Monday, March 23, 2015

Enjoying sunshine

[caption id="attachment_2631" align="alignnone" width="660"]Enjoying sunshine Enjoying sunshine[/caption]

Friday, March 20, 2015

Eclipse as seen from Tirana

[caption id="attachment_2625" align="aligncenter" width="660"]Eclipse Eclipse as seen from Tirana, 20 March 2015[/caption]

Thursday, March 19, 2015

View from balcony

View from balcony

The view from our summer apartment. Shamelessly I'll promote it here as well, in case anyone is visiting Albania this year. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5509812

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Spring Day - Dita e Veres

Scanderbeg Statue

Spring Day (we actually call it Summer Day) is celebrated every 14 March in Albania.

According to some sources, Dita e Verës derives from the Arbëreshë, an Albanian community that lives in Italy since the fifteenth century. On 14 March, the Arbëreshë of the Italian coast, collect a tuft of grass roots and soil, bringing it home to commemorate the anniversary of their emigration from Albania. In fact, some sources date back this celebration to the ancient Illyria. At that time, the feast was celebrated on 1 March, which according to the Julian calendar, corresponded to the first day of the year.