove like a crazy (wrong way in the middle lane) so maybe it wasn't a safe option either.

Sunset and evening swim at Lake Ohrid (Macedonia).

Playing snooker in Ohrid (Macedonia). We didn't find a full size table so we bought our own.

Morning swim.

The minibus dropped us to the border and we had to walk from there.

The view was nice though.

Back in Tirana. They don't have McDonald's or KFC in Albania (not that we would go into one), but Albanian Fried Chicken was surprisingly similar.

Grupi Lynx - a great cover band, playing Metallica etc.

We took a train from Tirana to Durres. It was slower than a car but we wanted to try it. Why? Scroll down...

The railway station of Tirana. Very Soviet style.

The trains didn't have a single unbroken window, mostly bullet holes. Despite of the holes, the train was really hot, especially after a long night in Tirana.

Imagine the people and this picture could be a nice beach boulevard from Miami or another tourist location.

Swimming in the Mediterranean sea in Durres (Albania).

We took a minibus back to Tirana and the driver got pulled over and got a ticket for having (way) too many people on board.

Some travel guide book said that you can count the tourist attractions of Tirana with one hand's one finger. The mandatory Jallu pic with the only tourist attraction of Tirana.

The central downtown was under construction. As was most of the city. And country. At least should be.

Our bus back to the airport. Think pink.

The highlights of the 2010 trip to Liechtenstein and Oktoberfest in Munich

As Pekka was living in Berlin, the meeting point and actual start of the trip was in Zurich, Switzerland. Of course, our good old friend Jallu joined too and wanted to get into the photos.

The scenery was nice while taking a train through the Swiss Alps to Liechtenstein.

The first things first - finding a brewery and local beer in Liechtenstein.

We used Couchsurfing to find a host in Liechtenstein and Pekka cooked a dinner there.

Jallu photobombed also our pictures of the Vaduz Castle.

Jallu seemed to be the favorite drink of cows in Liechtenstein. Maybe that explains the peculiar colors.

On our way from Liechtenstein to Munich, we had to change the train in Lindau, Germany. 

The main tourist attraction was the harbor with lighthouse and Bavarian Lion sculpture. Fascinating!

Munich style bicycle parking, and Oktoberfest had not even started yet!

Opening ceremonies, procession of horse wagons full of beer.

Luckily we had our friend Jallu with us, so we didn't die of thirst while waiting for the beer.

After several hours of waiting in the sun shine, they finally finished the opening ceremonies and started serving the beer. Prost!

Chris and Edwina joined our table for a couple of (hours of) beers.

  

The huge brewery tents were full of happy people enjoying the Oktoberfest beer. 

Dirndl is a traditional dress worn in Germany, especially Bavaria, especially in Munich during the Oktoberfest.

The highlights of the 2009 bus trip through the former Yugoslavia

Despite of the delayed Oulu-Hellsing flight, the trip started with Tuska festival.

We left the backpacks into lockers at Helsinki railway station. It was quite a unpleasant surprise to notice that the railway station was closed when we went to get the backpacks before taking a bus to the airport. Luckily we found a security guy to open the doors and let us get the stuff in time.

Climbing up to the top of the hill overlooking the city of Split (Croatia).

Even after a morning beer at the harbor it was a hard (almost painful) exercise after Tuska.

Sightseeing in the old town of Split

Pekka disguised as a Swede at the old Roman palace (Diocletian's Palace)

The views were nice during the bus trip from Split to Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

The old town of Mostar in the evening

Gourmet breakfast at our hostel/guesthouse: local red wine, yogurt, and börek

Our hostel/guesthouse from the outside - no signs, no taxes?

The bridge of Mostar - there were guys jumping off the bridge to the river

I guess this is funny only for those who can speak Finnish.

Views from the bus trip from Mostar to Dubrovnik

"Special" mobilized infantry of Croatia

Cliffs between the new harbor and the old town of Dubrovnik (Croatia). 

The walk was surprisingly long and no pubs to be found on the way.

The old town of Dubrovnik

Kotor (Montenegro)

Climbing up to the old fortifications

Kampana tower in Kotor

Swimming in Dubrovnik before the flight back to Finland