I wasn't planning on coming to Macedonia. It just kind of happened. I needed to get from Albania to Bulgaria and thought I'd break up the trip a bit. I'm now at a place called Ohrid on the shores of a Mediterranean-like lake. I love that fact that unbelievably beautiful places like this exist that few people have heard of. I arrived two days ago and was met at the bus station by a local guy named Lazo who asked if I needed a place to stay. He said his brother was working in Italy and if I wanted to I could stay in his apartment. It was a studio apartment just 5 minutes from the lake and only $8 a night. I sort of paused before accepting, so he said, "OK, OK, how about $20 for three nights?" The best thing about the place is that it has a huge faux wood paneled black and white Russian television set from the 60's. It has two sets of rabbit ear antennas and the only channel it pulls in(barely)is some type of Macedonian MTV. It's been great having my own place after a month of mostly hostel living.

It was sad to leave Albania. Certainly not without it's faults, it was, nevertheless, one of the more interesting places I've visited.

Some of it's quirks:
Until 1991, only the top communist party officials were allowed to drive and there were only 600 cars in the whole country. Now there seems to be more cars than people and despite being the second poorest country in Europe(having recently inched past Moldova), over half the cars in Albania are Mercedes Benzes. And not just old beaters, mostly newer models less than five years old. I'd hate to imply they were stolen, but many did still have Italy & German license plates. Supposedly the going rate in Tirana, the capital, is $3000 for one with not too many miles. A guy I met said the joke in Italy is that the motto for the Albanian tourist bureau should be, "Come to Albania, your car is already here."
You know you've arrived as a country when the American President and the Rolling Stones pay you a visit in the same year. Bush came in June. I guess it was the only place he could find in Europe where he's not hated. However, I don't think he'll be back anytime soon. While shaking hands with the cheering crowd, his watch seemed to have, um...disappeared. One minute it was there, the next it wasn't. Check out the video on YouTube.
When I heard Albania had train system, I thought it might be fun to take a train to Pogradec on the Macedonian border. When I went to buy a ticket, the train station was deserted. The only worker ignored me for a few minutes while she finished her cigarette. She then flicked a switch that said she was now serving #182. I guess that was a signal for me to grab a number. It took a while to find the machine, and after pressing the button I was surprised to see #426 come out. Just then a guy(I assume #182)walked through the door and I realized it might be a few days before she got around to helping me. I took the bus.
Albania's only international airport is named after a nun, the one ethnic Albanian every knows, Mother Teresa. However, she was actually born in Skopje, Macedonia.
There's blackouts everyday in Tirana. One afternoon I went to the national history museum. After paying to get in, they said that the power was out, there are no windows in the museum, and they don't have any flashlights. She did kindly inform me the power would be coming on again at 5, but unfortunately the museum closes at 4.
I'm going to miss Albania.
Shawn

Everyone on the bus was male, Albanian, and a chainsmoker. It was a overnight bus from Thessaloniki, Greece to Tirana, Albania. I was exhausted and hoping to get some sleep, but even before we left the station I realized that was just not going to happen. Everyone spoke loudly with an intonation and hand gestures that made it look like they were arguing. As soon as we pulled out of the station the music came on at a window shaking volume. It was some kind of Gypsy folk music that everyone sang along to, while lighting each others cigarettes. After a few hours of hearing the same tape, I felt like I could sing along as well, even though I had no idea what the words meant. I assumed everyone was working in Greece(more jobs, more money)and now going home for the weekend or a holiday to visit family and friends. Just before the Albanian border, two guys snuck to the back of the bus and hid under the seats. At the checkpoint the border guard ordered everyone off the bus and proceeded to search the bus with a flashlight. We all looked at each other nervously wondering if they would get caught. Of course they did, and the two stowaways with guilty looks on they faces were led off the bus. The rest of us went through the immigration & customs formalities, got back on the bus, and continued into Albania. The festive atmosphere was gone. There was no music and less smoking. I could tell everyone was worried what would happen to their two friends. We were a few miles down the road when we suddenly heard some laughing coming from the back of the bus. We all turned around just as the two guys jumped up from their hiding places. There were high fives, hugs, and big laughs all around. The driver had to pull over because he was laughing so hard. I couldn't understand their explanation, but based on their body language, it seems that somehow they escaped from the border guards and snuck back on the bus while we were getting our passports checked. The music came back on and everyone was happily singing and chainsmoking again. I knew already that I was going to like Albania.
-Shawn

