Durres, Tirane & Kruje, Albania
The high winds that bid us farewell in Montenegro had dropped and shifted to the southwest. This signified a positive change in the weather and it seemed to be pushing the scattered rain showers up into the mountains of Albania as we approached Durres, the main port for Albania. Breakfast was delayed due to the fact that it was still a bit sloppy offshore but conditions improved as we drew closer to the harbor. Soon we were alongside, clearances were completed, breakfast was done and we were ready to explore Albania, our third country of this voyage.
Adrian and Eddie, our local guides provided much insight into the history of their country as we made our way to Tirane, the modern capital of Albania. The Illyrians first settled here in the 2nd millennium BC, followed by the Greeks, then the Romans, and the Ottoman Turks. They declared independence in 1912 and this continued until World War II. This was followed by another short period of independence which led to occupation by the Italians after King Zog’s rule failed. In 1941 the communist party was founded, which ousted the Italians as well as the Germans. It established a communist state which held until 1990 and eventually led to the democratic government that we see today. The transition to democracy and capitalism was not an easy one with a collapsed pyramid scheme taking much of the country’s savings and a land grab which left real estate property rights in a bit of a mess. What we found on our drive was a country finding its way into the 21st century while retaining much of their old traditions. Our first stop was the National Museum, which was located just across from the central square and promenade for the city. A docent for the museum led us through their exhibits which chronicled the history of Albania from the Illyrians up until World War II.
We departed the museum, took a short tour of the downtown region and arrived at a local restaurant, Sarajet, for lunch. We were greeted by a small dance troupe and their supporting band. There was a fine buffet for lunch along with local wine for our dining pleasure. Before the meal was over the dance troupe and their band treated us to some local folk dancing and music. Some of the guests were enlisted to “assist” with a few of their dance numbers.
After lunch we boarded our coaches to venture up into the mountains for a visit to the old capitol town of Kruje. Luckily the rain showers had passed through this area in the morning, and we were greeted by clearing skies and a fine view all the way to the Adriatic. Most of the guests chose to wander the cobblestone alleys of the medieval bazaar to search the local shops for hidden treasures. There were many local, traditional handicrafts, old olive oil lamps and filigree jewelry to be found. A few of the guests ventured up the hill to the Skanderbeg museum, a small castle built to honor George Kastrioti an Albanian national hero. In addition to being a nice museum it afforded a fine viewpoint to the country below as well as the limestone cliffs above the village.
