We crossed into Montenegro on Sunday morning, headed to a wee town called Kotor, a wee seaside town with little pebbly beaches and an old, walled centre, a bit like a mini Dubrovnik. Once we arrived, we all headed down to the old town to get our bearings a bit, then some of the group headed off to have lunch and head back to the hotel, while others of us stuck around to explore a bit more. It wasn’t a big area, but I enjoyed having a wander and finding my way through the wee streets.
In the afternoon, we had a dip in the sea, which was very warm, but also a bit murky – I think just from the boats disturbing the water, but it didn’t make me want to stay in for long. The water in Dubrovnik had been much nicer for swimming purposes.
Dinner was just down the road at a place we were recommended, the name of which translated to “Eat at Joe’s”. We weren’t really sure what to choose, but the waitress made us a recommendation and we went for it. I’m glad we did, because it was probably one of the tastiest things I have eaten since leaving NZ! I mean, the salad and chips were salad and chips, but the meat was a new experience. It was essentially a meat patty, but it had a spicy seasoning on it, and bits of cheese and bacon pressed into the outside. It doesn’t sound particularly healthy, but it was yum!!
The next morning we were back on the road, driving south along the coast of Montenegro.
We made a couple of short stops along the way for photos and the bathroom, and then after a couple of hours driving we left Montenegro again and crossed into Albania, and what seemed to be an everlasting traffic jam.
Our first stop in Albania was Rozafa Castle, an old fortress on a hill near Shkodër, one of Albania’s oldest cities. The cobblestones on the walk up have all been worn smooth over time, so it was a bit slippery at points on the way up, but the views at the top were lovely.
After the castle it was back into the traffic, and we started our way towards Tirana. The traffic was unusual, as it didn’t seem to have any particular cause, but apparently this just happens sometimes (a lot of the time?) While under communism, people were not allowed to own their own car, and the road network was only scarcely developed until the country opened up again in the 90s, so driving is a much newer concept here than in many places. As such, you see some pretty interesting driving going on!! We ended up arriving in Tirana a couple of hours later than expected, and so our lunch plans turned into dinner ones.
Tirana was an interesting city. The centre of town seems very modern, with lots of interesting architecture, street art, and public spaces. There’s a big open square in the middle of it that was almost reminiscent of some places I saw in China. When taking the public bus out to a museum on the outside of town though, we saw a different side to the city, and probably a much more real one. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many car-based businesses in a single city before – mechanics, wreckers, tyre stores, and endless car washes.
We visited a couple of museums in Tirana. The first, Bunk’Art 1, was located in ex-dictator Enver Hoxha’s personal bunker, and explained Albania’s political past and what life was like under the communist regime. I probably could have done with doing a bit more of my own research beforehand to give the whole experience more context, but it was very interesting to see.
The second place we visited was the House of Leaves, formerly the headquarters of the Albanian secret police, the Sigurimi, and now a museum about secret surveillance. Honestly, it was quite frightening to learn of all the ways they kept tabs on people – you see it in movies and stuff, but it’s hard to imagine people living with it in their day-to-day lives until you visit a place like this.
From Tirana, we also took a day-trip out to Kruja, where we learnt about Skenderbeg, who is essentially Albania’s national hero. Long story short, he (and his armies) fought against occupation of the Ottoman Empire, defending both Albania and the countries beyond it. As well as visiting the Skanderbeg museum in Kruja, we also spent some time wandering the old bazaar before heading back to the city.
After a couple of days in Tirana, we set off to our final Albanian destination: Berat. Sometimes called the city of a thousand windows, it’s a lovely wee town divided in half by a river, with little white houses going up the slope on each side. Up on the hill is an old fortress area that we explored in the evening, being led around by a local guide. The whole place was beautiful, but my favourite part was popping into two little orthodox churches, just a few square metres each in size.
From the outside they just looked like regular stone structures, houses perhaps, but the insides were painted with the loveliest frescoes. It wasn’t until later that I realised my camera had malfunctioned and so I had no photos of it, and at that stage it was too late to go back, as they had been unlocked especially for us. Luckily, mum had a photo that she could share with me, but it’s not the same as having the photos that I had wanted to take.
That evening we went out to the loveliest little restaurant. The owner talked to us about the history of the place, and his own family history, and we ate outside under his grapevines. The food was delicious – I had stuffed aubergine – he made his own wine, and later in the evening, he and his staff started singing and playing the accordion and the guitar. It was a rather lovely time, and perfect for our last night in Albania.
emilyonearth 
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