England is a fortunate country is that we tend to be very interested and eager to learn from other countries, which is why the ‘little Englander’ politicians tend to not ever gain success. Let’s see what we can learn from our international neighbours, and learn some interesting facts at the same time!
Albania is a tiny country situated in eastern Europe, home to around 3 million people (the same as Wales). Mostly known as being the home to Mother Teresa, it used to belong to Italy until 1943, but now is independent.
If you visit Albania, know that nodding and shaking your head is the other way around. Nodding means no, and shaking means yes!
Albanians love to go for an evening walk
Just like Italians, Albanians like to go for a walk after dinner, to partake in gentle exercise and chat with local people. The shop hours here are rather like southern Europe (open early, shut for a few hours at lunch then open till late), so sometimes these late-night walks don’t end until near midnight. This is a great idea if we had more walkable communities, to get some fresh air and stretch our legs, rather than just park in front of the TV all night! Some councils even close roads to traffic every evening, so people can take their ‘xhiro’.
Albania’s capital city has no McDonalds
This only happens in a few capital cities on earth, and Tirana is one of them. This beautiful city of stunning churches and gorgeous parks has a strong street food culture, so there is no need. Local people sell local food to other local people! So you can order a local Byrek from a street cart – but not a Big Mac!
The Devon town of Tavistock became the first in England, where the local branch of McDonalds had to close down due to lack of custom, and move staff to Plymouth. Known for its farmers markets, one local said ‘We feed our children properly here, so McDonald’s couldn’t survive’.
Albanian buses don’t use timetables
Unlike here (where our often infrequent or nearly non-existent buses have complicated timetables at bus stops), in Albania, the bus system is pretty good, but the buses simply turn up and then set off when the bus has enough passengers. It may seem daft, but it seems to work better than here! Read more on how to make bus transport more appealing.
Albanians won’t pay unfair taxes
In 1995, local people in Shkodër were asked to pay a £13 traffic light tax, even though the city has no traffic lights! So they simply refused. They may have to pay soon, as the city is soon to gain its first set of traffic lights. Before that everyone used roundabouts. Albanians are not known for their sensible driving (most people own Mercedes) so always look both ways, before crossing the road!
Albania has a third of all Europe’s flowers.
Unlike our sporadic ‘Britain in Bloom’ projects, in Albania there are flowers everywhere. Mostly in its national parks, which bloom all year round. Our public parks could do with more pet-safe flowers, rather than skateboard parks.
Albanians can take their alcoholic spirits!
Raki is the national (aniseed licorice) drink (also in Turkey) and it’s extremely strong. Commercial versions are usually strong enough, but most people who try the homemade version made in local villages are out cold after just one sniff! Even the coffee is so strong that you may find it gives you the jitters!
