Balkan Road Trip - 05. Tirana, Albania

I received nothing but quizzical looks when I told a select few friends that we're vacationing in Tirana.

Tirana? Are the hotels still wire-tapped? And isn't that the car theft capital of Europe? My smartass friends quipped.

"Cars don't get stolen in Tirana," I countered. "It's where stolen cars go." Of course there is -- or was -- some truth in that joke, but to me it doesn't make Tirana any more unsafe than say Athens.


A month later we returned with fond memories of a vibrant European capital that became my wife's second favorite city in the Balkans after the haunting Mostar. As of 2018 Tirana is very safe yet remains fun in a disorganized way, and offers fantastic modern gastronomy at unbelievable prices.


Nearly 30 years after the fall of communism, Tirana still remains in the backwaters of international tourism, though that is rapidly changing with increasing numbers of visitors from Eastern Europe and Italy. Most touch down at Tirana's airport; some arrive on luxury cruises at nearby Durres; very few take the highway bus on cross-country road trips like we did.


Those skeptical about Tirana's rise as a bonafide tourist destination should first acclimatize at the revamped Pazari i Ri, textbook example of urban revitalization in which a crumbling, unhygienic wet market was successfully transformed into a chic entertainment hotspot full of upmarket cafes and restaurants, aspiring to become Covent Garden of the Balkans.


Its legions of street hawkers have now been gentrified into a modern glass-roofed bazaar known as Markata e Gjelber, still peddling fresh and dried fruits from the nearby countryside, fish from Durres and an eye-opening selection of fiery Raki. We were looking for a cheap lunch of grilled Qofte before being convinced by the freshness of the fish that this would be the perfect place to splurge on a seafood meal, which turned out to be the best idea.

Restaurant Review: MARKATA E PESHKUT (Tirana) (Location Map)

We both agreed -- this was our favorite restaurant of our 22-day journey through 6 countries in the Balkans.

I don't care for the polarizing reviews on TripAdvisor and Google. Over 22 days we sampled numerous seafood eateries along the Balkan riviera from Montenegro to Dalmatia to Istria, and this upmarket fish restaurant in Tirana was our top choice for its wonderful flavours as well as an unbeatable price-to-quality ratio.


If sweetness and stickiness to the tongue are the best indicators of absolute freshness in raw shrimp, these trio of Adriatic prawns in our Crudo di Pesce would rival the freshest Botan-Ebi-no-Sashimi in Japan, almost relegating to afterthought the incredibly tender octopus, softly blanched cuttlefish and squid, vinegared anchovies and mouthwatering Albanian olives from Berat.

And here's the kicker -- this platter of Crudo di Pesce for two cost just 830 Leke or 6.5 euros, a fraction of what one would expect in Rome.


After a creamed soup of white fish that turned out decent but unspectacular, my wife ordered a caesar salad topped with generous strips of sharp Kashkaval cheese and three mid-sized but superbly flavorsome shrimps that tasted of the Adriatic Sea. The price? Just 400 Leke or 3.1 euros.


And most surprisingly, possibly the best pasta sauce either of us have ever tasted within or outside of Italy.

The perfectly al dente linguine was no surprise at a restaurant of this calibre, as was the small hill of painstakingly peeled baby shrimps. But it was the thick sauce of masterfully condensed shrimp essence -- shell, caviar and all -- that became one of our most delicious memories of the entire 22 day journey. A month later and I'm still dreaming of this dish that cost an amazing 500 Leke or 3.9 euros. I'd be willing to pay four times that price in Rome.

Meal for Two Persons

Crudo di Pesce	830 Leke
Fish Soup	300 Leke
Caesar Salad with Grilled Shrimps	400 Leke
Linguine con Gamberetti	500 Leke
Table White 0.5L	500 Leke
Bottle of Spring Water	200 Leke
TOTAL	2730 Leke (CAD$32.1)

Minutes after a classy seafood lunch at the 21st century glass-roofed bazaar, we descended into the darkest era of Albania's communist past at Bunkart 2, one of two subterranean museums dedicated to exposing the classified secrets of the old People's Socialist Republic. The entrance's roof still bears the scar of rioting demonstrators of the past, preserved here for an extra dose of realism.


