Before traveling anywhere, most people search for a few insider tips on what to expect, how to conduct yourself, and the best times and places to visit. In this video I went over all of those things so that anyone who is hoping to visit the country will get all the information they need. I discuss the currency, how to get around, the language, where to stay, and more!
If you have ever considered coming to Albania, be sure to watch this video before you arrive!
There are two main ways of getting from the Tirana International Airport to the center of the city; taxi and bus. I will give a quick rundown of both of them, but I’ll be honest, the video is very short and simple and easy to follow.
A taxi from just outside the center to the airport cost me 2000 lek ($17.50 USD) when I last went. It was super easy, simple and quick. Just found a taxi driver parked on the street and hopped in asking him how much the trip was. The pros of the taxi are that you can get them anywhere in Tirana, they take you right to the front door of the airport, and they are usually quicker than the bus. The con, however, is the price. It may not seem like a lot to tourists, but to those of us living and working in Albania it’s a bit expensive.
You can catch the bus from the middle of Tirana to the airport for 400 lek ($3.50 USD). There is a specific Airport-Center bus that parks behind the opera building right next to Skanderbeg Square (https://goo.gl/maps/AET3nGtrUTqV1eFf6). This is both the pick up to go to the airport and the drop off when you’re coming back. The bus leaves every hour, basically on the hour, from here to drive to the airport. Pros of taking the bus are that it’s very inexpensive… And that might be it. The main con is the location. If you’re staying nearby it’s fine. If you’re staying further out of town you might need to walk a bit. The bus drop off/pick up at the airport is just outside the doors next to the rental car kiosks. It’s fairly easy to find but just watch the video below if you’re concerned. Overall, the bus is a good option. Usually pretty quick and direct and plenty of space.
Again, to see how simple it all is, just watch the video. I’ll even show you exact locations and what’s around them.
A giant part of the reason I love living in Pogradec is because of Lake Ohrid. In all seasons, the lake provides incredible opportunities for photographs and is a constant source of inspiration for me. Countless people in both the Albania side and Macedonian side of the lakes depend on the lake for food, income, or livelihood. So what makes this lake so interesting, or special? I dive into the importance of the lake for the community as well as some geographical details of it in my newest video.
Two and a half years ago I got an idea for a short video series… Little did I know it would take two and a half years to finally bring it to completion.
After asking over and over about the people and places depicted on Albanian bank notes, I decided to just take matters into my own hands and do the research myself. This brought me to the idea of creating a 5 part series that went through each of the bank notes and gave a short explanation for anyone else that may be interested. To make the videos more interesting not only for myself but also the viewer, I set out to find each of the spots on the notes. After visiting Vlorë, Butrint, Krujë, Frashër, and now - finally - Vau i Dejës, I have completed that journey.
While I was attending college in northwest Georgia, I had a number of friends who were into rock climbing. Because of where our school was situated, most of the climbing took place outdoors. I wasn’t super into the climbing, so I didn’t buy any shoes for it and because my feet are larger than average, none of my friends had shoes for me to borrow. This led me to being the one in the group to either sit in a hammock and watch, or belay.
Moving forward a few years, I had a handful of jobs working with youth. A few of these jobs had outings to places that had climbing walls, but most of the time I was the one supervising and making sure the children didn’t hurt themselves. If I remember correctly, there was exactly one instance that I have ever set foot on a rock climbing wall. That is, until last week.
I had heard a few things about an indoor climbing gym in Korce, about 40 minutes away from where I live. So i took the opportunity to hang out with a friend, and try this out for the first (real) time.
A few weeks ago I asked people in my audience what sort of things they would find interesting to watch. One of my brothers replied and mentioned that he and his kids would be interested in seeing what grocery shopping looked like in Albania. So, I decided to give them a look.
Many things in Albania have become so normal to me that I forget they aren’t necessarily the typical way of life in the rest of the world. For instance, getting any fruits and vegetables from a guy on the street who has his tomatoes and apples sitting on the sidewalk in cardboard boxes. I see it every single day so I forget that it would be something novel to someone who spends most of their life in the United States.
