We went to Tirana, Albania last July mainly because it was one Balkan country we didn't get to visit last year when we traveled to other countries in the region. Back in the summer of 2024, we made it to Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Serbia but not Tirana. Honestly, I was a bit apprehensive going back to the Balkans mainly due to the image many other travelers have of the region. In fact, the afternoon before our departure from London, there was one Italian lady tourist behind us at Buckingham Palace who made a comment about Albania. She said that her husband wanted to go there but she didn't. She was scared and felt that the country wasn't safe for tourists. You can just imagine how I felt upon hearing what she said.

As previously planned, we made our way to London first before going to Albania because there were no direct flights from Iceland. Travel to London was not in our original plan but we had to go there since flying out of London was a lot better than flying from Reykjavik where we were. We ended up staying four days in the UK. Anyway, once our brief trip to the UK was over, we simply walked early one morning from our Premier Inn Hotel in Heathrow to the terminal where we were supposed to check in and fly from. Our flight from London to Tirana was packed. Most of the passengers traveling with us were native Albanians returning home for a vacation. Their children all spoke English either with an American or British accent.

We arrived early in the afternoon and going through immigration was a breeze. We simply placed our passport on the turnstile and we didn't have to face any officer at all. It was that easy. Too bad. I was hoping to get another stamp on my passport. Getting our bags from the carousel took a long time. But, I was happy just the same. I was in country #119!