I choose my travel destinations in varying ways. For some destinations I do a lot of planning and researching before I go. Yet other destinations I choose on a very short notice and with little or no preparations.

Among all the travels I did and places I visited the ones that came from just a hunch turned out to be the best. And Tirana was one such destination.

Dear Reader needs to know that I have made it a habit to visit my native Europe every year. To visit family and friends and to expose my 9-year-old daughter to half of her cultural heritage.

So when planning this year’s Europe trip and the destinations we wanted to go I had this intuition, this hunch to visit Tirana, the capital of Albania. Don’t ask me why…

At first I had some ‘security / safety’ concerns. But those were quickly dispersed when I went online and read a few articles that addressed this issue.

Let me first set the stage with some photographs from Tirana:

Let me start by telling you what Tirana is not.

Tirana is not a spectacular city with lots of attractions. It has very little in terms of impressive old architecture. Let alone impressive new architecture.

In fact, it has very little in terms of what one could consider places of interest for tourists. And therein lays the charm of Tirana. More on this later.

So, if you as a visitor come to Tirana to sample the grandeur and cultural heritage of Europe you will be disappointed.

And it is exactly this lack of what makes so many European cities great which makes Tirana: PLESANT.

I am certain that for the foreseeable future Tirana will remain ‘non-touristy’ and an ‘underdog’ among Europe’s capitals as tourist destination. And this is good news as far as I am concerned.

It’s pace. Tirana is slow. The people have time. Time to sit down and enjoy a conversation over a coffee, a beer or a glass of wine.

Nothing is far in Tirana. It’s all within walking distance. In fact, you can easily explore all of Tirana’s city center and ‘points of interest’ (whatever that is) within 2–3 hours — on foot.

There is no subway or tram system. Only a few busses, which are ridiculously cheap. But chances are you won’t them anyway. And for the more lazy ones there are also plenty of taxis.

Because I was travelling with my daughter and my son I did not use a bicycle during my time in Tirana. However, Tirana is certainly ‘good enough’ for bikers. Why I say ‘good enough’ ? Because there are no dedicated bicycle lanes on the streets as most other European cities. But traffic, when compared to other European capital cities, is relatively light.

The good news for bikers is that nobody gives a rat’s ass if you drive on pedestrian ways or wherever you want. Everything goes and the cops don’t care.

Tirana is dotted with cafes and restaurants that invite to sit down and enjoy some ‘out-time’. There are spacious outdoor cafes and restaurants everywhere. The standard of service ranges between good and excellent.

Another aspect that appealed very much to me is the absence of mega-brands in Tirana. No Starbucks, none of the fast-food brands. And even in the few modern shopping malls you will not find the usual suspects of clothing brands.

No billboards and large advertising boards in Tirana.

So, in a way it is what Tirana does not have that makes it so charming.

To understand what Tirana is today one needs to look at the role two people played in Tirana’s histroy.

A villain and a hero!

The villain first: Enver Hoxia. He was the brutal dictator who ruled Albania for decades. Up until the late 80ies. And his legacy on Tirana is an extensive bunker system below the city. Above ground though he left a faceless grey-in-grey city with very little development.

He even erected his own forbidden city where he and his party cadres took up residence. Right in the center of Tirana. And this area was completely off-limits for the common man.

That area is now called Blocku and has been turned into Tirana’s ‘hipster’ area. Fancy restaurants, funky boutiques and a lot of Tirana’s youth culture took up residence here. A lively area and definitely a must-go place when visiting Tirana.

Which brings us to the hero. The famous Albanian basketball player, turned artist, turned politician: Adi Rama. Nowadays democratically elected Prime minister of Albania.

Under his tenure, as the mayor of Tirana the city underwent significant development and a turn for the better.

He demolished hundreds of illegal and dilapidated buildings which covered almost the entire stretch of the inner-city Tirana river and turned it into a nice green zone. He also ordered for many of the ugly communist area buildings to be painted in bright colors. As a consequence, nowadays Tirana has lots of pleasantly looking colorful and funky facades.

