With regard to the success or not, of the process there is no one else better the OSCE to issue a statement or final verdict, that is why I would like to forward on to you a preliminary statement made today:

In a statement issued today, the International Election Observation Mission concluded that Albania’s election process demonstrated improvements, but also noted that violations persist.

The observers said the elections marked tangible progress with regard to the introduction of new voter registration and identification procedures, and the adoption of an improved legal framework.

But the observers also noted that these improvements were overshadowed by the politicization of technical aspects of the process and violations observed during the campaign which undermined public confidence in the electoral process.

Election day was overall calm and peaceful and the atmosphere was improved. Observers assessed the voting process slightly more positively than in previous elections, but noted procedural violations related in particular to inking procedures and widespread family voting.

The mission said it was too early to make a definite assessment, as the vote count and tabulation of results have yet to be completed.

“The country has matured, it has made progress, and many of the fears we had only some months ago have not materialized. I’m certainly happy about the progress we saw, but there is also a considerable number of issues that need to be tackled, in particular the polarized political climate,” said Wolfgang Grossruck, Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observer mission.

“These elections demonstrated that the Albanian people has the whole potential for building a democratic society alike that in other European countries. Now there is a huge responsibility of the authorities and main political stakeholders to work hard in order to establish confidence among the citizens for a democratic electoral process,” said Corien Jonker, Head of the delegation of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly.

“Our report reveals positive but also some negative developments in the conduct of these elections. Progress has been achieved since the last parliamentary elections in 2005. However, greater efforts still need to be made by all political forces in order to meet demanding international standards,” said Bruce George, Head of the delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

“The new electoral code agreed to by both main political parties introduced a number of important improvements and safeguards, in particular with regard to voter registration and identification. It is unfortunate that the high level of distrust among parties, the use of official events for campaign purposes and allegations of pressure on voters did not increase public confidence in the election process,” said Ambassador Audrey Glover, Head of the long-term election observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR).

This is the link to the original text: Improvements in Albania’s election process, but violations persist, observers say.

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Great Presentational Video for Albania

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Immediately I was reminded of a friend of mine who, together with some friends, just a few months ago, took a similar trip from one end of Albania to the other.

In short, the German guy’s name is Stuntzi. he doesn’t really know where to ride through albania….

He is doing a live-report of his adventures in a mtb forum (mainly german, but lots of pictures): http://www.mtb-news.de/forum/showthread.php?t=396385

There is also an support-thread in an bosnian forum:
http://www.ciklocentar.com/forum/index.php?topic=2379.0

Maybe you have deep knowledge ‘about trails for mtbing in Albania or know the right people who can help this guy to find a way through….

Check out this link (in German) to see maps: http://www.alpenzorro.de/heraklix/

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I discovered this picture just today on Peshkupauje.com and thought it was hilarious as a transportation solution.  Who knows may be this thing might catch on and more people will start doing it, especially now during the summer .

I would love to see anyone try this in the middle of the Block area in Tirana.

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I apologize about this and hope that things will go smoothly from now on.

By the way, if you have not gotten any emails from the blog for some time, then I invite you back to visit: Albanian Blogger.

Regards,

Elvis

P.S. In the next days I will be updating my blog template. Not a major difference, just a facelift

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The main issue obviously is balancing finances with the best places for vacation. Traditionally I have always spent many a weekend roaming the beaches of southern Albania and have had the chance to visit many of them. However, every time I’ve done that I have not been led by comfort as much as by the desire for adventure, moving from location to location, often one place in the morning and another one in the afternoon. However, this year I do not want to compromise very much the comfort aspect. So need to consider my options?

If I stay in Albania, Durres I don’t even consider as an option. The water is quite dirty and there are so many people and noise that you don’t get much time to relax.

The Ionian coast is the best option, however, the range of beaches and locations on the coast is not well balanced with comfort conditions or prices.  As I don’t like beaches with too many people, I know I will stay away from Vlora’s main beach area, however, there are so many smaller beaches from there on toward the south that you only have to pick and choose which is best. The Albanian Riviera remains gorgeous, even if you’re just driving along.

Another great advantage is the newly paved roads from Vlora to Saranda, with smaller patches still under construction, but now it is so much easier and faster to move up and down the coast line. So I will definitively consider it.

Going abroad

The other option, will be to go abroad in one of the three top locations where Albanians like to go: Montenegro, Turkey and Greece.

Montenegro: The option of going abroad is also very viable especially in terms of the balance of comfort and price. Montenegro, has been my first choice for majority of my vacations abroad.  I have been to all the major cities, several times, I have traveled up and down the coast sometimes twice a day for a whole week, so there is not much new for me to discover there. However, I still like it, as do my parents whom go there as often as they get a chance.

Greece: I have to admit that I have never been to Greece, but for more patriotic reasons I don’t care to go there. I know that this year the prices have come down due to the current financial crisis and the county’s concerns that the number of turists will drop considerably. But still I am not sufficiently tempted to go. I know that the time will come and so I am not in a hurry.

Turkey on the other side has been a nice discovery for many Albanians. Many of my friends, even my parents, have been there a few times and despite an incident last year, they have had a good time nevertheless.

