and you hear me now oh yes we can hear you and i last year's german chancellor when you bring your uncle our mascot as you've never tried to have surprise yourself with what is possible who is magical really what moves that and what also up to talk to people who follow along the way maurice and critics alike join us for metals last august.

albania anyone who travels by train here should have plenty of time and be ready for surprises. only a few train still run through the country. move they travel through stunning nature and along a lonely coast. but it's unclear how much longer they will continue to run. the routes are slowly being closed down. and before long passenger trains could be a thing of the past. but for now they are still running. at 40 kilometers an hour. the last train.

it's 5 in the morning and vladimir she is on his way to work. the 62 year old has been going to work at the train station into this almost every day for more than 35 years. or lottie is everyone calls him is a train driver and a mechanic and works for albania state we always. every very maining passenger train in the country departs from and returns to do this.

5 times a week lottie brings passengers to the north south or east of albania. he is one of the last remaining 50 train drivers in the country. most of the heavy diesel locomotives were built in the soviet block and have been in use for over 40 years they were deemed to walls by the former czechoslovakia but albania found them good enough. and they are still in operation today. even though they are beginning to show their age is here you still have to do some manual work when shunting and coupling the. motive to travel in the opposite

direction. is a heap of. laundry drugs the engine with its 3 carriages north of the last stop. located about 100 kilometers away just before the border with montenegro. in albania passenger trains only run within the country there is no international connection to or from albania and there is only one freight line abroad to montenegro. is the only one that still goes all the way to its original destination the albanian railway network has shrunk over the past 2 years that. it takes 4

hours to get to school more than twice as long as by car ever since the modernization of roads began the country seems to have forgotten its trains. lead. level crossing some of them have sufficient safety measures. albania's national railway company is called had. it operate as a single track standard gauge network and on the last pedestrians cars and grazing animals often overlook approaching trains. over the years that he has gotten to know many of the passengers who regularly travel north.

lardy originally wanted to be a writer but that didn't quite work out although he has written one novel that story is of course about a train journey. of their love body but what they're going to buy like my job is. why because i'd like to ever seen a steam engines and i still do today if no one here if i feel good here and i take pleasure in my work i wouldn't trade it for anything other than measure except of course. the british. we train drivers and naturally well suited to this profession we work day and night which is. the original goal of all the you know. the train trundles along the coast through hilly landscapes and across numerous

rivers. these flow into the edge of the attics sea between do this and scroll down. often there isn't a single person to be seen. i am. this is the 10 kilometer long cape road on. it was named after a raid on the god of wanderers and sailors revered by the illyrians. her. numerous bunkers remain from when the former dictator and their hutch i was in power here watching not only completely isolated the country in terms of foreign policy but between 972 and 984 built hundreds of thousands of these steel and concrete structures through. the country he feared invasion by former communist

allies reminders of a dark period and albanian history. on its journey north the train stops at 10 small stations often only one or 2 passengers board or disembark. bad. albanian railways have been using these carriages since 2004 they were previously used by communist east germany. so it is hardly surprising that they are old and elaborated they also lack safety features.

after 4 hours finally comes into sight. the train will return to do this at 630 the next morning. why go to the lies between the rivers keir brin and bruno. and lake scutari. is one of the oldest cities in albania most of its one 115000 inhabitants are catholic most christians in the country live in the north near the montenegrin border. even early in the morning the streets are buzzing with activity. but hardly anyone takes the train anymore.

just before 6 am laddie slowly drives the locomotive back to the station. he spent the night at a friend's house sometimes he also sleeps in the driver's cabin. oh what. i spend most of my time here this is our sitting room our bedroom and dining room and our workplace to of course work comes 1st that was of. the day with the earliest look at xerox for which but let's be realistic nobody misses the old we all want the new but they might also be happy to have an electric

train but the situation is as it is and i'm adapting. they're going to comply. with what the new generation is not like me the next generation will be a bit more demanding like all albanians today of course to show for. it do you ship the courtship of. the train back to do their sleeves on time. slowed to cool is the conductor and train manager the 62 year old has been working for the state railway since 982. she actually lives in the capital tirana. but the leader

as everyone calls her is used to being away a lot. of morning yeah. i was wondering whether it's my job as the train manager so i'm responsible for the train from the driver's cabin at the front to the very end but you know i look after the staff and the passengers as the train manager. i'm responsible for everything from the moment the journey starts to the final destination as it is your only $1.00. after the fall of communism albania focused on building roads nowadays few people take the train many buses and cars are not necessarily safer but they are more comfortable and much faster. this partly explains why the carriages are so neglected. travelling by train is an