Adi Rama also, against popular resistance, turned the main square of Tirana (Skanderbeg square) from Tirana’s most congested traffic spot into a huge and very pleasant pedestrians-only zone. All successful projects as you can see from the following photographs:

Although these two indulgences are not typically consumed together they are very prominent in Tirana.

Coffee culture I suppose is a heritage from the time the Italians invaded and ruled Albania. Why Albanians are so much into cheese I have yet to figure out.

Consequently, the city of Tirana is dotted with small cafes and people always seem to find time to sit down for a coffee. The coffee in Tirana is always good. In fact, I only had excellent coffee.

Eating out in Tirana has also always been very pleasant. I experienced the food in Albania to be sort of a mix between Balkan food and Greek food. Due to Albania’s geographical proximity to Italy there is also lots of Italian food on offer.

There is also a tiny bit of international cuisine.

Firstly, I have never seen some many shoe shops and shoe maker shops like in Tirana. Why is that so ? I have no clue and if any of you dear readers have any explanation for that I would love to hear from you.

What I loved about Tirana’s shops and shopping culture is how basic it is. Tirana still has shops that look like from the 50ies or 60ies.

I know I am romanticizing ! I know that many would consider this way of doing business being an indicator of a weak and less developed economy. I get it !

Yet, as a visitor it is… well, charming.

In the following I would like to show you some photographs of shops, shop windows and ways of doing business that provide a window into the past.

What do I mean by that ? In Tiana I saw many shops that seem to be completely untouched by modernity. Sometimes even the merchandise on offer seems to be from a bygone aera. At times Tirana feels like a time capsule from the middle of the last century.

Also, in Tirana you can see a lot of one-person-businesses. Which reminded me a lot of Asia. And I love that in Tirana, it is still possible for a person who wants to do business to simply go and offer one’s merchandise, one’s service or one’s produce on the street.

Readers from Asia may ask what’s the big deal. Well, in Western Europe, the Europe that considers itself developed and ahead a person will need a gazillion of permits thus making it impossible to conduct such one-person-businesses.

In over 15 years I never used the pursuit of taking photographs for ‘therapeutic reasons’. But there is a first time for everything.

The photographs I show you in this project are strongly influenced by a difficult emotional state in which I found myself during a recent visit to Taiwan. Let me explain.

This trip coincided with a very difficult self-finding mission. A ‘skin-shedding’ process of some sort. How far these photographs reflect my ‘inner journey’ I can’t say. I leave this up to your judgment.

What I can say with certainty is making those photos has helped me to overcome trauma. On many levels. On one side it distracted me from the constant stream of negative thought and emotions that were occupying my mind most of the time.

The main impact of photographic pursuit as a means of therapy, however, was felt only once I returned from Taiwan and started to edit and sort through the photographs.

Because while I was taking the photos I had the feeling that I was not able to get any ‘keepers’. Probably because I was so in tune with my misery that whatever I did was tainted by ‘negativity’.

I was very surprised that actually among the rather few images I took there were quite a few good ones. What made me even happier was that many of the photographs I took were different from what I normally do.

I essence the photographs brought back some ‘happiness’ and a sense of fulfillment.

And joy and fulfillment are for me, above all, what SLOW PHOTOGRAPHY is about.

Because of the personal significance of this trip, from which I feel I returned as a different person, I will open this series of photographs with a self-portrait that very much reflects my mood upon arriving in Taiwan.

And please stay tuned until the last photo which shows me after the personal metamorphosis I underwent during this one month in the great country of Taiwan.

Those following my work as a travel photographer and writer will know that I always try to move around the places I visit on bicycle. And this Taiwan trip was no exception.

The plan was to get a decent used bike in Taipei, and then when leaving Taiwan shipping it back to Indonesia.

