A Quick Albania Recap
New Year’s Eve already and my last chance to write about my 5 weeks in Albania while still in Albania. How did that time go so fast?
When I decided to come to Albania, there were two reactions – Why Albania? (or its cousin, who goes to Albania?) and the opposite “That’s where I want to go next!”
Tirana
To begin a visit to Albania, I highly recommend the free walking tour in Tirana which begins in front of the opera house. From Skanderbeg square, we were led on a 2.5-hour tour around the main spots of the center, covering the history of Albania with a dedicated stop to cover the communist era. It is still difficult for me to imagine the complete isolation the regime imposed on Albania, though the leaders lived in luxury and were the only people to have cars. Imagine not knowing what a banana was or even knowing Coca-Cola existed. After 1992, an empty Coca-Cola can become a symbol of new times. People even collected them.
The tour guide in Tirana had it right. You can’t understand the culture unless you learn about the communist era. While Albania is changing, its communist past hangs heavy on everything and everyone. It entered every meaningful conversation that I had, and it is impossible to escape it.
The guides also mention that it is impossible to understand Albania and its culture now without knowing this part of its history. How devastating is that?
Vlora
From Tirana, I took a bus to Vlore (or Vlora) the beginning of the Albanian riviera and where the Adriatic Sea meets the Ionian Sea. Vlora attracted me because I could rent a reasonably priced apartment within easy walking distance from the sea and check out living there. Quiet, at least in winter, is the answer to that inquiry!
When I got to Vlora, I stayed in one apartment in the northwest of town, 600 meters from the sea and beaches that ran for several kilometres, and then I moved to an apartment along the lungomare, half a block from the sea.
When I had booked the first place for 10 euros a night, I laughed when someone jokingly asked if I had heat! Well, it turns out I had a kitchen, bedroom with 2 bunk beds and a bathroom, but: no heat!! That happened to be the coldest week in Albania for me, and I froze. I wore all my clothes to bed and slept with my head under the blankets.
The best part was that it was half a block from this awesome little family store/market. They couldn’t speak a word of English, but they did their best to help me. When I couldn’t explain with my sign language, they motioned me to come behind the counter and gave me free rein. Her name was La-ita and her daughter was Na-ita (who I met the next day.) I bought their own olive oil, filling a plastic water bottle from a huge container in the back of the store, for 100 lek, about $1. And they made sure that I selected the best vegetables. Too bad they didn’t know that when I pointed at the butter I thought I was buying cheese. But it’s okay, I like butter, too. It was just a surprise when I went to eat a slice later.
My second apartment was south of the center, the area with the apartment buildings lining the lungomare along the sea. As I was half a block from the sea, with 3 markets and a bakery below me and a few hundred meters from the Sunset bar and restaurant, I was very happy with the location. From there, I could walk at least 1 mile in either direction, and had dozens of restaurants and cafes from which to choose.
Berat
After watching some youtube videos and hearing that Berat was a special city, I caught a bus from Vlora to Berat and stayed in a guesthouse with a view of the castle and the city of Berat below along the river. It was chilly, and the snow-capped mountains in the background only made it feel colder. The castle is a little village in itself, with cafes, stores and hotels. There is even some guy who charges in on his horse, maybe trying to capitalize on photos with tourists.
The riverfront is a pedestrian-only area, looking up to the castle and the area of the Ottoman era houses, “the thousand windows” known as Mangalem, filling the hill between.
With 2,000 years of history, uninterrupted religious tolerance, beautiful natural surroundings and clean air and water, Berat does have a special, relaxed feel.
Food
Tirana was also my introduction to the food in Albania, and it had a few surprises. The first night, I had a souvlaki because, at midnight, that’s all that was available. The receptionist at the hotel ordered a delivery for me and I ate it in the hotel bar with my first glass of red Albanian wine, from Kallmeti. The souvlaki was different than what I expected as it was topped with French Fries and a hearty amount of mayonnaise. And this was considered light for a night meal!
For lunch after the tour, I joined 4 others so I got to see a few menu items. When you order something, that is all you get e.g. if you order meat, you get a plate of meat. Any side is ordered separately (unless the menu says differently and possibly this may vary depending on the type of the restaurant.) Also, the food is rather salty which goes down fine with the cheap local beer.
Barbecue is everywhere – chickens and lambs are on rotisseries in a small side building to the restaurant, seasoned with only salt, as far as I can tell.
Regardless of where I have been or what I have eaten, I have to say that the food is rather, shall I say, unadorned. It’s good because the quality of the ingredients is good. In fact, I roasted a chicken that was among the best that I have ever eaten, because it was from the local village. But in general, they don’t use much seasoning or spices or flavouring in their food. It’s simple but good. (And I will admit that maybe I needed more recommendations from locals.)
There is a strong influence from Italy with many restaurants serving Italian dishes, such as lasagna or other pasta dishes. And there is pizza everywhere. The pizza that I had was excellent, even with sesame seeds sprinkled on the crust, quite a surprising shock for a pizza purist like me.
In Vlora, seafood and fish restaurants, which also offer meat, line the street along the waterfront – again grilling seems to be the cooking method.
The vegetable markets, which are covered on the sidewalk in front of stores, offer mandarins, apples, pomegranates and persimmons, all of which can still be seen on trees everywhere I have been. For vegetables, there are the usual Mediterranean staples of tomatoes, cucumbers, various peppers and onions along with eggplant, broccoli, leeks, green onions, cabbage, cauliflower, green and yellow beans and leafy green lettuce, along with potatoes and beets. Some also offer imported things such as mushrooms, dried figs, kiwi and pineapple.
I was surprised that the mushrooms are imported because I had read that mushroom foraging was popular in Albania. but when I asked, I was told that mushrooms aren’t something for which Albanians have expertise.
Language
I did not pursue the mushroom discussion further as my knowledge of the Albanian language is about 10 words. While many spoke English in Tirana, few people here seem to, in my experience. I have spoken more Italian in Vlora than I have in English, which is lucky for me.
Albanian is not related to any other language, though there do seem to be Italianisms sprinkled into the language now.
Logistics and other notes
Cash: This is a cash society. Cash is used for everything and very often, and often, there will be no receipt. Always know the price of something beforehand, even in a bar or café.
And yes, I was overcharged once in a bar where I had stopped to charge my phone so I could find my way home because I did not look at the menu or ask the price first!
The best ATM to use for cash withdrawal is the Credins bank as they do not charge a fee (in addition to whatever fee your own bank charges.)
Taxis run on meters though some taxis or rogue taxis will try to set a price – always require the meter! And break the rule in an emergency, like when I was tired walking uphill to Kanine and I waved down a taxi going downhill to take me uphill. Totally worth the 500 lek! And he dropped me off at the cafe with the wonderful view.
Conclusion – Go to Albania!
Speaking with my seatmate on the bus from Vlore to Tirana airport actually made me want to return. She showed pictures of beautiful swimming spots south of Vlora and swimming in the river in the north of Albania, the lakes and also lots of food photos, which made me think I should have eaten out more. So like everywhere, locals make the difference.