Housed in a multi-level bunker designed to withstand nuclear attacks from both America and the Soviet Union, the 1000-square-metre dungeon was affiliated with Albania's secret police during Enver Hoxha's reign, complete with a clandestine backdoor into the bowels of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.


Filling the austere hallways and sombre rooms are decommissioned wire-tapping equipment and switchboards, pinhole cameras and disguised miniature firearms for assassinations. Presenting various instruments of torture, video interviews of former political prisoners and records of the missing, this exhibition was nearly as depressing as Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Museum.


Gasping for fresh air we re-emerged at the expansive Skanderbeg Square, epicentre of anti-government demonstrations that overthrew the communist regime in the early 90s. Monuments to Enver Hoxha and Joseph Stalin have since made way for national hero Skanderbeg who united Albanian chieftains against -- ironically enough -- Islamic expansion in the form of the Ottoman Empire.


South of Skanderbeg Square is the one landmark that best epitomizes Tirana's transformation, the unmistakable Piramida inaugurated as the Enver Hoxha Museum in the twilight years of communism, hosted Albania's first night clubs and free radio stations of the 90s, served as NATO command post during the Kosovo Wars before falling into disrepair. This was our last chance to see the pyramid in its original grey concrete appearance before it receives a futuristic makeover as a 21st century tech hub and incubator.


Across the Pyramid is the formerly elitist neighbourhood of Blloku that once housed Enver Hoxha and his closest circle of party officials. The tree-lined boulevards now host Tirana's highest concentration of fashionable cafes, contributing to Albania's recent claim as the nation with most cafes per capita, bettering even the Italians and the Spanish. Just one of the things Albanians can thank their old Ottoman overlords for.

For dinner we specifically asked the young concierge at our hotel for his favorite Zgara, the Albanian institution of cheap barbecue houses often frequented by cash-strapped students. We were totally blown away by Berat's Zgara Kaon the previous day, and were anxious to sample Tirana's best.

Restaurant Review: ZGARA PARKU (Tirana) (Location Map)

We would have never found this place on our own.

Tucked away in a middle class neighbourhood west of Skanderbeg Square, this stretch of Rruga e Kavajas is apparently known as Tirana's battle arena for barbecue houses. Our concierge purposely didn't recommend any particular Zgara over the others -- in his opinion it was impossible to go wrong with any of the four or five Zgare within the same block.


Once again we started with the Albanian national dish of Qofte. While these grilled meatballs did turn out well-charred as expected, they were still a notch below the gold standard of Zgara Kaon in terms of flavour and succulence to my biased tastebuds.


After a puzzling green salad with lemon slices for fruit, our barbecued wings arrived with a thick dip of Xaxiq, the Albanian variant of Turkish Cacik or Greek Tzatziki. At 350 Leke (CAD$4) this might have been the cheapest pound of wings I've ever ordered in a pub.


For the first time I found myself having pork, in the form of shish kebap, while downing an alcoholic drink in a Muslim majority country. Now this may sound completely normal for readers from Malaysia or even coastal Turkey, but for a Canadian traveler this was bragging rights territory.


Appetizers of qofte and green salad, followed by a shish kebap, wings, lamb ribs and washed down with a couple pints, and the total bill came to 1700 Leke or 13 euros for two. The next morning we would depart Albania for Montenegro and subsequently Croatia, where meal prices would easily triple.

Meal for Two Persons

Green Salad	190 Leke
Qofte x 2	50 Leke
Pork Shish Kebap	120 Leke
Barbecued Wings	350 Leke
Lamb Ribs 0.5 kg	750 Leke
Pint of Draft Beer x 2	240 Leke
TOTAL	1700 Leke (CAD$20.0)

Special thanks to the helpful and multi-lingually proficient staff at Hotel Dilos, spotlessly clean, reasonably priced and located conveniently next to the international bus station for our early morning bus to Montenegro. After traveling the length of Albania from south to north, I now have no hesitation in recommending this small and misunderstood nation to fellow travelers.

