Solo Adventures:  Ron to Amsterdam and Marilynn to Albania

While Marilynn buses west to hike in the Albanian Alps, I take a train north to get stoned in Amsterdam. The photos below depict potential dangers of marijuana and hash.

Bicycles. More bicycles than people in Amsterdam. Over two-thirds of the population pedal to work and back daily.

As a pedestrian, you must walk with your head on a swivel, and still feel a shocking wind when they whiz past. Watching out for buses, trams, trains, and cars proves much easier to spot and negotiate than the hordes of speeding bicyclists. Not to worry, as these are expert riders. They begin pedaling at the age of two. In addition to that, public transportation, with an array of buses, trams, and trains, is so easy to use that even I figure it out quickly.

“God made the earth, but the Dutch made The Netherlands” rings true. One-third of the country was made by pumping out sea water, resulting in a marvelous maze of canals surrounded by lush farmland.

Since I will live in Amsterdam for two weeks on the outskirts of downtown, I joined a gym. “First time in Amsterdam?” The gym manager asks. “Not really,” I respond. “Visited about twenty-five years ago.” His eyes light up. “Man, that’s when they really partied hard here!”

Amidst the party scene, this city ranks among the calmest and mannerly. I did not come here for the bachelor parties and red-light district stuff. As the oldest person in most crowds, I fall into a routine of walking an hour to the gym and back daily (get in a walk plus exercise before noon), followed by at least one daily pickled herring, or smoked mackerel, sometimes with ground fish liver on the side.

Speaking of pickled, it is beer-stoned-thirty. Throw in the treasured Dutch side dish of bitter balls. They are not bitter at all. Breaded, deep-fried balls filled with a fatty beef ragout go well with most forms of alcohol. If not refrigerated, the inside will melt into liquid. Not the healthiest fare, but addictive.

Shrooms for sale at “Smart Shops” are available for those seeking an inner psychedelic journey. The expert proprietors will find the right batch for your desired experience. Eat with chocolate to kill the taste. Are you experienced?

For such a tolerant city, where you could get anything, it is a most highly civilized culture. No fights, violence, yelling or screaming. Everyone gets along by ignoring each other. Keep your business to yourself. These are also the tallest humans on planet earth. I have seen people so tall and thin that their knees line up with my hips. They can look like “stick” people from a distance.

The Dutch do not engage in small talk (one of my specialties). My interactions with people have been easy and friendly, but quite limited. Groups of tourists party together, and locals party with each other after work. Still, this is a comfortable country in which to sit solo. Nobody looks at you, and I try not to stare too long at them, as people-watching ranks as one of my favorite pastimes. The robot waiter who delivers food to tables does not look at you either.

My long-forgotten anxiety levels feel like a distant memory. Meanwhile, Marilynn runs into anxious, as well as difficult travel down south in Albania.

Her bus driver handed the border agent a wad of cash at the Albanian border crossing from North Macedonia. Nobody checked luggage or faces matched to passports on the crowded bus. She tries not to let this feed into any of the Albanian stereotypes she has heard, but then the room she had booked was grossly misrepresented on the internet. Marilynn’s accommodation turns out to be a tiny, sweltering hot, extra bedroom for a family that lives above a hardware store. She texted me her exact location in the event she did not return and likened this “B&B” to the movie “Hostel” by Quentin Tarantino. She caught the first bus out of there in the morning after a sleepless night.

The city of Shkoder, the largest city in the northern region, is the perfect place to spend a few days and arrange transportation into the Accursed Mountains.

While the tourist industry in Albania is still in its infancy, this city boasts an array of accommodations and services, which is a good thing, as Marilynn was turned away from her pre-booked Hostel once they looked at her passport. “You cannot stay here, you are too old,” they pointed to a sign on the wall. “No one over 55 years old is allowed.” Thankfully, the proprietor of the Hostel across the street happily accepted this senior citizen and told her, “You should have said, ‘hey M-**cker I lived through Woodstock!’”

The lively street scenes of Shkoder display the religious tolerance Albanians hold in high regard.

The Old Town is full of renovated buildings displaying an array of street art, and the Rozafa Castle provides sweeping city and mountain views.

After dipping into the local cuisine, it is time to venture into the mountains and work off the city’s indulgences.

Solo travel forces one to be bolder than usual. It also makes one more cautious, especially when hiking alone in the mountains where trails get treacherous during thunderstorms. “I shall not be guided by fear” she tells herself, and straps on those hiking boots for the 9.5-mile (15K) RT hike from her guesthouse in Theth to the Valbona Pass in the Accursed Mountains (Albanian Alps).

She does not spot another person until ten minutes from the summit. Luckily, she caught a view of the pass and the Theth Valley moments before a thunderstorm downpour began. Back to the woods, woman!

Marilynn spends the next three days hiking in and around the village of Theth, her favorite stop in all of Albania.

Theth River, Theth, Albania

In the evenings, she drinks beers with fellow hikers sharing tales of trails. Most are twenty-five years younger than her and from the UK, as they can get flights from London to Tirana for only twenty-five pounds (31USD).

One of the only ways, and the best way, to get to Valbona involves a three-hour ferry ride across Lake Koman. What a treat!

In Valbona, Marilynn is greeted with torrential rain. But she will not be denied. She is committed to hiking to the Pass from both sides of these mountains. When there is a slight break in the clouds, she goes.

Two hours into the hike the rain starts. Keep on keeping on, the woman and the rain. She reaches the pass engulfed in clouds.

No views today. Thirteen miles later, soaked but exhilarated, she celebrates back at the civilized hostel, where the sun finally shines.

And now here we are. Helsinki, Finland where I am excited to greet my life and travel partner. She arrives at midnight when the sun beats on us as if it is midday afternoon. At this point, time does not matter, as we are together again.

Thank you, Abundant Universe!