#where to stay in Shkodra

[footloose-travel]

Albania, An Unexpected Surprise

        Expectations are a funny thing. I’ve mentioned previously that I try to always keep an open mind because my expectations are often nowhere near what the experiences turn out to be. When going to some place like Paris one would have high expectations based on what they heard, the romantic reputation of the place, etc. So when it came to going to Albania I have to admit I did not have high expectations and thought we would only want to stay a couple days and move on. I had nothing concrete to base these expectations on and did not really do any research before we got there except to plan a couple days out. What a pleasant and unexpected surprise Albania turned out to be. I had no idea that many Europeans (especially Germans) come to Albania for their vacations, that there is a lot to see and that we found it as interesting as we did.         The first campground we stayed was in Gjirokaster, run by a young couple and also had an excellent restaurant. We were made to feel very welcome and had one of the best dinners we’ve had so far in this part of the world. We had a huge platter loaded with their traditional food of meats, cheeses, roasted vegetables, breads, olives, pastries with spinach and fresh fruit. I also had some of the wine they make there locally and John had a beer. All of this came to less than $20 and we were treated like a combination of family and royalty. While there we went to explore their World Heritage City and Castle which was a typical medieval fortress.         As we headed to the next campground the open countryside was full of mountains and wide valleys with great expanses of olive groves, orchards and farmland. When traveling these roads it is common to meet sheep, cow and goat herders moving their stock along. The “super markets” are about the size of convenience stores and generally do not carry much meat or produce. There are fruit and vegetable stands along the side of the road everywhere, and in the larger towns you may be lucky enough to find more variety this time of year. There are butcher shops and small bakeries and we had to make many stops to find everything we wanted to fill our normal grocery shopping that we were used to getting in one place.         Outside of Berat we found another good campground with nice facilities and decent homemade wine. We stayed there 3 nights and everyday either the owner or her son brought us iced coffee as a treat. One morning we took the bus into Berat so we could see the town and visit Berat Castle. Even though we were given basic information as to how to get there and which bus to take, sometimes things can get a bit misconstrued in the translation. We knew to take the bus right out front but somehow ended up taking the wrong one and getting off in a place different than where we expected. We asked around and were told in very broken English that the castle was down the road and to go “this way”. We did find the road up to the castle but it was not the main road, it was quite steep and very rocky. Since castles are always built up high on cliffs and mountains I knew there would be a walk up but usually the road has been paved. After scrambling along after John for awhile with no castle in sight and sweat dripping down my face, I decided to turn around and go back onto the main road and wait for him. I found a place to have coffee where I could relax while waiting. A young man brought me coffee and we started talking. His English was good and I explained why I was there. He gave me the WIFI password, brought me some water and said I could stay as long as I liked. I let John know where I was and when he climbed back down he met up with me and ended up having some coffee and conversation as well. John thanked the young man for taking such good care of me, and he didn’t want to charge us for the coffee and even ended up giving us some local fruit to take with us.         Our next stop was Shkodra and our campground was built at the base of yet another castle which we had an excellent view of from our campsite. When we checked in we were asked if we would like to visit the castle and we simultaneously said NO, we have had our fill of castles. Although they had fireworks from the castle that evening we were not aware of until we saw and heard them, and they were quite spectacular. We signed up instead for a tour that consisted of a 2 1/2 drive to a ferry, then an hour ferry ride on Lake Koman, then a stop at a Guest House along the lake, then another boat for a couple hour ride on the river. The mini bus picked us up at 6:30am and made a few stops along the way until we were full. The views were nice, but the road was a pot-holed disaster. After the ferry when we got to the Guest House we climbed up the hill and were then told there would be no river tour and we could kayak (too cold), walk into the village or take another boat ride around the lake. None of these options were what we signed up for and there were 8 of us trying to not get annoyed. Instead we all opted for the boat ride around the lake and made our way down the steep steps built into the cliffside to a different smaller boat that the owner had to bail water out of before we could launch. The ride was pleasant enough and after about an hour we were brought back and climbed up the 128 steps (John counted them) to the small area where they served us an excellent lunch. We climbed back down and waited for the ferry to pick us up and take us back to the minibus for the long drive to the campground. Overall a very long day, but the weather was beautiful and we slept well that evening.         We quickly learned Albanian drivers are as bad as Italian drivers when it comes to being aggressive and entitled, the roads are a mess and the ongoing construction can add unanticipated hours to your driving time. We also learned that Google Maps likes to take us on what John refers to “ingenious shortcuts” that inevitably gets us stuck, or on roads we have no business being on in our camper van. In Albania there is often no other way to go so we bravely forge on even though the road is not big enough for 2 vehicles, has steep drop offs without barriers and has no signs to indicate if it is even a passable road. We found ourselves on one of these types of roads and John expertly was maneuvering along when we encountered a car coming the other way. There was barely enough room, but whew we made it. Around the bend we came upon a traffic jam (more like a cluster f**k) where there was a bus (full sized) as well as other cars and small trucks. On this part of the road it was a little wider but we couldn’t really see what the hold up was. As we inched along with vehicles passing us just as slowly going the other way, we came upon a huge 18 wheeler truck! It was on the other side of the road and holding everything up. People were getting impatient and trying to pass in obviously impassable areas and beeping their horns. We then saw a wedding party in the line up of cars and since they couldn’t see what was ahead they started beeping even more. For some reason this scenario struck us as hysterical and we started laughing and shaking our heads saying you just can’t make this stuff up. Finally we got out of the cluster onto what could pass as an almost normal road and were still laughing, but also with a sense of relief.         Albania is a poor country with an abundance of natural beauty. They are still catching up from the brutal strain of their history to being a free market in a democratic republic. We didn’t realize the work they have put into becoming an enjoyable tourist destination and glad we got to experience it. The people we encountered (as long as they were not behind the wheel) were warm and friendly and truly cared about making our experience there a favorable one. The continued warm hospitality wherever we went was genuine, the food was excellent and most things very inexpensive. Before we came to Albania one couple we met said to drive through quickly and not stay there because it was dangerous. I don’t know what they based this on but I’m sure there is evil and wrong doings going on, as in any place. What I do know is we never felt uncomfortable or threatened and had a thoroughly enjoyable time here.         For all the photos see John and Charlotte’s flickr sites. Just click on either of our names.