- What hits you but you can't hit back? You are right - the heat! -
I personally prefer cooler weather, but now I have to live with 38 C during the day. At night it hardly cools down - 27 C low one night. So you can imagine how it is to sleep here! The best idea for anyone is to stay at home or to go to a cafe or a nice cool shop. Fortunately the shops are open till 11 pm so we can do our grocery shopping in the evening.
The nature is very nice here, with many figs, palms and shrubs. There is an orange tree growing below our balcony. What is very striking here are the abundance electric cables, tangled almost like spaghetti - out of a tree, through a tree, from house to house, from street to street. What I love the most is the view on the mountains. They kind of remind me of my home with the view on the alps.
Now my first week in Tirana is over and every street still looks the same to me. But I'm sure it'll get better, exploring everything by foot - we are are not allowed to drive a car or any other vehicle.
Short funny story:
On my first day in Tirana I met my new work colleagues in one of the numerous cafes. (Of course, it's quite usual in Albania to hold meetings in a cafe) Anyone who knows me knows that I do not like coffee, therefore I ordered a hot chocolate . After paying for my drink, I sat down and waited. When I received my order, I was the first to wonder about the pieces of hazelnut "floating" on top of the hot cocoa. And then there was the spoon standing in my hot chocolate.... It turned out that my "hot chocolate" was a chocolate pudding! But never mind, it was still very delicious. So I'm looking forward ordering it again ;-) .
