August 2024

Prologue: One night in Beograd

The distance from Sarajevo to Tirana is only 300 km, but there's no direct flight from one to the other. The shortest air route is to go to Beograd, spend the night there, and continue to Tirana the next day. That's what I did, and used the opportunity to have dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in town, Mihailo. After the lack of gastronomic excitement in Sarajevo, the goulash I ate in Beograd was a transcendent experience. Goulash is actually from Hungary (they call it gulyás) but extremely popular in Serbia (they call it gulaš): a stew made with veal, lots of onions, and plenty of paprika. Superb.

Goulash

One month in Tirana

Tirana is an enjoyable place. Recovered from the dictatorship that made Albania miserable from the end of the Second World War to the early 1990s, after democratization the city underwent extensive urban renewal, modernizing its infrastructure, restoring historic sites, and introducing vibrant public spaces. Economic liberalization attracted foreign investments, and cultural openness brought in international influences, turning Tirana into a dynamic city with a lively atmosphere, diverse architecture, and welcoming attitude towards tourists.

I rented a pleasant apartment on Rruga Luigj Gurakuqi, a street that connects the neighborhood of Pazari i Ri (New Bazaar), one of the oldest areas in the city, to Sheshi Skënderbej (Skanderbeg Square), the main plaza in the city. In less than five minutes I can walk to markets, restaurants, shopping malls, and several historical locations.

There are not many museums here, mainly because the two largest ones, the National Historical Museum and the National Gallery of Arts, have been closed for renovation for a long time. I visited the Tirana National Archaeological Museum (the usual local artifacts from prehistory to the Roman Empire), the House of Leaves (it used to be the headquarters for the Sigurimi, the dreaded dictatorship secret police, and now is the Museum of Secret Surveillance), the Bunk'art Museum (about the dictatorship period and situated inside the atomic bunker of dictator Enver Hoxha), and the Pyramid of Tirana (originally a museum about Enver Hoxha and now a renovated Youth IT Center). I also went to the Tirana Art Gallery for an Andy Warhol exhibition and to the Center for Openness and Dialogue for an exhibition of photos of Albania during the dictatorship period made by Magnum photographers.

National Historical Museum

Albanian pottery

And the food?

The main traditional dish of Albania is the tave kosi (lamb and rice baked with a mixture of yogurt and eggs). Delicious. There's also the japrak (leaves of spinach stuffed with rice, veal meat, extra virgin olive oil, green onions, dill, mint, served with decanted yoghurt), the qofte shtepie me djathe (meatballs stuffed with cheese), the peskavica (spiced minced pork, beef, and lamb meat, all mixed up in what looks like an open sausage), and my favorite, the fergesë (a dip made with tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, feta cheese, and garlic).

Albania has been making wine since the Bronze Age, and has a few local varieties of grapes. The ones I tasted were the Shesh (full-bodied with strong tannins, my kind of wine) and the Kallmet (smoother tannins and a bit of acidity).

Tave kosi

Japrak

Fergesë

And the side trips?

I visited Durrës, which is a beach town and second largest city in the Albania, after Tirana. Founded by Ancient Greek colonists around 600 BCE with the name of Epidamnos, it later became Dyrrachium after conquered by the Romans, Durazzo under Venetian rule, Dirac when it became part of the Ottoman Empire, and finally Durrës. We can see some of all that history in the old architecture, including the Roman Baths (hidden underneath the local theatre), the Byzantine Forum, the Roman Amphitheater, and the Venetian Tower.

Venetian Tower

I also went to Berat, a much smaller city to the south of Tirana with a peculiar architecture that made the place known as the Town of a Thousand Windows. The main attraction there is the Berat Castle at the top of the hill. It was built by the Romans, but later rebuilt by the Byzantine emperors Theodosius II (5th century) and Justinian I (6th century). In the 13th century they built houses inside the fortifications, and a few families still live there.

Berat

Berat seen from the top of the Berat Castle

One day in Montenegro

Albania's neighbor to the north is Montenegro. I was curious about it and it's not too far, so I spent a day visiting a few places there.

First I went to Sveti Stefan. It was originally a small island, but later it was linked to the mainland by an artificial isthmus. It's now a hotel resort, which has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic, but the beach and the view still attract many people.

Sveti Stefan

Then I went to Budva. It's one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic coast (started over 2,000 years ago), but today it's a large beach town full of hotels and restaurants. I had lunch there, the traditional buzara. It's a sauce made with olive oil, wine, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs, used to cook seafood. I had škampi na buzara (shrimp stew), which was delicious. Eating it right there by the Adriatic Sea only made it better.

Škampi na buzara

Lastly I went to Kotor. It is a fortified port on the Bay of Kotor, from the time the Venetians controlled that area (from early 15th century to late 18th century). Very charming place surrounded by astounding landscape.

Kotor

And now what?

My next stop will be in London, but only for ten days. From there I will go to New Orleans, one of my favorite places in the USA. But that's a story for another time.

Cheerio! (If you don't know, that's a way to say "goodbye" in the UK.)