Tirana in the Rain

The cat looks a little suspicious when I arrive

It's always a joy to be in Tirana, whatever the weather's like. Once again, I stayed in the lovely apartment of Albanian Trip, in the Rruga Dibres.

The evening I arrived there were only banners of clouds in the sky, stationary and innocent of rain. I went out walking through some familiar streets – Rruga Myslym Shyri, Sami Frasheri, Vaso Pasha, where I used to live. I remember when the banks of the Lana river were first planted with trees (and before then, when they were lined with buildings – illegal ones, which were pulled down to turn the slopes by the river into green and grassy areas) and how these trees have grown tall and leafy, spreading their branches to give shade. The setting sun caught the tips of some of these trees, turning them golden and light gleamed on the surface of the river.

 



 



The next day it rained most of the morning, with occasional bursts of thunder. The sounds came in waves and pulses, the heavy drumming of rain on roofs, on the tiles of the terrasse, on the canvas awning  over the swing seat, on the metal water tank next door, on the corrugated tin of the shed in the yard downstairs. The sound increased, became urgent, not slowly  but suddenly like stage directions from an unseen manager of sound effects. The dripping from a leaking pipe onto the porch roof turned into a steady stream, another stream came from the roan pipe of the old building next door, and there was the constant beguiling patter on the leaves of the trees in the yard that screen the building from the main road and the tall modern glass buildings opposite.


When it paused I went out, and managed to dodge most of the showers. Scanderbeg Square in central Tirana, is now a pedestrian area. When the next shower came, it cleared almost everyone from the Square.

I took shelter in a cafe off Rruga Myslym Shyri. The rain on the roof was so loud I almost had to shout my order. Such intense weather full of drama and emotion. A couple of people sheltered under an awning opposite. As the thunder boomed, the waiter valiantly used a brush to sweep water out of the cafe porch onto the street.

Colourful buildings near Scanderbeg Square were bedecked with flags and ribbons

Albania is a strong supporter of the EU!