Index
Albania
Birds_Animals
Flowers_Plants
Landscapes_Others
Trains
Living in Albania
by Richard L. Bowman
by Richard L. Bowman
September 13, 2014
More from around Lezhë
This week Thursday noon, Elsie and I were walking home from the school, Lezha Academic Center and were hunting for a shop that might have a torx screwdriver. In a small hardware shop across from the main market, we found the screwdriver I wanted and a very friendly man (Paulo) who gladly served us. As we talked we found out that he was best friends with Masimo who graduated in June from LAC and is now at Canadian Mennonite University. So I will stop by often at this shop to talk and to buy tools I need.
Paulo in His Hardware Shop (11-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Yesterday just before noon, as I was working on the computers in the computer lab getting them ready for the first day of school on Monday, one of the other teachers came in and asked if I wanted to join them for pizza at Marku's. So that is what Elsie and I did. Before we left the school to walk to Marku's, Klementina told us that Loren and Earlene Horst were planning on being in Lezhë for lunch, too. So they were gladly invited to join us all.
Teachers from LAC Decided to Eat Pizza at Marku's (12-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Loren and Earlene Horst Joined Us for Lunch (12-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
After lunch on the way back to the school, we passed this small excavator digging a ditch across the street. As usual such construction caught my eye. I blame my interest on my dad who worked in stone quarries and concrete products plants a good part of his life. Or maybe it is just something that has piqued my interest since I was a little boy.
A Small Excavator Digs a Ditch across the Street (12-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Well, I better go spend a few more hours working on getting the computers ready for Monday. We are making separate accounts for tech administrators (Dini and me) and the students and teachers who will be the main users. I'm also trying to complete updating the software with all of the new patches--some of which are taking hours to download from Apple.
September 11, 2014
To Montenegro and Back
On Thursday morning, September 4, we left Lezhë by 9
a.m. heading toward Podgorica, Montenegro. On the way we stopped briefly
in Shkrodra for some coffee and a view of the
castle of Rozafa and the two rivers
that join there, the
We Stop to Drink Coffee and View the Beauty of the Shkodra Region (4-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
We changed seats a bit after that stop and the "front seat" drivers where then Elsie and Klementina!
Elsie and Klementina Lead from the Front Seat of the Van (4-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
By early afternoon we arrived at the Hotel M Nikić in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. We all splurged on a family-styole authentic local cuisine meal nearby and rested before heading out to see more of the city in late afternoon and evening.
Hotel M Nikić in Podgorica, Montenegro (4-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Right oustside of the hotel entrance, one finds the city scene shown below. While there is a lot of modern buiodings in the3 city, there are also many older and less-well preserved buildings, too.
The Intersection Outside of Our Hotel (4-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
One ancient historical site is the clock tower dating from the days of the Ottoman Emmpire in the 18th Century. We walked past the tower on the way to our "royal" lunch.
The Clock Tower in Podgorica (4-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
A Close-up of The Clock Tower in Podgorica (4-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Steve and Laura Campbell have been living and working with a Brethren church in Podgorica for several years. They had just returned a week earlier from a several month visit to the USA. The lively daughters, Ruth (four years old) and Esther (two) were a nice3 addition to our group for some time in the afternoon and into the evening. We enjoyed their antics as we waiting until we were all gathered to do some walking in the city.
Esther and Ruth Playing on the Carpet of the Hotel (4-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
During the past two years, 22-year-old sculpturer, Danilo Baletic, has been doting the Podgorica cityscape with large statues of transformers made from scrap metal. We passed just two of them in our walk in the area near the hotel.
Dini in the Clutches of a Transformer Statue (4-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
A Military-inspired Transformer Statue (4-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Coming in at 46 feet high, is the above statue to commemorate the military or a commentary on the futileness of trying to solve world problems by force. Something to ponder.
A little past the statues, we entered an outdoor area of a coffee bar for some space to visit and have some refreshments. This time Josh did not have to order two cappuccinos but rather just one big one!
Josh ands His Large Cappuccino (4-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
It began to rain while we were drinking our coffee and other refreshments, and it just did not want to let up. So we finally got two taxicabs and went to the mall to see what the "upper side" of Podgorica life is like. After strolling around for awhile and eating ice cream cones, Elsie and I stopped at the local grocery store in the mall to get some bottled water and snacks for the evening at the hotel. I was intrigued by the "missional" stance of the poster inviting visitors into the store. "Blend in with locals in grocery stores." That is something more to ponder!
How Are We Doing at Blending in with the Locals? (4-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
As we came down along the coast of the Adriatic Sea, we stopped briefly in Ulcinj (Ulqin, in Albanian). It is a beach resort town for tourists but with lovely scenic views, too.
The View of Ulcinj as Seen before We Arrived There (5-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
Across the inlet from where we ended up, someone in our group noted a man flying in the air in some kind of water rocket from a jet ski. My short search of the web incicated that this was my first view of a Zapata Racing Flyboard in action. At somewhere around $7000 USD, this will not be a toy I will ever own.
A Zapata Racing Flyboard or Lookalike (5-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
After getting our appetite honed by watching people dong water sports, we drove on just a bit further until Dini found us a shop that offered fresh byrek--with cheese or with meat. I had one with meat, and it was very very good!! Thanks, Dini!
We All Enjoyed Our Byrek (4-Sep-14; © Richard L. Bowman)
We arrived back in Lezhë late in the afternoon on Friday--tired but renewed.
--©2014, Richard L. Bowman
Response Form