My first delightful days in Albania

Albania - I apologise in advance because I'm probably going to do much more posting than normal, rather than do REALLY long blogs.  There's just so much to tell you.  So far, this country has been a joy to visit ... I am constantly humbled by how much people want to do things for you and the pleasure they get from showing you their place.  I haven't had a taxi or bus ride yet, where it hasn't turned into a mini tour.  And as for asking where the bus station is ... be prepared for some bow-legged old man to pick up your pack and walk kilometres out of his way to take you there.  The food is fantastic, fresh and wholesome, the wine is delicious and everything is so cheap.  And the scenery ... I'm writing this now, sitting on a balcony and staring at mountains wreathed in cloud, old stone houses crawling their way up the hillsides and a river winding its way along the flat, fertile valley.  And that's not even the best view in town!

Gjirokaster was my first stop after crossing the border from Greece into Albania.  This is a bustling modern town but I was staying in the 'old town' which was all steep cobbled laneways, grey stone houses looming over the pathways and cascading down and up the hills.  Above all this, loomed the ruins of the Gjirokaster Castle, Albanian flags fluttering in the cool breeze.  Unfortunately, I had also brought a rather snotty Greek cold with me, so many of my excursions here ended with a couple of pills and a sniffy nap.

I decided to put my struggling lungs to the test and walked up to Gjirokaster Castle.  It has a rather dark history since Enver Hoxha, the communist leader/dictator turned the castle into a prison for political prisoners.  The communist era (1944 - 1991) seems to colour everything that I have seen and many of the conversations that I've had.  It obviously has had an appalling effect on the older generation, with so many killed, imprisoned or repressed.  But the younger generation are also very aware of their dark past and are fighting to advance ... they are so keen to join the EU (hear that UK?) and to show the world that Albania is more than awful memories.  

One of Hoxha's obsessions (and he seemed to have quite a few!) was the fear of being attacked so he built 750,000 bunkers!  True!  The country is riddled with bunkers, tunnels, nuclear-proof rooms ... so I went to see the Cold War tunnels of Gjirokaster.  They are an extensive system of rooms built under the hill of the castle.  There was room for 200 people (although the toilet facilities were a bit limited for that number) and rooms for government ministries, interrogators, party elites, sleeping, power generation and water storage.

Cold under control with Greek and Albanian drugs (no idea what they were but they seemed to work) I left Gjirokaster in torrential rain and took a bus to Berat.  Now I need to tell you about Albanian coffee (an essential that morning).  Firstly, it's not as good as Greece but, and it's a BIG but, it's also everywhere ... but only drunk by men.  So every coffee shop I've gone into, it's like one of those Westerns ... all the men stop talking and stare at me.  I walk timidly up to the bar and say "Americano, ju lutem".  The man behind the bars stares at me.  Then turns to the coffee machine and starts making the thickest, darkest, strongest long black in the history of coffee ... and everyone smiles and starts talking again.  Appropriately caffeinated (I had two), I came to Berat.

I should explain the physical appearance of Berat.  There is a river, the Osum, flowing through Berat, with grey muddy water.  Over the other side of the river is Gorika, a Christian settlement.  My side is the main part of Berat, Mangalem, crowned on the top of the hill by the ruins of a castle.  Surprisingly, there are quite a few mosques in the city.  But what makes Berat different and special are the houses.  The architecture, noted for the many windows, earned Berat the nickname ‘the city of a thousand windows (or eyes)’.  The narrow, steep, paved streets and the white stone houses with their wooden balconies create a timeless atmosphere.

The next morning, I walked over the bridge and visited Gorica.  I walked around the quiet laneways and eventually found Saint Spyridon's church.  It was a beautiful, peaceful building, but its main interest for me were the original frescoes, one of which showed a black person in chains, beneath the feet of the saint.  Unfortunately the old man who had let me in didn't understand english so I couldn't find out if the saint was saving the slave or oppressing them. 

My lungs having decided to work, I then decided to walk up to Berat castle.  And when I say up, I actually mean UP!  I have to say that I'm coping very well with the walking, the ups and downs and all the steps and stairs.  Leg ... tick!  I walked around, admiring the ruins and the views.  At one stage, I watched an old man (one front tooth in an enormous smile) playing chess against a German woman.  He won ... convincingly!  It cost her 1 euro and she said afterwards that it was well worth it since she learned so much from his tactics.

My last adventure in Berat was taking a bus out to Osum Canyon and the Bogove waterfall.  Although it was only 60 km away, it took nearly two hours to get to the canyon.  We passed huge market gardens and hills covered in grape vines and olive groves, before coming to where the Osum River has carved the sandstone into a steep canyon. 

While others looked at the views, I was impressed with the flowers in the meadows, including many orchids.

I leave Berat tomorrow, heading to the Albanian capital, Tirana.  But, in case you haven't noticed,  I am in love with this country.  I feel so wanted, so safe, so engaged.  I feel for Albania as a place which has rarely been free, invaded by many, warring with others, repressed by an awful dictatorship.  It seems like the country is relishing the idea of freedom and self-determination.  And let me leave you with a sample of the food that I've been eating ...

Qifqi - a Gjirokaster traditional dish.  Rice balls made with a combination of rice, egg and cheese.

Stuffed eggplant (patellxhane) with village salad (what we would call Greek salad)

Japrak (stuffed vine leaves) and Fergese (cottage cheese, tomatoes and red and green roasted peppers)

Biftek Vjenez (pork steak stuffed with cheese and nuts) - a Berat specialty