Shkodra

I made 2 updates today so Tirana, which we visited before Shkodra, is also new and right below this one. Hope you enjoy them.

Leaving Tirana we arrived in Shkodra around midday and after wandering around the city for a little bit we eventually found a dirty but cheap hotel that would do for the night. After setting down our bags we set off for the Rozafa Fortress which was set on top of a hill about 2 kms away from the centre of the city. After a long walk in the summer heat we finally emerged on top of the fortress so that we could have a wander around. The fortress wasn't anything too special as most of its buildings were in ruins and not much was left of them. However from the top of the fortress we were rewarded with spectacular views out over the city of Shkodra and the surrounding countryside. The good part of the fortress was that we were able to freely wander around it and quickly discovered hidden passageways and small tunnels hidden underground. Also in the fortress was a small museum containing artifacts from the area and a little bit of information about the fortress although still not very much. One interesting thing we learned though was that a woman, named Rozafa who the fortress is named after, was walled into the ramparts as an offering to the gods so that the construction would stand. Additionally two holes were left so that she could continue to breastfeed her baby even after being walled in. After leaving the fortress we made the hot walk back to our hotel where we relaxed for a little bit before heading out to find the walking street for dinner.

We left the hotel and were rewarded to find what seemed to be the walking street in Shkodra and although it wasn't nearly as busy as the one in Saranda or Berat we still joined the crowds strolling along it. While out walking we also searched for a famous status in the centre of town but since all we could find was an area under restoration we decided that must be it and so it no longer existed.

The next morning we got up and very quickly packed our bags before finding a "minibus" to take us across the boarded to Ulcinj in Montenegro. We were quickly shown to a guy with a little jeep jammed our bags in along with 4 other people and set off. Thinking this might be trouble as we had no idea what we were really getting we were a little worried at first but after about an hours drive we made it to Ulcinj, our destination.








A brightly painted house similar to the ones that we saw in Tirana.














One of the bunkers that are everywhere in the countryside in Albania. I tried to find a closer one on our last bus trip but didn't succeed so I guess most of them are in the southern part of the country.












An old church in the Rozafa Fortress, one of the better preserved structures along with the walls.













Lianne standing on top of the walls in the Rozafa Fortress.

Tirana

Leaving Berat we made our way to the capital city of Tirana. Arriving at the "bus station", really just a random street corner as far as we could tell, we were forced to hop in a taxi for the short ride to the Tirana Hostel. We quickly got checked in and were delighted to finally find some laundry services so we set to work to get a load done. After getting settled in we set off to explore the city and spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering around and admiring the old communist buildings. That was how most of the afternoon was spent just wandering the streets of Tirana and admiring the old communist buildings that had been painted bright colours with interesting designs on after the communist rule had ended. They were quite interesting to see. After that we returned to the hotel for a brief period to hang our laundry up to dry. That evening we set off hoping to find the ever present walking street and to join the locals going for an evening stroll before dinner. However after wandering around for a bit we came to the conclusion that Tirana must have been too big to have a single walking street because although we saw hundreds of people out walking or sitting in parks we couldn't find a single walking street like we were used to. So after our short walk we just decided to find a place for dinner instead of searching some more. After dinner we proceeded to enjoy the night by sitting at one of the bars with seats in the middle of the pedestrian only road while having a few drinks.

The next day we started off by again doing a second load of laundry before heading out to see the city. While the laundry was being washed we decided to do the short walking tour recommended by Lonely Planet which takes you past several significant communist buildings. The first stop was a huge pyramid shaped building which used to contain the Enver Hoxha Museum (the communist ruler) although now it just seems empty and outside the pyramid is the Bell of Peace, a memorial to the country's post communist years. After that we headed by the newly rebuilt St Paul's Catholic Cathedral which was rebuilt when religion was finally allowed within the country again. Next we passed by the parliament buildings and a few statues en route to the Et'hem Bey Mosque which is one of only a handful of religious buildings that has survived from before 1900. Just across the street from the mosque is Sheshi Skenderbej which is a square in the heart of the city. In the middle of the square is an equestrian statue of Skanderbeg while surrounding the square are several nice palaces and other other government buildings. From here we left the walking tour to make our way up to a market that our hostel told us about and upon finding it we spent a few minutes wandering around it although it was fairly small and nothing too special. From here we returned to our hotel to hang our laundry up to dry before heading down towards the university complete with a statue of Mother Teresa. We then tried to make our way to the former palace of King Zogu but couldn't quite find it so we just ended up returning to the hotel to relax for a little bit before heading out to dinner.

The next morning we awoke and quickly packed up and headed off to a different "bus station", again just a random street somewhere, where we boarded a bus bound for Shkodra our last destination in Albania before entering Montenegro.










Lianne standing underneath the Bell of Peace.

















Some of the colourful government buildings around Sheshi Skenderbej.













The equestrian statue in Sheshi Skenderbej with the Albanian flag flying next to it.