IF YOU GO

Tirana is served by a few major airlines including British Airways from London Gatwick. Those on a tighter budget like us may consider taking a cheap flight to Corfu or Kotor/Tivat and visit Tirana as part of a road trip across Albania. And remember: while Tirana serves as an attractive port of entry, the best of Albania lie further south at Berat and Gjirokaster.

Balkan Road Trip - 04. Berat, Albania

With its cascades of whitewashed houses fitted with perfectly uniform arrays of Ottoman windows, Berat may be the most visually-stunning town in the Southern Balkans and certainly my favorite destination in Albania.

Note to fellow travelers -- here we found our favorite cheap restaurant of the six countries we visited, a family-run Albanian grill house that does simple peasant dishes exceptionally well. Scroll down to the food photos if you're craving for a barbecue.


Fittingly nicknamed the City of Overlayed Windows (or Thousand Windows, depending on the translation), Berat is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a must-see in any Albania guidebook. Situated 3 hours north of the equally picturesque Gjirokaster and 2.5 hours from the capital city of Tirana, this made a perfect stop on our south-north bus trip across Albania.


Founded by ancient Greeks and fortified by Byzantines as the Eastern Roman Empire's frontier against its Slavic neighbours, Berat eventually fell to the Ottomans in the Middle Ages and remained under Turkish rule for 500 years. Exceptional perhaps compared with the rest of the Balkans, but Orthodox Christians and Muslims have peacefully coexisted here for centuries.


This is the best-preserved town from Albania's Ottoman past with two historical quarters -- one traditionally Muslim and one Orthodox -- flanking the Osum River and a secluded third concealed within its massive 13th century Byzantine citadel atop a treacherously steep cliff.


Our furgon from Gjirokaster unexpectedly dumped us on the side of a dusty highway roundabout at Lushnje -- welcome to public transport in Albania -- where we had to cover the final 35 km to Berat by other means. A taxi driver was already hovering like a vulture at the roundabout, offering to save us from the scorching sun and the uncertainty of infrequent passing buses for 20 euros. We took up the offer, and within 30 minutes we were in Berat.


We rented a centuries-old Ottoman stone house in Berat's Orthodox Christian quarter known as Gorica, a short but steep walk up a rutted village path of medieval cobblestones. Our host Elisa led us past a heavy wooden gate into a pebbled courtyard that would be entirely ours, complete with its own breakfast table under a persimmon tree.


This simple bedroom was the most memorable out of the 13 properties that we rented along our journey -- not because it was the most spacious or decorative, and certainly not the best in material comfort without an air conditioner. It was the breathtaking view from the row of 18th century Ottoman windows that we most enjoyed.


Outside our window was a panorama of the Ottoman town of stone houses with mysterious dark windows, sheltered by the legendary fortress that graces the back of Albania's 10 Leke coin. Half-metre-thick stone walls kept the bedroom reasonably cool in the absence of air conditioning, and the rest of the house was well-equipped with a second bedroom, functional kitchen and even a washing machine.


German- and Italian-speaking groups occasionally toured through the neighbourhood's cobblestone paths, thankfully saved by the edict of the Communist dictator from the sprawl of hideous 1960s concrete blocks. With its increasing number of cheap hostels and guesthouses, this former quarter of tanners and craft guilds seemed ready to become the next hotspot for backpackers.


Across a graceful 7-arched bridge on the northern bank of River Osum, the predominantly Muslim quarter of Mangalemi -- home to many of Berat's historical mosques and Sufi shrines -- was undergoing major restorations in a government-funded revitalization programme. With the whole neighbourhood reduced to an open construction zone, we had no choice but to bypass the mosques and continue towards the hill top castle.


It took an ankle-twisting 30 minute hike through a steep obstacle course of half-exposed sewer pipes along a potholed dirt path, but it was all worth it. Awaiting at the top was not your typical castle ruins, but a living fossil of a medieval hill town, an 800-year-old isolated community of Byzantine houses with a disproportionate abundance of 15th century Orthodox churches.


