Visitors

An Italian couple, friends of mine, who visited NYC last fall, and extensively traveled the rest of the world decided to get to know little Albania too, and planned their trip here while I am in town.

The May 1st European holiday presented the perfect opportunity to hop on a plane and spend an extended weekend in Tirana. Arrived by midday on Thursday, after a 1 1/2 hour from Milan, they started to view the capital on foot since they are in terrific shape and love to walk. It’s too bad the weather turned for the worst and the rains that plagued Italy for the past few weeks, have now moved to the Balkans. Nevertheless, as good troopers, they were ready to go anywhere and we made some plans to also go out of town during the weekend.

On Friday we decided to go first to the town of Kruja in the mountains, and then to the port city of Durres and along its coast.

my friends at the entrance of Skanderbeg's Museum in Kruja

handiwork sold by locals along the way to the museum
I was amazed by the great number of new constructions that took place in Kruja itself in the past year. The town, perched up in the mountains, was crowded everywhere with local and foreign tourists traveling via private cars, motorcycles, buses, and local transport.

It's always exiting to see the remnants of the old fortress and citadel's walls. This was the home and headquarters of Skanderbeg, the national hero, who kicked the Turks (Ottomans) out of the country in the 1400's, giving Albania the only period of 'true and complete' independence from any foreign influence. Written history about his deeds and life began to be published since 1508 in Rome, and continues to this day in a variety of languages.

the old tower of the citadel

the new (mid 1980's) Skanderbeg Museum

the statues that greet visitors in the lobby


a portion of the mural depicting Skanderbeg's battles, his helmet and sword







Skanderbeg's desk chair


the visitors' register
While the weather was a bit chilly in the morning, and the clouds accompanied us during the first part of the day, when we left the mountains and the fog behind, the sun began to appear and it was nice to walk along the beach coastal area.



In Durres, we stopped for a while at the Adriatik Hotel.

I saw this hotel for the first time in 1993. It was then an empty shell of an old building, now privatized, completely modernized , and part of the luxury class of accommodations in this area.

This costal area 15 years ago was totally empty, but now it's completely built up for miles on end.

Although it's still spring, the hotel large outside pool was already filled up and beautiful terracotta pots with blooming flowers were everywhere.

The hotel is just a block off one of the main thoroughfares of Durres, but it's a place of complete tranquility and pleasure!


A wonderful fish lunch was consumed again at the great restaurant near the port area. Here they serve 3 appetizers and a dessert of freshly cut fruit topped by ice cream, all free of charge. Later we rode up the hill, along the old city walls, to have coffee in a bar that overlooks the entire city, the port and the coast. A beautiful Italian ferry swiftly was pulling into the port, while, as usual, many cargo ships were waiting in the bay area to take their turn in docking.