This weekend Albania is expecting a prominant visitor from the U.S.! Albanians do a fantastic job of hosting visitors so I can easily imagine the excitement in the air described in this article:
http://www.birn.eu.com/en/86/10/3168/ ("Eurphoric Welcome Awaits Bush")
My mom also happens to be in Tirana right now and provided the companion photo (above) to this account. During our visit in December we were told that Albania has the highest approval rating of the US of any country in the world (this article offers some enlightening explanations, primarily that Pres Woodrow Wilson saved Albania from partition after WWI), so I'm not too surprised that they're pulling out all the stops to greet our president. On a personal note, I'm also glad that we can tell Ellie that her old country and new country have enjoyed such a good relationship.
Last summer we happened to be in Budapest the same time President Bush made a visit and needless to say, it crimped our plans a bit one particular day, but it was cool to ride around town and see the stars and stripes hanging next to the Hungarian flag over a number of intersections downtown. We didn't try to be anywhere around where his motorcade planned to travel though, and settled for watching the hoopla on the TV. In this Sunday's case, residents of Tirana have been told their cell phones will encounter a blackout.
While I'm posting links, I want to encourage anyone who has ever flown into Rinas (Albania's airport) to link to my parents' blog to see photos (June 4 post) of the new airport. All I can say is, "Wow." It's hard to believe it's the same place we were 5 months ago!
http://www.birn.eu.com/en/86/10/3168/ ("Eurphoric Welcome Awaits Bush")
My mom also happens to be in Tirana right now and provided the companion photo (above) to this account. During our visit in December we were told that Albania has the highest approval rating of the US of any country in the world (this article offers some enlightening explanations, primarily that Pres Woodrow Wilson saved Albania from partition after WWI), so I'm not too surprised that they're pulling out all the stops to greet our president. On a personal note, I'm also glad that we can tell Ellie that her old country and new country have enjoyed such a good relationship.
Last summer we happened to be in Budapest the same time President Bush made a visit and needless to say, it crimped our plans a bit one particular day, but it was cool to ride around town and see the stars and stripes hanging next to the Hungarian flag over a number of intersections downtown. We didn't try to be anywhere around where his motorcade planned to travel though, and settled for watching the hoopla on the TV. In this Sunday's case, residents of Tirana have been told their cell phones will encounter a blackout.
While I'm posting links, I want to encourage anyone who has ever flown into Rinas (Albania's airport) to link to my parents' blog to see photos (June 4 post) of the new airport. All I can say is, "Wow." It's hard to believe it's the same place we were 5 months ago!
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