adventure in albania. during the trip leda sits in one of the empty compartments to write the daily report. there are 2 trains a day from sco trying to do this and back they have to follow the timetable exactly after all there is only one track. and his little brother lady on are on their way to lunch between school to and 2 of us they have made the journey often but this is the 1st time they're travelling without their parents latch is a popular poker match site in albania. by

car it takes about one hour to get from school to latch the train journey has often twice as long. but a ticket costs no more than $170.00 lek around one euro 40. probably move to feel a real bargain but that's not what appeals most to layo that are so formidable. methadone has this family it's not i prefer travelling by train because it's special to. the train is the old way of travel and here i can breathe fresh air. but he had to come back and lead out of the window and look out i like cars but not as much to the other more dangerous than trains because they're fast pace yet you are.

the boys are going to st anthony church up in the hills behind latch it was destroyed during the communist era and wasn't rebuilt until the early 1990 s. after the ban on religion was lifted. the in your. area every year in june the franciscan monastery attracts thousands of pilgrims. but there are visitors here all year round they come to pray to same time tony who is supposed to help those who have lost things such as their faith. here it doesn't matter which religion

a belong to. you know there's every chance that one of the things that special about the church and law is that it's visited by people of different religion by muslims catholics or orthodox. go it's a catholic church people of other religions come and pray here as well and like candles for their relatives or for themselves i pray for my family and for myself and for all of my relatives as well as for all people in need like the homeless the elderly pushing the bus i pray for everyone who needs help so that god may help. but i also pray for my future so that i can become a good person and above all a good football that's my dream there's then that i. it's a dream that many albanian boys share with layla and lady on. to make it come true the brothers visit lauch several times a year. from here the train

continues further south. by. nearly 50 percent of albania's working population are involved in agriculture. thanks. they mostly work without heavy equipment and rely on the help of donkeys goats and sheep. in the flats coastal plain west of larch is a sanctuary for rare birds such as domination pelicans and flamingos.

you. after the fall of communism the shooting up birds and other wildlife skyrocketed. so in 2014 the government imposed a strict ban on hunting since then wildlife populations have been slowly recovering . in the early evening we return to duty as. rail travel in albania comes to a halt at 6 in the evening. service

doesn't resume until the next morning. the station is right next to albania as the largest commercial port dude us is sometimes called the gateway to the mediterranean. italy is not far away. this morning the 1st train departed shortly before 7 it is headed for. in central albania. is only 80 kilometers from duress but the train journey takes 3 and a half hours. the eastern route is considered the most beautiful in the country it used to go further to the north macedonia border but the section beyond eldest son was closed 5 years ago. anyone who wishes to travel further now has to go by car or hike.

man. bloody and his colleagues are sad that some routes have been closed. it. was reported for a publication i don't want to get into politics but the fact is that all previous governments are to blame for the current situation. you should be getting out the since $991.00 there have been no repairs to the tracks no investments except for a few railway crossings to sell. because. and this is the result like the shrinking railway network. it's the only reason. we still have the trains we had under communism that's a fact also one of the. old

bridges and railway tracks run alongside newly paved roads to the right and left our historic buildings. trailer castle is part of a defense of complex built by scandal back in the 15th century he ruled over an area stretching from sun to tehran a today the castle is popular with daytrippers. trailer overlooks the heiress and valley. further south the tracks one parallel to the schoolroom being made for. it is one of the largest and most important waterways in the country and has always formed a sort of border between the north and south of albania in cultural religious and

also in linguistic terms. before the train arrives and. lida and her colleagues clean the compartments. they get water at one of the small stops. a lot of dirt is blown into the carriages through the broken windows so compartments toilets and corridors are mopped and cleaned every day leader also lays out covers a newspaper on the seats for each trip or let out on i'm cleaning this carriage

ready for my colleagues when they take over tomorrow. the train will do the same journey to obasanjo and we don't have any cleaning staff at the moment so we do the job ourselves. and right now there aren't any passengers in this carriage i do both jobs clean and i manage the train and i check the tickets ok and all that is my responsibility that's why we're in a hurry to clean up because soon we'll be reaching the next station. air melinda mama tie doesn't normally travel by train she is here for her work the 28 year old botanist wants to compare the vegetation along the busy and unused railway lines.

