A Nuclear Bunker Hideout and $10000 Vaccine

Two sets of heavy steel enforced concrete doors closed off the tunnel descending into the bunker. The kids and I leaned back and put some muscle into pulling the inner door. It creaked slowly shut.

Air raid sirens blared and the lights went out as the walls seemed to shutter with explosions on the surface. “I don’t like this,” NG said and slipped out of the dark back into the long tunnel.

This bunker in the north of Tirana was designed to house the government and military in case of a nuclear war, but we were the only people in the massive underground shelter. As we wandered the dark tunnels that connected the hundreds of rooms, conference centers and radiation filtration systems, it was easy to imagine us emerging from the bunker as the only ones left on earth, like in a science fiction movie.

The bunker now serves as a historical museum and art gallery, with each room displaying a bit of Albanian history or an artistic simulation. The sirens and explosions only serve as an example of what might have been. Farther along is a room of mirrors that seems to make the windowless confines of the underground shelter disappear.

After many visits to Albania, we are finally visiting the capital. Tirana does not have any must-see attractions or especially famous landmarks, but it is a pleasant city with large public squares, many trees and a backdrop of scenic mountains.

Returning to Albania after months in New Mexico feels somewhat like emerging from an underground bunker. We’re not really sure where we’re going or what we’re doing for the moment, but the air feels fresh and I feel a sense of relief to be in a place where things are happening. In Albania it’s as if there is no pandemic. There are no masks and the city is full of people and cafes.

I’ve spent so much time in Cambodia that I always seem to find a way to compare places to there. In Tirana I see a bit of Phnom Penh. The city is built in an almost haphazard way in parts with chaotically designed apartment buildings, exposed brick and rebar and laundry hanging out windows. Like Phnom Penh, the skyline is transforming with new architecture and it’s impossible to look in any direction without seeing a crane.

While I wouldn’t mind to stay in Albania, I’m hoping we can eventually make it back to Cambodia. While many countries have begun to reopen, most countries are still closed to us as our ten-year old is not eligible for a vaccine yet. Our trip to New Mexico was prolonged somewhat by the wait to get vaccinated and then a bit longer by my reaction to the vaccine.

I’ve never been to an emergency room as an adult before getting vaccinated for Covid, but I ended up there three times in the month after getting the JNJ vaccine. It seems the vaccine caused an immune reaction in my lung which made it difficult to breath. For a few weeks I could hardly walk to the bathroom without getting out of breath. Fully recovered now, it feels exhilarating to be healthy, although the $10000 bill that arrived the other day for my emergency room visits dampens that a bit. All things considered, I don’t think I’ll be returning for a booster shot.

Last year we left in the middle of the pandemic with a plan to check out living in Italy and Portugal. A year later it feels like not much has changed. We’re still in the middle of a pandemic and we’ve given up on trying to go to Italy and Portugal. Instead, we are back to Albania. I’m not sorry about it though.