When I first moved to Albania I was very unaware of the waterfalls. After living in Hawaii back in 2014, I had grown accustomed to exploring streams and admiring the waterfalls at the end. I didn't realize how many there were in Albania, mostly because I just didn't do enough research.
I was in Tirana this past weekend and had plans to go visit a town a little further north. When the time came, I looked at how long the drive would take and upon realizing that I didn't feel like driving a four hour round trip just to visit a small village, I decided to look for something a bit closer. That's when I stumbled upon the Shen Gjergj waterfall on Google Maps.
It was only an hour away, and through a mountain road that looked super interesting and exciting. So I made the short drive, went on a small hike, and made a video about it:
When I first started making YouTube videos I never expected it to go far, if anywhere at all. I did have one thought in my head, though, as I put my adventures and thoughts onto the platform. That thought was simply: “It would be cool to get a paycheck from Google for this.”
That was it. I was going to keep making videos no matter if I made money from Google Adsense or not, but in the back of my mind I just thought it would be fun. I kept making videos whenever I felt like it without giving that hope much thought.
Fast forward to summer 2018 as I prepped to move to Albania. I realized that there was little to no content on YouTube about the country. As someone who would always search for videos of a country before I went to visit, I was having trouble. I would see a video from BBC or maybe VICE, but there was no one personally creating content in Albania. I decided to fill that void as best as I could.
My plan was pretty simple; I would start a series entitled “My Albanian Life” and I would format it as a travel show about life, traditions, culture, and history in Albania through the eyes of a foreign host (me). I made videos about different types of traditional foods, delved into the history on bank notes, even tracked expenses to see how much 10€ could buy me in Albania.
My plan was working, I was creating content about an unknown country on the Adriatic and after a few months of weekly videos I was getting recognition for my work. I was interviewed on three national news stations, had a number of internet-based articles written about my work, and even was consistently being recognized on the street as the “American YouTuber.” I would get emails or DMs three or four times a week from people who wanted to visit or move to Albania. I became a bridge between foreigners and this country. Everything was working the way I wanted it to, and I could see my hard work was paying off. Then, in quick succession, a few things happened that threw everything off…
The first was that I got that first paycheck from the ads I was able to finally put on my videos. That initial fun thought had become a reality and it caused me to lose some of my drive to keep going. I had set a goal for myself, I reached that goal, and now I was losing the motivation of what to work for.
Secondly, I realized at the end of 2019 that basically every time I pulled out my camera during that year it was to create an episode for my “show.” I began to edit my yearly recap video and realized I had very little footage of the fun times and good memories of 2019, it was mostly scripted - often staged - moments that don’t really fit together into a feel good, nostalgic montage. When the goal of my yearly recap video is to help me remember the year, those are the moments I want to see. I was missing the parts of my year that made it special.
Third, 2020 hit. We all know what happened. But one of the biggest impacts on my work was that Albania was one of the few countries that remained open, allowing anyone to come in without tests or quarantines. While this was a great opportunity for more tourism in Albania, which was ultimately one of my goals, it had some unintended consequences. I no longer had a monopoly on Albania content on YouTube. People with far bigger platforms than myself had come and were making their own videos and slowly my videos were being pushed out of the search results due to sheer lack of views. Not a problem at all, no. Frankly, it didn’t matter at all. But that showed me that my show had run its course. It had provided the necessary information to those that wanted to come when the world was closed and Albania was open, and now the country was getting more recognition through the platforms of others.
My videos had done their job and were no longer needed.
Thank you to anyone that has watched, subscribed, shared, commented, or anything else. (except those people that stole my footage… definitely don’t thank them.)
But now it’s time for me to move on, it’s time to find a new direction for my channel and what I create. I am not leaving Albania yet, which means many of my videos may still revolve around Albania, but it’s time to make my channel my own. It’s time to include me, my life, my passions. It’s time to start anew.
