Back to Albania

Tirana

The next morning we set off to the Albanian border nearby. The building there was pink, painted with flowers, which seemed a little odd.

We passed many small bunkers, some of the thousands built during the reign of the paranoid Enver Hoxha. Along the way were towns with factory buildings, abandoned after the fall of communism in 1991. One small town decorated its crumbling factories by painting thousands of ladybugs on them.

We passed through the city of Elbasan, once contender for capital city. A highway was built through the city and has somehow turned into a free-for-all, with kilometre long traffic jams paralyzing the roads for hours at times, but we fortunately picked a good time of day to get through.

We got to Tirana in torrential rain.

After our farewell dinner, we went to a rooftop bar, but had to stay inside instead of on the wet patio.

Berat

The tour was over now, but I had a couple of extra days here. I decided to take a day trip to the ancient town of Berat, along with my new mates from Australia, Kat and Josh. We paid 50 euros each for a driver and car for the whole day. Transport is definitely the most expensive part of our costs in these countries.

Berat is a medieval UNESCO world heritage site, known as the city of a thousand windows, due to its ottoman era houses with wide glimmering windows lining the hills.

We hiked up the steep path to the castle overlooking the town. People live inside the walls of the castle, running small shops, it’s very authentic.

We climbed many of the walls inside the castle, then went back down to the town where we relaxed a bit before the long drive back to Tirana.

Tirana

And now I was completely on my own. After the morning seeing more sights in Tirana, I stopped for a small pizza at the place near the hotel. Cost about $1.

I got a taxi to the port town of Durres, on the Adriatic Sea about an hour from Tirana, where I have a hotel for two more nights.

I thought about another day trip, much longer than the one to Berat, down the coast to see some more sights. The very trendy Albanian Riviera and other interesting sites sounded appealing, but it would have meant a very long day, most of it sitting in a car. I could find things to do in Durres hopefully!

Durres

I stayed in a beautiful new downtown hotel for less than $100 a night. A short walk away was the remains of a castle from the 5th century, a wall and tower known as the Venetian tower. Inside, I saw a story of its history projected on the walls. From the top, there was a nice view of the sea.

The roman amphitheatre nearby was built in the 1st or 2nd century, and was only rediscovered in the 1960’s. It’s surrounded by family homes. You can pay to go inside, but it’s easy to see from walking past. Restoration work continues. There are various other medieval ruins around the area.

Palm trees line the streets of the small clean downtown. Durres is the most popular vacation spot for Albanians in the summer. It’s early October so the beaches are not busy now.

Near sunset, I walked on the promenade on the sea as the locals do. Further down the coast there were many restaurants lining the beach. The sky was threatening but it was still very warm and humid.

Last day in Albania

And now what to do for my last day? The important archaeological museum here is closed for renovations. I tried shopping again, but the most popular souvenir for sale was a fridge magnet of Mother Teresa.

The clothing stores all over Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia have had ball gowns in the windows. I saw rows of stores in the cities, all with ball gowns. Apparently weddings are up to two weeks long, and the women need to have a new gown for each event.

I’m not sure where they buy any other clothes, but then I didn’t see many women out and about, or working in service jobs where I would have seen them, it’s mostly men. The fashion shops here did not seem fashionable to me.

So, with museums and shopping not to be found, I went online and discovered a lovely winery just outside the city. I booked in the evening, and had a reply in the morning.

Abaia Winery

I went to Abaia by taxi. The winery was busy, with many taxis and expensive cars on the road beside the buildings.

I had booked a tasting that included some generous pours of wine and raki, plus a charcuterie board and then, unexpectedly, a pizza.

There was one woman working there, Elena, who spoke perfect English. She poured the excellent wines and gave information for the tastings to each table in the full restaurant area. This took several hours. She explained that a fellow worker had not shown up so she had to do all the communication work.

After the tastings were finished, we still had not done the winery tour. I got restless in between wine pours and wandered a bit in the garden. Here there were a couple of mature well dressed but thuggish looking gentlemen who called me over, pulled out a chair and invited me to sit as I was walking past. How could I refuse?

The men spoke little English, but one gave me a heart sign on his chest several times. A burly tour guide came by to interpret, and told me that they said they loved Canadians. The heart sign guy told the waiter to bring me another raki. The waiter brought a glass of clear raki, which is the cheaper kind. The man reprimanded him, and told him to bring me the good stuff, which is amber colored. And served in a very big glass for a drink that you can only sip.

Right then, Elena came along to tell me it was time for the winery tour. Saved. I thanked the man for the raki and followed Elena, while the man threw a loud temper tantrum.

The tour was really interesting. The wine was made in bunkers, built in the communist era by the paranoid leader. The bunkers were perfect for wine making, since inside the temperature and humidity were controlled, and it was dark.

Back at the garden, the tour guide who interpreted earlier told me that my gentleman friends had left. I heaved a sigh of relief. I had a couple more sips of my expensive raki before heading back in a taxi.

That was the end of my last day in Albania. Who knows, I could still be there living the high life as a mafia bride, we will never know.

I was definitely ready for home after that adventure! A great trip to a very interesting and diverse part of the world.