To Travel Is To Live: Albania 6: Shkodra and Albanian Alps

Shkodra, tucked away in the northwestern corner near the border with Montenegro, is Albania's fourth largest city and has plenty of history to boot. It was the capital of a late Illyrian kingdom whose rulers included the often-mentioned Queen Teuta from the third century BC. It is also used as a jumping-off point for the Albanian Alps, a newcomer in the hiking and climbing world.

As we dawdled a bit at Kruja, and with the guide and the driver who love to take long coffee or cigarette breaks at every opportunity, it is already early evening when we arrive in Shkodra. Since we are taking a lake ferry early the following morning, we have really just one thing to do before the sun goes down. And the choice is easy - Rozafa Castle, named after a young woman who according to legend had to be buried in the walls in order for its completion and is still producing milk for her child in the form of dripping water.

A professor who was supposed to give a tour cannot make it so the caretaker sends his eleven-year-old son instead. The boy speaks good English and is a wealth of knowledge. Further encouraged by our enthusiastic reception, he goes on, "would you like to hear about Skanderbeg next?" After that, uprovoked, he rattles off some facts about the sun. In the meantime, the sun is setting and we decide to linger on a bit longer and take in the 360-degree vista and a magical ambience on top of the ruins.

Shkodra: from Rozafa Castle

Shkodra: a view of the delta from the castle ruins

Shkodra: a minaret built on top of a church, now both in ruins

Shkodra: sun setting over Shkodra Lake

Shkodra: an eleven-year-old confidently telling us the history and archeology of the area

Shkodra: sunset over Lake Shkodra

Shkodra: sunset

Shkodra: descending from Rozafa Castle

The dinner is well worth the wait at a spacious and beautifully decorated restaurant adjoining our hotel which is an oasis of old architecture in the middle of otherwise ugly modern downtown Shkodra. It is a pleasant surprise to be staying at this grand old house after such an enjoyable time at Rozafa Castle.

Shkodra: a room at a grand old traditional house

Shkodra: a restaurant with ambience at Hotel Tradita Geg and Tosk

Shkodra: baking bread

Lake Koman is a man-made lake, long and narrow. A scenic boat ride from Koman to Fierze used to be a shortcut to the Albanian Alps, but now that a new highway has been built the demand for a car ferry has dwindled and only passenger boats are operating. We have to send our driver who will drive alone with our luggage and meet us at our destination, but because of some road closures he will be on a route that take him over into Kosovo before crossing back into Albania. We rearrange the contents of our suitcases hurriedly in order not to invite suspicion at the border. We get on our modest boat which takes off about the same time as a competitor's boat, a funky converted bus. The scenery is very nice and no wonder this 3-hour ride has been likened to a passage through Norwegian fjords. The waters are very clean except for occasional collections of plastic bottles and other refuse floating on them. Our guide jokes, "Albanians don't worry about the end of the world. Because they are always 20 years behind everyone else."

Lake Koman

Lake Komen: a ferry boat converted from a bus

Lake Koman

Our driver has safely returned (not without, shall we say, making a small donation to the well-being of the guards at the border crossing). After driving another hour and a half partly on unpaved roads through mountain scenery along a gushing clear river, we reach our destination, Valbona. We are staying at a farm surrounded by mountains of the Albanian Alps. We are shown to a room with six beds - interior decoration is not a priority here, but hey I hear cuckoos and cowbells from the room. With a bit of a threatening weather, we choose to be lazy and skip a planned hike. All items at meals are produced at the farm, including cheese, butter, honey, vegetables and meat. The following morning, we see off a Canadian couple who leave on a trek to Thethi bright and early. I learn that this farm was featured in a New York Times article last year. Very interesting to compare their description of the owner with our own. The stay is too short, but it's time to move on. We are looking forward to going back to civilization, well, in ... Kosovo.