Saranda and Berat

We left Ioannina bright and early in the morning and made our way to the boarder with Albania being fairly confident that we would be able to find on ward transportation to Saranda from there. Arriving at the boarder we were disappointed to find that no buses serviced the boarder post and so we were at the mercy of the taxi drivers to take us for the 45 minute drive to Saranda. Picking a driver we quickly set off to our new destination and enjoyed our first sights of Albania. Driving through the countryside we quickly decided that it was fairly beautiful and also the Lonely Planet didn't lie about the fact that there are bunkers everywhere. Just on the short drive to Saranda we past by what seemed like hundreds of small grey concrete bunkers scattered all over the landscape (according to Lonely Planet there are about 700 000 bunkers in the tiny country of Albania).

Arriving in Saranda we found a beautiful hotel right on the beach and went for a walk along the waterfront. We found a very helpful tourist information centre and after finding out that we could visit the ancient ruins of Butrint in about an hour or two we took off for them. Traveling about 45 minutes south of Saranda on the bus we arrived at the ancient ruins and started to tour around them. The first major site that we came to was the Greek Theatre which was fairly well preserved and surrounding the theatre was Ascelpius' Temple, the Agora and the small public baths. After these ruins we continued on to the Christian Baptistery which supposedly contain some beautiful mosaics but they were all covered with sand so we couldn't see them. Past here we came to the well preserved Basilica which sat next to the start of the Cyclopean wall. Climbing up through a gate in the wall we continued up to the Acropolis which sat at the top of a hill. Here we were rewarded with some great views over the countryside including a view over the river to a triangle shaped fortress. In the Acropolis we saw the castle which sat at one end of the top of the hill. In the castle was a fairly well done museum describing the history of Butrint and how the city evolved over the years that is was used in. Climbing back down from the Acropolis we made our way back to the exit where we proceeded to wait an hour for a bus to take us back to Saranda.

Back in Saranda we took a short break in our hotel before heading out to join the locals wandering all along the waterfront seemingly just enjoying the weather and other peoples company with no destination in sight. We thought that this was due to the nice location next to the sea so we joined them to enjoy it also. Along the waterfront we also eventually found some dinner and enjoyed our meal in Saranda before heading to bed.

The following morning we got up and made our way straight to the bus station where we quickly boarded a bus bound for Gjirokastra. Arriving in Gjirokastra we eventually found a place that would store our bags for the day and could tell us what time the bus to Berat departed that afternoon. As a result we took off into the city and started by climbing up the side of the huge hill to the castle perched on top. Climbing to the top we entered the castle, which has been converted into a "museum" although really all there is to see is to wander around the old buildings and get some nice views of the city. After wandering around the castle we left and decided to spend our remaining time just wandering around the steep cobblestone streets of the old part of town looking at the Ottoman style houses. The area that we wandered around was quite nice although from the description in the Lonely Planet we were expecting it to be slightly eerie and vampireish, which it definitely wasn't. Returning back to the bottom of the huge hill we collected our bags from the restaurant that stored them for us and boarded a bus bound for Berat. The following 4 hours were spent on the bus and we finally arrived in Berat just as the sun was starting to set. So we quickly found a hotel for the night and went out to find some dinner. Leaving our hotel in the evening we again found a street that was absolutely packed with locals just walking the length of it, seeming to just walk from one end to the other and back. We were very fascinated with this and since we also saw something similar in Saranda we figured that there has to be some national activity to go walking at night.

Berat is one of the most famous towns in Albania and the old part of the town has been extremely protected for about the past 50 years so this means that the city is full of beautiful Ottoman style houses. The next morning we set off to explore this town and started off by climbing up the hill to the Citadel which is a walled off area of the city on top of a large hill. Entering the citadel we decided to wander around the streets where people were still living in beautiful old houses with superb views out over the rest of the city. Also within the citadel are 12 churches (only one of which we could enter as it had been turned into a small museum) and the ruins of an old mosque and old fortress. Descending from the citadel we started to wander through the narrow and steep cobblestone lanes in the old part of town and gaze upon the beautiful houses there. Along with the houses there are a few mosques and a couple of churches which survived throughout the communist reign in Albania when religion was outlawed. Other than just wandering around the town there wasn't much to do other than visit a couple of small museums so we didn't get up to much else. That evening we again went and joined the hundreds of locals strolling along what we started to call "The Walking Street" before enjoying dinner and then heading to bed for the night.

The next morning we got up and made our way straight to the bus station where we quickly boarded a bus to Tirana, the capital city of Albania and our next destination.










One of the ruins near the Theatre in Butrint complete with a small pond at its base that housed some small turtles.



















A sunken boat at the edge of the ruins of Butrint where a sign read "Boat Rides Around the Lagoon". I hope it wasn't supposed to be in this boat.



















Lianne standing on a wall in part of the castle in Gjirokastra.




















The steep cobblestone streets in Gjirokastra.



















One of the churches in the citadel in Berat.















A view back up the hill in Berat looking at some of the old Ottoman style houses seemingly stacked on top of each other.

















A view across the river in Berat looking at more of the Ottoman style houses.