Impressions of a trip to Albania
Viktor Cabúk, Jakub Kozák, Peto Gábriš and Andrej Hudek are a group of young Slovaks who visited Albania this week. A trip beginning in Albania before continuing to Montenegro and Croatia ended with plenty of adventures and a love for Tirana and Albanians, a love Andrej made permanent with a tattoo on his forearm.
Together with David Friedel, a Czech friend, they said they had heard very little about Albania. “We only knew it was a Muslim country, that was all. In fact, when we told our other friends we were going to see Albania, they made it sound as though we would have a boring time. But it really is very beautiful here. We like the people, they are extremely friendly, and the country offers lots of possibilities,” said Jakub, who said he was studying computer science in Slovakia. The only thing they were not particularly keen on in Tirana was the hot weather, apparently because our friends from Slovakia were not used to temperatures like these.
The young men in the group were mostly computer science and law students, aged 21–23. The biggest “character” among them was Andrej, who said he had lived in Birmingham, Britain, until his teenage years. Andrej told us that what he liked most about Albania was the brandy.
“I knew nothing about Skënderbeu, either as your national hero or as a brandy, but I have to say I like the brandy more than the hero,” he said, laughing. Beyond the brandy, though, he said he also liked the flag, especially the eagle.
“In our country, friendship is offered with alcohol. If someone accepts your drink, they become your best friend. I get the impression that is not how it works here,” added Andrej, who said he had socialised a great deal with young people in Tirana. 
“Everyone is friendly to you. For example, we did not know the way, but simply by asking we managed to find all the places we wanted to see. In Czechia, and in Slovakia too, nobody pays you any attention or speaks to you in the street. We are a little colder,” said David.
The young men then told us about their countries and the differences between Czechs and Slovaks. Here they joked with the Czech friend travelling with them. They liked the history of the Albanians, and Jakub said it was a beautiful thing to hear of one people helping another gain freedom. On Kosovo, though, they found it a little difficult to understand that its people and the Albanians are one.
A friendship and a souvenir tattoo
The story of their visit began 3 years earlier, when Matilda Karçanaj and Lutjona Lula, two Albanian students, met Jakub at a summer camp in Russia. At the time, the two Albanian women were trying to teach the other campers about our language and country. To show them his own country, Jakub organised a reunion for everyone in Bratislava, Slovakia, soon after the camp. After that, it was Albania’s turn to be visited, with Matilda and her friend ready to show them everything.
The group, which recorded every adventure with a camera, told us it had enjoyed some very funny moments, such as cutting David’s hair in the street. But one of the most meaningful gestures was Andrej’s. The 21-year-old Slovak got an eagle tattoo.
“It is a nice way to remember a country you visit. You have a very beautiful national symbol. I really like your eagle.
It is my first time visiting, and I want to remember it forever,” Andrej said, adding that he was not worried about being mistaken for an Albanian around Europe.
Andrej said he enjoyed the locals’ appreciation of the tattoo as soon as he entered a shop. The 21-year-old Slovak said he immediately earned the shopkeeper’s respect, and the man treated him to a beer. “You offered me a beer, so now we really have become friends. That is the language of friendship that breaks through borders,” Andrej said.
Interestingly, our friends particularly liked Tirana’s artificial lake. “It looks like a mini-Geneva. The lights, the calm, the park and then the young people there are great,” said Peto Gábriš.
A group that probably differed little from others visiting Albania, but that took away a memory that will stay with Andrej, at least, forever.