The Castle Quarter's unmissible highlight is the National Iconographic Museum, housed inside an Orthodox church and showcasing dazzling gold and silver leaf icons by the great Onufri, leading icon painter of the 16th century and Berat's favorite son. Photos were not allowed, but no visitor would soon forget the golden magnificence of the centuries-old altarpieces.


The best reward for a strenuous hike is always the panorama at the top, in this case a bird's eye view of the Mangalemi Quarter directly below as well as the Gorica Quarter across the river. Getting here though was quite a story in itself.

For the first time in our years of traveling, the locals purposely misguided us as we asked for direction. And yes, I'm sure it was deliberate when the middle-aged hawker pointed me to the dodgy castle rampart above his fruit stand with a partially obstructed view and called it "Panorama." The official Panorama spot, as we stumbled upon later, was actually a minute's walk below his stand.

Perhaps it's a strategy to keep visitors going in circles and maximize their time (and money) spent at this secluded hill town, but this is not how you should build your tourism brand.


As I was busy photographing this 500-year-old Byzantine chapel precariously hugging the near-vertical cliff, a cigarette-wielding child of barely 10 years stood beside me and, while I was least suspecting, pulled the most bewildering stunt.

No, he didn't grab my wallet -- which would have been at least logical -- but reached into the depth of his pants and produced his own penis.

For the next minute or so, the kid simply stood next to me and did two things:

1) exposing his genitals
2) uttering the word money

I can't fathom what gave him the idea that exposing his penis would result in visitors paying him for his antics, but I quickly finished my photography, grabbed my wife (who fortunately didn't witness the above episode) and headed back to Mangalemi Quarter for dinner. As enchanting as the Castle Quarter may be, I much preferred the sincerity of the people we met in the lower town.

Restaurant Review: ZGARA KAON (Berat) (Location Map)

At the Mangalemi Quarter we came across one of our best discoveries of this 22-day journey, a traditional barbecue house with a specialized repertroire of charbroiled Albanian favorites. We knew this place was legit when a bunch of local construction workers came for lunch with their helmets on. Enough said.


Albania's answer to the American BBQ shack or Southern Chinese Siu Mei joint, the Zgara is a family-friendly institution serving hearty portions of expertly grilled meat at blue collar prices. The two of us shared a spicy Suxhuk, a crispy Virshle sausage and the Albanian national dish of Qofte meatballs -- the best Qofte/Cevapi of our entire Balkan trip -- all for 460 Leke (CAD$5.4).

Now this may be blasphemy for an Albanian Zgara, but here we found something even better than the meat.


This was one of my most memorable dishes of the trip, a divine plate of grilled zucchini, bell peppers and aubergine, drizzled with a vinegar reduction and best of all, a sublime olive oil worthy of an upmarket ristorante in Milan ... and for just 300 Leke (2.2 Euros)! I kept wondering as I savoured each slice of aubergine ... where did they source this amazing olive oil?

What I didn't know was that Berat is apparently known for Albania's best olives. I learned this only after leaving Albania.

Lunch for Two Persons

Qofte x 4	160 Leke
Suxhuk and Virshle Sausages	300 Leke
Grilled Zucchini and Aubergine	300 Leke
Korca Beer	150 Leke
Raki	60 Leke
Water	50 Leke
TOTAL	1020 Leke (CAD$12.0)

We rarely visit the same restaurant twice in our travels, which says how much we loved this little zgara. Our dinner started with another Albanian national dish known as Fergese, a thick gravy of roasted peppers and cottage cheese in an earthen dish.


And even better, a meticulously grilled spring chicken that turned out to be one of my wife's favorite dishes of the trip. Underneath the perfectly crispy skin was the firm flesh of the free-range bird, pint-sized but packed with flavorsome juices.


We couldn't resist reordering another plate of their signature grilled vegetables with the heavenly olive oil. After the meal we went up to the open kitchen to give our compliments to the chef-owner and his staff, and while I couldn't quite explain olive oil in Albanian, I don't think the universal love of food needed any translation.

