Fair enough, I trust you. I’ll keep a look out next time I’m near.
And Kyla I’m a bit jealous. I’d love to travel through Albania. Maybe I will when I finish here.
Albania even fell out with the rest of the Warsaw pact and somehow ended up in the same camp as China in the 1960s and 1970s. I have some hilarious Chinese propaganda comics from that era.
Perversely, the pillboxes might now become a tourist attraction, and the Albanians will finally get a return on their investment.
Was that part of Hoxha’s crazy though, or due to Stalin’s pressure to crack down on Titoism?
Hoxha was xenophobic to the extreme. Including Stalin. This is why he had no friends anywhere: his very existence was an offense to any non-commmunist, and he hated the entire fricking Warsaw Pact.
It’s pretty good. The row of shops at the top of the hill down towards Norbury is all closing down, presumably to be redeveloped, and there are the odd bits of excitement occurring up in Streatham, but we’re sat in the middle with not a lot happening. They’ve renovated the station, and are gradually tarting the area up. How long ago did you move out? I’ve only been here about a year and nine months.
No, Hoxha was a great admirer of Stalin, and didn’t break with the Soviet Union until after Stalin’s death.
[hijack continues]15 years ago, but I still have a flat in Crystal Palace, although I live abroad at present. Used to get mugged quite regularly crossing the Common, but it’s come up in the world since then![/hijack ends]
I recommend it. Albania is beautiful and the people are really welcoming and friendly, along the lines of Turks. Stop by Ohrid in MK, too, it’s fantastic. I’m going to retire there. (Hopefully by then Macedonia will be a bit better connected to the rest of Europe.)
It’s probably the wildest travelling experience you can have in Europe, though. Makes Bulgaria look wealthy and developed in comparison.
Urp, you’re right.