how many very well known for its biodiversity a wild landscape which i think we need to preserve and a lot of highways and roads are our posing fragmentation as a high threats to our current or some type of diversity and biodiversity so when it comes to fragmentation on the railway the south goes very nicely put into the wild landscape of painting it's kind of a pain cause landscape we like it but at the same time in the house to keep the bio corridor and. the success of plants. and melinda is meeting a colleague in elba sun from there they will continue one foot. will start from doris and then 12 us than when we stop and i will move on from one of us

to their brows to pray as up to the border to see how it has developed. shortly before el bus on the road and rail traffic run parallel through a wide valley and extension of the coastal plain the adriatic sea is only 60 kilometers away. at 1036 the train arrives punctually in el bus on. wildlife specialist as his lordship is waiting he too wants to take a closer look at the area east of. one next to the school being river runs the v a it cannot see are built by the romans in ancient times it formed an important trade route that connected rome with constantinople.

the last train passed through here 5 years ago. nature has since reclaimed the area. near the small town of leap rashed the valley of school bean is surrounded by the yeah plain it's a mountain range. it doesn't take long for air melinda to spot plants which she had not seen alongside the trucks still in operation. for example this is only a large basis this is one of my favorite flowers that is very beautiful it is ruder

but even the environment was under franco pressure from the plant it wouldn't be here is the train runs through have only. had one plant which will florist in in a falling says old like in spring and they will not go they will not be like here are under the train but just around it and as they were very disturbed they will not have the force to create new up no conditions for no other plans to come so almost everything that we see here we will not find in other places. and it's not just plants that benefit from the disused railway tracks. in many of the tunnels swallows and rare bats have taken up residence. albania is known as the land of the bats of the 55 species protected in the e.u.

more than 32 lived here back to experts v.z. knows them all. for this for this and the indigenous gymnastic when here in the field apart from the swallows nest which we saw at the entrance i saw at least 2 types of back in the tunnel due lawyer to go could he get a lot as age at the do young both are protected species under e.u. law and threatened with extinction just a burning other what they're doing and that makes this tunnel a very interesting site which we must preserve one looked after a while the spirit so i'm sure of it and i hope the trains will not pass through it again this one father says show him. do it the 4th and even though of course that means it's a blow to the railway network going on mish moves most of the other. although biologists consider the train to be the lesser of 2 evils compared to road

traffic but i also know that nature can develop best when there is no human interference. as can be seen in the sparsely populated east. am. i've lived. here at. a and. the people here are poor almost all families in the region live from agriculture and the official unemployment level is 14 percent. although unofficial estimates suggest it is twice that.

back in elba sun city is the 4th largest in albania with almost 130000 inhabitants and it has a colorful past thanks to its favorable location it became a prosperous trading town during the ottoman empire era. nowadays the city is known for steel production and is home to albania as biggest metal plant every day freight trains come to the old factory which opened in the 1960 s. during the communist era. local residents and authours today still suffer the negative consequences environmental protection measures for the plant are said to be inadequate many farmers believe that air pollution is having a negative impact on their vegetable and fruit harvest and that the soil is

contaminated. one of those who opposes the factory is chef named bash molly he says it has become increasingly difficult for him to find good quality fruit and vegetables in recent years. he examines the produce at the local market very carefully. yes if that is what even if they are such shock over the farmers from the area around the plant used to solve vinyl and i don't think you have a future but for now we can't use this produce any more if it's from here especially the vine leaves have suffered which we used for a special local dish called. the vienna if i use now they are 2 contaminated by nearly as great. fruits and ground vegetables are all spoiled because of the mass of soil and air pollution. so i'm against the plant as a chef and as a citizen if. 9 wants to make tough.

and tother corsi to local dishes they are lamb with herb's and unripe plums and yogurt cake with goat they will be eaten at the feast of sacrifice celebrated at the end of ramadan. in the yogurt cake with goat the whole animal is used head brain and eyes are regional specialities. besides being a chef 9 also teaches at the university an elder son this means he only cooks in his free time on special occasions out of. the whole family celebrates by it in his father's house across the river not far from

eldest son center. that. route. yes. nine's father yaho bus molly worked as a cook for 40 years when he was young trains even traveled to albania remote areas . fresh eggs and flour make up the basis of the main course stuff a corsi yogurt cake with goat. meanwhile. prepares to. lamb with herb's and on the right plums.