The reality was quite different though. Let me tell you the story:

I did not want to waste time searching around for a used bike in Taipei. So I contacted in advance a guy who was recommended to me as the ‘used-bikes-guy’. And told him that I was in search of a city bike. A bike that would allow me to cruise around the cities I planned to visit. Nothing fancy I told said. I also said I would not want to spend to much.

What he showed up with was not what I expected. It was the kinda bike the average housewife would use to run errands. You know the kinda bike that has a basket mounted in the front for the groceries. So at first I was kinda ‘disappointed’.

But it had 18 gears, the breaks worked (almost) flawlessly and it was actually totally o.k. for my purposes. In fact on the day when I got the bike I was so happy to be on a bike again that I cruised around Taipei for over an hour in the evening in pouring rain.

A few weeks before going to Taiwan I learned that it was perfectly o.k. to bring a bicycle on a train in Taiwan. It almost sounded to be to good to be true.

I learned my first lesson when I went to Taipei main station to purchase my ticket for Taichung. I was told that from Taipei main station only the high-speed trains operate and those do not allow bikes.

I was sent off to another train station in Taipei. The station where the ‘normal’ trains leave from. By normal trains I am talking about the ones that stop at each and every station along the way. The ones which are ‘slow’. And slow being an understatement here.

Purchasing the tickets for me and the bike was a breeze. But the first ride from Taipei to Taichung was anything but a breeze. The kinda train I was put on was more like a subway where most people were standing and with few seats.

Totally packed!! So I had to squeeze myself in with all my lugage and the bike. Standing, with one hand holding the bike and with the other hand holding a handle. HELL !! Were I to be in that horrible position for four hours — the time it takes to reach Taichung from Taipei ?

Fortunately after an hour or so the train emptied significantly and I could sit down. I still had to hold on to the bike. But it was OK.

The second trip from Taichung to Kaohsiung was much better. That train had a special car for bikes and / or wheelchairs and was empty from the start. I could fix my bike and sit comfortably all the way.

Those are Taiwan’s 3 largest cities. And having visited them all I think some sort of comparison is in order.

All 3 of those cities are huge metropolises with at least 2.5 Mill inhabitants. So they are large. And there are for sure more similarities than differences…

Taipei, the capital does not really have one distinct center. It rather has a few different areas, all with a distinctive character. I would say Taipei is a sufficiently pleasant city. But not really a city that needs to be on everyone’s bucket list. As a tourist, you can easily explore all the sites that are relevant in 2,3 days. Although to get a sense of the vibe of Taipei you will need more time.

Taichung is different. The overall pace of the city feels the same as in the capital. However, it feels a bit quieter. The museums are great. So are the traditional markets — which happen to feel still pretty much ‘traditional’.

Taichung is not a good place for bicycles though. Hardly any dedicated bicycle lanes. Yet, still manageable.

Don’t come to Taichung if you want to see tourist sites / tourist places. There aren’t any to speak of.

Kaohsiung: Those who have read my other 2 articles (here and here) about Kaohsiung will know that this is my favorite place in Taiwan. And this has not after this trip. In fact my ‘affection’ for Kaohsiung has rather strengthened. All in all I have now already spend almost a month in Kaohsiung and still found new places I have not seen before.

Kaohsiung is the best of all cities in Taiwan for bicycle. It is the greenest of all cities. It has pleasant spots like its old harbor, huge inner-city green areas, nice night markets, even a beach. It has Taiwan’s most beautiful temples, an art center, great cuisine and is overall simply a livable city. And I am sure I will return to Kaohsiung again.

I hope you have enjoyed this essay of photographs from Taiwan. If you want to see more of my photographs from Taiwan then visit:

KAOHSIUNG — ASIA’S MOST RELAXED METROPOLIS

THE TEMPLES OF KAOHSIUNG

If you want to learn more about what SLOW PHOTOGRAPHY is about and how you can benefit from it please join:

Truly’ – DOMINIK