This morning we docked early in the industrial container port of Durrës, Albania, and boarded buses for our first drive through the Albanian countryside. Albania is mainly an agricultural-based economy, which was apparent as we drove through green fields which spread out as far as the eye could see, right up to the limestone mountains that we were about to drive up to get to the historic town of Krujë.
Adrian and Ilir, our local guides, managed to compress thousands of years of history into the one hour and 15 minute drive. These included an overview of the different civilizations of people who have come, settled, and left over the centuries. These people are all thought to be the direct descendants of ancient Illyrians, but the region has been controlled by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Slavs, Bulgarians, and Ottoman Turks just to name a few. You can see the many different influences of these cultures all around you in this fascinating country!
When we arrived to Krujë we switches buses and got onto a smaller shuttle to take us closer to the medieval market where we disembarked. We walked slowly over the slippery smooth stones that made up the street, polished from hundreds of years of foot traffic. As we walked we peered into the shops and made note of things we’d like to buy later on. We soon arrived at the National Ethnographic Museum where we learned all about life in the countryside of Albania.
Next we went to check out the Skanderbeg Museum which honors Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbej, Albania’s national hero who called Krujë home. He was praised as the leader of the rebellion against the Ottoman Turks and everything seems to be named after him. Next we scrambled up another stone path to a restaurant overlooking the valley below. We enjoyed sampling the many different delicacies of Albania before eating the most delicious lamb and potatoes which, of course, was called the Skanderbeg Special. We were treated to a beautiful folk music and dance performance while we ate our dessert.
After we’d eaten (and some of us had danced along to the folk music!) we made our way down the hill to board the buses again. On our way we stopped and shopped for kitschy items in the medieval market. We boarded our buses and went back the way we came, driving through the countryside until we made it back to Durrës where we made a brief pit stop at a Roman Amphitheater right in the middle of the city! Legend has it that a man was digging a hole to plant a tree in his back yard in the 1960s and he ended up digging right into the gallery of an old roman structure. Since then they have been slowly excavating, but there is still more to discover as there are many houses built on top! We didn’t want to leave the fascinating site, but we had to board the buses for one last time that day so we could get back to the ship.
We settled in for another delicious dinner and beautiful piano music before drifting off to sleep.