Dinner for Two Persons

Whole Grilled Chicken	600 Leke
Fergese	200 Leke
Grilled Vegetables	300 Leke
Korca Beer	150 Leke
Kaon Beer	150 Leke
Water	50 Leke
TOTAL	1450 Leke (CAD$17.1)

With an entire block of cafes and bars on Bulevardi Republika we had plenty of options for a Friday night, though at the end we chose to wander across the pedestrian bridge for a nighttime panorama of the Mangalemi Quarter. The next morning we would check out in the early morning, hop on a local bus to the long distance bus station then a highway coach to the Albanian capital of Tirana.

IF YOU GO

Berat is 2.5 hours by highway buses departing from Tirana's South Bus Station (see map), located near the Eagle Roundabout as of 2018. If you're planning a cross-Albania trip and need to connect from Gjirokaster, currently the safest bet would be to take an early morning bus to Fier, then transfer to an onward bus to Gjirokaster.

Balkan Road Trip - 03. Gjirokaster, Albania

Here I stood at one of Europe's most photogenic street corners, a stunning medieval quarter that would be a major tourist draw in just about any country. Place this in Germany and it would rival any romantic old town along the Middle Rhine, or Italy to complement the magical Alberobello.


Except this is Albania, one of the most underrated European destinations for various negative reasons -- most of them unfounded as we have since learned. 10 out of 10 friends of ours expressed safety concerns -- and various degrees of envy -- upon hearing of our itinerary. But how safe is Albania?


Since I personally didn't know anyone who had visited Albania, we turned to Government of Canada's travel advisory page which provided the following warnings as of 2018:

Economic hardship and easy availability of firearms increase the risk of violent incidents ...

Demonstrations occur in many Albanian centres, often with little or no advance warning, and have the potential to suddenly turn violent ...

Avoid non-essential travel to the city of Lazarat, where Albanian state police and armed marijuana growers have in the past engaged in violent altercations ...

And Lazarat is a 10 minute drive from Gjirokaster, which put us at the outskirt of Albania's gangland. Fantastic.


So we played it safe and easy with our own private taxi to old Gjirokaster, 40 km from the ancient Roman ruins of Butrint as the bird flies though it felt twice as long on the narrow mountainous roads of the Southern Balkans. Our young driver Mario became the first Albanian we came to know, and his gentle manners and openness to discuss politics and local life gave us the most welcoming first impression of his homeland.


The second Albanian we came to know was Tina, mother of two and gracious owner of our rental apartment who, in limited English, offered most helpful advices such as negotiation tips with local taxi drivers. Our apartment for four, located less than 100m from the aforementioned street corner, cost a fraction of what we would pay in Montenegro and Croatia later on our trip.


Stepping outside Tina's apartment immediately landed us at the heart of Gjirokaster's open-air bazaar, curiously steep and slippery with its paving of patterned cobblestones polished over centuries by the feet and hoofs of Ottoman caravans.


Through its 1700-year-old history Gjirokaster has earned two nicknames: City of Thousand Steps for the steepness of its streets, and City of Stone for its whitewashed masonry walls and grey slate roofs, all designed for defense and fire resistance in case of war.


A magnificent example of a fortified tower house, Zecate House is a 200-year-old Ottoman residence with a breathtaking reception room of immaculate fresco walls, ornate wooden ceiling and a still-functional fireplace. This is not an official museum with fixed opening hours -- just knock on the neighbour's door and pay a nominal fee for entry, and perhaps buy a cheap drink of raki from him for taking care of this priceless heritage asset.


It should hardly be suprising that the grandest and most defendable residence is located near the old town's highest point, offering from its balcony a sweeping panorama of Gjirokaster's merchant quarters with its brooding, expansive castle perched upon the hilltop.


Proudly on display inside the castle's labyrinths are various anti-aircraft guns and tanks captured from the retreating Italian and Nazi German forces during WWII, as well as prison cells that housed political dissidents during the communist era.


The most famous Cold War relic was an U.S. Air Force T-33 that landed at Tirana amid technical difficulties, and placed here as a trophy by dictator Enver Hoxha, Gjirokaster's most (in)famous son.


At the far end of the castle stands the handsome clock tower built by a 19th century warlord, now overshadowed in importance by the newer open-air theatre tapped as venue for the National Folklore Festival, the foremost showcase for traditional Albanian performing arts held once every five years or so.