the family meets at 9 parents' home every weekend on. a mission to have a very. rich much brighter now you know it's also leverage. they will be meeting again tomorrow for buying when they will sacrifice a goat. the animal seems to sense it's a looming fate. on route to the south of the country there are always 2 drivers in the cab today that's a lot he and a colleague while lotty keeps an eye on the track and the safety of the passers by his colleague drives the locomotive towards fear of the bridge. the train used to

go on to florida but that section was also deemed unprofitable today the coastal town can only be reached by road. the train passes through all of plantations and that suitable fields fia the last station on this route is located in the 1st tile mu such a plane this used to be swamp land but it was drained a few decades ago. the train passes numerous small villages. where you. put up objects next week usually but it's dangerous we have a lot of problems on this route because of the crossings. to stall stall.

on the bridge. he was riding his bicycle. he's going to get it he's gone. to heaven for sure if you're at the. people in the country so i don't have their wits about them but we gladly travel so slowly. my gawd if the train went at a normal speed that would be a disaster even the bottom. and if you don't like. it but that won't happen because the tracks are in such a poor state that we have to travel slowly on the young. lady in the but it's dangerous. for. sure there are too many crossings because you know the girl is on the limit.

there is just one train a day going south. the small stations just before fear seem deserted. when. a little further south lies the coastal town florida which used to be the last stop on the southern railway line the service was discontinued 3 years ago. the town and the nearby not-i lagoon are popular summer vacation destinations. south of here the albanian riviera begins. in.

the region is known at home and abroad for its mediterranean climate and long often deserted beaches. the old railway station in the central florida is falling into decline who knows when or if a train will ever stop here again. after an hour stop it's time to begin the journey back north.

for lita it might be the last time she travels this route. she will be retiring in just a few days' time. among men. sometimes i. even cry you know when you're in the mornings when i'm getting ready i often think but then i pull myself together loving it i'm sorry it's a whole lifetime since i was 24 years old and now it's over i guess everybody goes through this. maybe i will start another job why not i'm used to being on the road for 38 or 39 years i was always on the move once the thought of staying at home feels strange but it will pass it will be difficult but then i'm sure i will feel better and wish that document.

which others will have i love to travelling by train although these days they don't care about the railway system as you can see. him i love being on a train anyway even if the rocking motion is a bit tiring. but i still like it very much. not everyone can say that after 38 years in the same job. after 2 and a half hours the train has travelled to 80 kilometers back to do this it's the end of the line for leda and the passengers. every evening the old locomotive is uncoupled from the carriages and driven to the

nearby depot where it stays overnight. the. elite. most of the time it's lobby for checks. the locomotive before heading home as a mechanic he is also responsible for maintaining the engine. this is one of the 62 year old favorite moments of the day. the young i fell in love with trains because i was able to raise my children thanks to them along with fleets might have. i feel like i'm at home with them.

i'm so happy here it's hard to describe. this engine was there when i raised my children when i got engaged and married if you know i mean that's why i'm so passionate about trains and i can't separate from them i don't know what i'll do when i retire but bill just threw the bible. so. it's just not he has 2 more years to think about that then he too will retire. thank you. it's still unclear whether the diesel locomotives will still run without him. but albania is always good for a surprise maybe the trains will run longer than most people expect.

what's the secret to a perfectly fried potato. would give some notion of dishes their distinctive character. although like. europe's favorite dishes with their small and big secrets you know serious food secrets. the woman. d.w. . board. for.

my 1st boss was a sewing machine mood where i come from women are balanced by this notion for something as simple as learning how to write a bicep those isn't. since i was a little girl i wanted to have them by sight off my home but it took me as the night. finally gave up and went on buying young guys like this and returned with the sewing machine sewing i suppose was more appropriate for girls than writing i'm biased as knowledge i want to meet shallow those women back home who are volatile by their duties and social norms and inform them of oded basically writes my name is the about of people homes and i work at it's easy to move. move move.

this is daily news live from berlin a cease fire in central asia after finding leaves hundreds dead armenia and azerbaijan agreed to halt the conflict over the disputed region of no corn okara back to open new talks on finding a long term solution also coming up germany tightens restrictions in big cities ouster a surge in corona virus infections chancellor angela merkel warns tough action is needed to stop the pendent make spiralling out of control and is it rough play or were.