Our second day in the fascinating country of Albania provided a taste of every era of this land’s complex history. After Sea Cloud docked at the port of Durres, we set out for Tirana, the capital of Albania. Starting with an exploration of Tirana’s National Historical Museum, our local guides, Ols and Adrian, skillfully walked us through millennia of change, starting in the Neolithic era and ending with the Communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha.
After this visit, we travelled by bus through a varied landscape of cornfields, quaint agricultural towns, and small-scale industrial areas to reach the city of Kruje. This mountain town, with a breathtaking view of the fertile plains below, boasts a medieval castle which, in the 15th century, was held by the Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti. The son of a Christian Albanian nobleman, Kastrioti served in the Ottoman army for several years before rebelling and uniting the Albanian clans against Ottoman expansion. Popularly known as Skanderbeg, Kastrioti and his achievements are the focus of one of the museums we visited in Kruje, a Communist-era monument to the Albanian leader. Another museum in Kruje, the ethnographic museum, offers a glimpse at daily life in a 19th-century Albanian home.
Our busy morning exploring the many curious facets of Albania was followed by a buffet lunch in Kruje of traditional local foods including cheeses, grilled vegetables, savory pastries, and a main course of tender lamb and vegetables slow-roasted in an earthenware pot. We had scarcely finished our feast when a folk dance group began a performance of traditional Albanian music and dance with colorful native costumes. Afterward, we slowly descended the cobblestone streets of the town into Kruje’s medieval market, where we browsed the shops offering delicate silver filigree, hand-knitted socks, touristy trinkets, and fine antiques before beginning our journey back to the ship.