The castle walls afford a bird's eye view of Gjirokaster's old and new quarters, stretching down the narrow plains of the Drino hemmed in by barren rusty hills typical of Southern Albania. It is a land that has always bred -- by deep-rooted discontent or perhaps just destiny -- revolutionists from Enver Hoxha to the riotists that helped bring down the government in 1997.


Unmistakable from above is the five-pointed intersection of the old bazaar with its uniformly grey roofs that has become the town's trademark. Next to the intersection is the only mosque in Gjirokaster that survived Hoxha's Cultural and Ideological Revolution when Albania was declared the world's first atheist state, back in the late 60s.


Souvenir shops at the bazaar opened late on this balmy evening in early September, hoping to squeeze the last Lek out of the short tourist season at a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has remained anonymous to 99% of international travelers. Also scrambling for tourism Leke were the restaurants, mostly serving rustic Albanian dishes extremely affordable by Western European standards.

Restaurant Review: ODAJA (Gjirokaster) (Location Map)

We visited two restaurants in Gjirokaster, averaging less than CAD$9 per head for multiple courses to share including drinks. Needless to say prices were the cheapest we've seen anywhere in Europe, comparable to rural China even.


Gjirokaster's famed contribution to Albanian cuisine, Qifqi is a vegan dish of rice and finely chopped mint, deep fried in its own customized frying pan that somewhat resembles a French escargot dish. Between the Qifqi, the earlier dish of stuffed peppers, an Albanian version of a creamy chicken-and-rice soup and a green salad, spending 900 leke (CAD$10.6) was enough to make the two of us mostly full.


But the best dish was the cheese.

This should be no surprise as Gjirokaster county is widely acclaimed for Albania's best cheese, its secrets honed for centuries by the region's sizeable Greek minority. Our slice of smooth white cheese was battered, deep-fried and drenched in local honey for a delectable side designed as appetizer, but saved and treasured as our dessert.

Meal for Two Persons

Village Salad	200 Leke
Stuffed Peppers	300 Leke
Rice Balls	200 Leke
Chicken Soup	200 Leke
Deep Fried Cheese with Honey	200 Leke
Beer	150 Leke
Water	Free
TOTAL	1250 Leke (CAD$14.7)

After the cheap lunch we decided to splurge on some seafood for dinner. This was small town Albania of course, where splurging meant spending CAD$10 per head.

Restaurant Review: KUJTIMI (Gjirokaster) (Location Map)

At last we came across the baby mussels that we spotted in the morning, farmed at the pristine salt lagoon of Lake Butrint. In traditional Albanian fashion these mussels were shelled, lightly battered, deep fried and served with a dash of lemon that was quite optional for shellfish this fresh.


With frog legs sadly out of season we ordered the next most exotic dish on the menu. Our deep-fried freshwater eels turned out reasonably fresh, but did come with a slight muddy flavor that benefited from a generous squeeze of lemon.


To be honest none of the dishes stood out, and the only memorable dish on this first day in Albania was the excellent fried cheese at Odaja. Little did we know that we would soon encounter two of our favorite restaurants of this 22-day trip over the next two days, as we moved into Central Albania.

Meal for Two Persons

Fried Peppers	200 Leke
Vegetable Soup	200 Leke
Deep Fried Mussels	400 Leke
Deep Fried Eels	650 Leke
White Wine 0.5 L	250 Leke
TOTAL	1700 Leke (CAD$20.0)

The next morning we took Tina's advice and found a cheap taxi to Gjirokaster's makeshift bus station, really a gas station on the main thoroughfare. Here we boarded Albania's infamous mode of long distance transport, the legendary furgon, towards our next destination of Berat.

IF YOU GO

Gjirokaster is 4 hours from Tirana by bus, currently departing from the South Bus Station (see map) near the Eagle Roundabout. For those traveling north from Saranda, cheap furgons departing from Parku Miqesia take about 1.5 hours ... but the last one leaves around 13:00. If you're pressed for time like us and need a private taxi from Saranda, leave me a message below with your email address and I'll send you Mario's contacts.