I had a great time in Munich. Tim & I have been friends for over ten years, since we taught together in Japan. We try to get together every couple of years to catch up. I also finally had a chance to meet his girlfriend, Marijam. We did some typical Bavarian activities while I was there: sitting in beer gardens drinking giant mugs of beer, eating sausages, schnitzel, and pretzels the size of steering wheels. My favorite day, we took the train to the Bavaria Alps. We hiked around a beautiful lake with views of the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany. Afterward, we ate grilled whole mackerel with cold mugs of beer. Just outside of Munich, I visited Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp. It was a pretty heavy experience, but I'm happy that I went. After five days at Tim & Marijam's place, I caught a flight to Thessaloniki in Northern Greece. I was hoping to climb Mt Olympus, the home of Zeus & friends, but after 30 hours of continuous rain the abode of the gods would have to wait for another day. It was my first time in Greece and I was blown away by the number of smokers: men, women, children, everyone. In fact, I would not be surprised if Thessaloniki's horrible pollution was not caused by traffic or industry, but from personal consumption of cigarettes alone. It's amazing that anyone there lives to the age of fifty without first succumbing to lung cancer.
As some of you may know, I have been obsessed these past few months with Albania. I don't really know why, maybe because it sounds exotic, or dangerous, or just funny. I have never met anyone who has been there or even wanted to go there. The only guidebook for Albania describes it as "infuriating". That's it, I just had to go. I caught an overnight bus from Thessaloniki to Tirana, the capital of Albania. Of course, the bus dropped me off in the suburbs at 4am. I hiked 3 miles into the city with my huge pack and slept in a park until the sun came up. I immediately fell in love with the place. Everyone I met was really friendly. Policemen would salute & smile as I passed. It had a communist feel(grand boulevards and huge socialist-style statues), but with a Mediterranean twist(the Soviet era apartment building are painted in pastel stripes and there is a great cafe culture). The food is a mix of Italian and Greek. And best of all it's super cheap. I have no doubt that in a few years it's going to be one of the hip "new" destinations. Buy property here while you still can.
-Shawn

here is the itinerary of our trip, in the case you don't know it.

09/03/07 (Mon) Portland, OR – NYC

09/04/07 (Tue) NYC– Reykjavik, ICELAND

09/08/07 (Sat) Reykjavik, ICELAND – London, ENGLAND

09/12/07 (Wed) London, ENGLAND – Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS

09/15/07 (Sat) Shawn: Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS – Munich, GERMANY
09/15/07 (Sat) Yo: Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS – Berlin, GERMANY

09/16/07 (Sun) – 10/06/07 (Sat)
Shawn: Munich, GERMANY – Venice, ITALY – ALBANIA -
GREECE (Mt. Olympus) – Istanbul, TURKEY

Yo: Berlin, GERMANY – Prague, CZECH – Vienna, AUSTRIA –Krakow, POLAND (Auschwitz) – Budapest, HUNGARY – Beograd, SERBIA -Istanbul, TURKEY

10/06/07 (Sat) – 12/13/07 (Thu) TURKEY - SYRIA – Beirut, LEBANON – JORDAN – Jerusalem, ISREAL - EGYPT

12/14/07 (Fri) Cairo, EGYPT – Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

12/15/07 (Sat) Dubai, U.A.E. – Delhi, INDIA

12/16/07 (Sun) – 02/20/08 (Wed) INDIA

02/21/08 (Thu) Mumbai, INDIA – Hong Kong

02/25/08 (Mon) Hong Kong – Osaka, JAPAN

03/02/08 (Sun) Shawn: Osaka, JAPAN – Portland, OR

03/17/08 (Mon) Yo: Osaka, JAPAN – Portland, OR

yesterday i was walking to the main station in prague, on my way i met mio's(mio is a restraunt i work in portland) customer. i just couldn't beieve it!!! it's a very very small world.

there are so many tourits here, especially tour groups...i saw a lots of japanese groups too. speaking of japanese, this japanese guy was staying same room in the hostel i stay. so we went to drink beer from afternoon today, why not? it's sooo cheap here. 20oz pilsner is only $1.50 oh yeah! give me another one!

tomorrow i'm heading to south of czech, called cesky krumlov by train. it'll be fun to take a train.

yo