But my main concern is that if I go to Turkey then I will not be able to move around as much as I like because the vacation locations are all somewhat distant from major cities and other historical locations.

Italy: For me this is the land I have still to discover. But the problem is that I do not want to go to Italy so that I can go to the beach, I want to visit all the major cities like Rome, Firenze and Venice. So for now I will have to pass as I have another plan to do a car tour in the near future.

I would love to hear your suggestions…

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I am talking about Albanian youth and politicians who use them for their own political campaigns, thus exploiting their innocence and youthful look to decorate their political stages while they fill you with ‘hope’ about what they are going to do in order to get your vote.

That is all that matters. Who cares if they are exploiting our youth and meanwhile saying anything necessary to ensure their own political future.

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Here is an inverview after the first rehearsal. I’d like to hear some of your thoughts as well…

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Here comments…

1. A EUR20/night one star hotel in Himara sometimes has no hot water.

2. A EUR100/night five star hotel in Saranda sometimes has no hot water.

3. Himara is now 20 minutes drive from Dhermi, thanks to a new coastal road.

4. Sometimes your favourite seafood restaurant in Saranda from 2008 is no longer your favourite in 2009.

5. Berisha travels via helicopter.

6. Ksamil is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in my life.

7. Saranda is booming, and may overtake Gjirokastra as the southern hub of Albania.

8. Police in Gjirokastra are petty and mean.

9. Permet is the city of “cannot find any flowers” and the city of “getting lost on the way to Korca”.

10. Giving locals a lift in the car can be a major educational resource.

11. Fresh fish from the pond to the plate in 10 minutes tastes fantastic!

12. It takes 6 hours to drive from Gjirokastra to Korca.

13. Korca has great coffee, magic byrek, and a serious shortage of nice hotels

14. Thanks to a new highway, Korca to Pogradec is only 30 minutes drive

15. The view of the lake and mountains in Pogradec is just breaktaking

The final (extra) thing I learned on my drive around Albania, is that it is just so beautiful and amazing…

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Most of the work that I do is in front of a computer with Office programs as well as the Internet and Emails. Moreover, the time that I now spend with a computer has increased as I am pursuing a master’s program which requires me to read and write a lot on a computer. So the need for me to alternate the working location, besides the office and at home, is a must – whenever possible.

Luckily a laptop is the perfect tool that allows you to do that, but then you have to find a place with internet, a power outlet and good coffee or tea (for me) where you can spend that time.

In the past few months I have been discovering some of my favorite hotspot coffee bars and restaurants in Tirana, where I think you might spend some good computer time as well.

Qendra Stefan
My all time favorite is a place called Stephen Center or Qendra Stefan restaurant and coffee house, as is known by most people. It is located near the Avni Rustemi square, at the start of Rruga e Dibres, or otherwise known as “pazari i ri”. Recently I have been going there quite regularly to study. The place is completely smoke free, which for me makes it a true haven. The music can sometimes be a little of a nuisance if you are trying to focus of your latest master-project, but otherwise it’s a great place to meet with friends to study or just type away on your computer. Connection speed is sufficient for most things even watching videos on YouTube. The waiters are quite friendly and there is a good number of foreigners.

Block Area
There is now a growing number of coffee bars in the Block Area of Tirana, where you can open up your laptop and connect to a wireless hotspot, however, since I cannot cover all of them, I just limit myself to the ones I have used.

Quo Vadis
The first one, which I have used rather more often is the one called Quo Vadis, located on the first floor of what most know as the former American Bank of Albania – now Intesa Sanpaolo Bank (opposite the former dictator’s villa). If you need to check your email, meanwhile have a coffee and a smoke, then this place would do for you. It can get rather noisy and full of young people, but other than that it is quite nice. Internet connection is good and rather stable if you need to download stuff.

Diesel & Colin’s
Both of these coffee bars are located on the same street with Quo Vadis. Internet connection is sufficient however, the tables are not always the best to accommodate your laptop, nor are there sufficient power outlets if you need one.

UFO University coffee bar
I have not used it personally but several of my friends have and they say that it is good enough. The place is rather crowded most of the time but the evening it tends to calm down as the students from the university are gone and it’s mostly adults. Internet connection seed good, from what I could try from my cell phone as I was standing outside on the street in front of the bar.

Tirana Bar – open 24/7
I discovered this place only recently thanks to my good old friend Gjergj, with whom I met the other day to work on one of my master’s assignments. We met at about 10:30 PM and stayed at this place till 12:30 AM, then I went back a little later to work till 2:30 AM.  The place is frequented by lonely couples or groups of guys who like to discuss at relatively elevated voice levels, while smoking a cigarette or drinking a beer, as they were doing when I was there on the weekend.

Rogner Hotel  – open 24/7
Another place that I know of but have not been yet, is the lobby of the Rogner Hotel located on the main Tirana boulevard near the Prime Minister’s and Albanian Parliament offices. The place is a hotel, so it is rather safe even at night and smoke free due to open wide spaces in the bar area of the lobby.

I can think of several more, but I’ll leave it at this for now and have you suggest your favorite wireless hotspot locations in Tirana.

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