e hënë, tetor 27, 2008

Doorway to the real Albania



I have been out running this past month. I really need to get fit AND lose some weight :-( ... at least that is what the doctor said.
I may post more about me running another day for anybody interested.

I have been running through the streets and lanes of Shkoder….and my longest run so far has been 5km….which isn’t bad, because I couldn’t run for 1 minute when I started.

Anyway, I have been enjoying running around the streets and seeing “normal” Albanian life. Yes, I do get LOTS of really strange looks and a “jogger” seems to be a strange sight in Albania. But there are some things I really like, and I am enjoying running.


One of the things that has struck me is some of the old Albanian doors to private houses. There are many of these and one street could have about 20 different kinds of doors. It is the old wooden doors that I really like.

I think to myself, what kind of story could these doors tell us if only they could speak.
What kind of joys or sorrows as people have come to celebrate weddings or attend funerals in the yard outside the house. Children leaving to go to school, or a bride leaving her family to start a new life with her husband.

I wonder who might have lived there, and when was the house built. It is funny, an open door always seems to be so inviting! As though it is saying, come inside and share a meal with us!


3 komente:

Lars tha...

Joggers are quite common in the Parku i Madhe in Tirana. But even in Tirana, a jogger in lanes far away of any park would be a strange sight.

Kolin tha...

Lars,
Agree with you on that one.

I often think it would be great to be running in the park - the lanes are often badly lit, running over roads with holes and tonight I got chased by a dog !!

Quite funny really, because my heart rate monitor and speed suddenly jumped to record readings! :-)

Anonim tha...

hard to believe, but way back in 1997 when I went to Tirane to visit the family of my Albanian exchange student, I used to run through the park early every morning. Needless to say, I (a 50 year old skinny woman in shorts) startled more than the stray dogs.

 
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