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| One of the many bunkers still in Albania |
Last night we had a pretty bad storm starting just when I
went up to the Lido Deck to send yesterday's email. I was halfway there
when the drenching rain started. I was soaked and got to the Lido Deck
where there were a few people (mostly drunk) who were loving it. The crew
was working quite hard at pushing the rain off the canvas roof. When
there was a tiny lull, I raced back to the room. When the rain finally let up, they were
mopping up the Lido Deck, so I had to wait until this afternoon to mail the
email.
It was another fun-filled adventurous day starting when the alarm went off at 7. Ugh, but there are things to do and places to go!
We docked at Durres, Montenegro. We had the usual abundant breakfast buffet, and I just had the usual. I am getting tired of it, so I need to wake up and get something else. I practiced my Albanian hello, thank you, etc.
We went down the gangway to our 2 buses. Our new Albanian guides were there, so I tried out my hello. They were a little surprised and told me they normally say good morning, so I tried that and made a little progress.
It was about an hour's drive up to Kruje, the old Albanian capital. I was bound and determined to see some of the 700,000 bunkers, and I finally spotted one. They’re trying to remove them, so they are harder to spot. We did spot one as we started up the road into the mountains, but it was gone too quickly. Several miles down the road, the driver stopped so we could all take photos. Our local guide explained to the others about the bunkers.
One of the highlights was when we drove through modern Kruje, and in their town square was a statue of George W Bush. Apparently he visited when he was president and the Albanians gave him a really warm welcome and erected this statue.
On up to the mountains we went to old Kruje. It was once again fun to see the buses maneuver through the narrow, traffic-laden streets. We were let off by the old bazaar and hiked up to Skanderbeg Castle. First we went through the Ethnographic Museum which is a traditional house built in 1764 and depicts life at it was over the past 300 years. It was okay, but I was not that impressed.
I skipped the Skanderbeg Museum which mainly shows the life and times of Skanderbeg.
Bill and I and one of the older gentlemen that we like walked back to the bazaar. He doesn't walk well, and there were lots of steps and cobblestone streets, so he passed on the Museum, too. Bill bought a few items as we passed through the newer bazaar until we got to the cafe/bar where we were to wait for the bus. We had quite a bit of time so Bill got a Red Bull, and I order a latte (and got an espresso!) to kill some time. I left Bill sitting comfortably and went to shop in the old bazaar and found a few items including a tiny replica of the bunkers.
When I got back with my purchases, Bill tried to settle the bill with the bartender. He charged Bill for the Red Bull and told me (I thought) to pay a gentleman sitting at another table. I went over, and it was one of the guides from this morning who had actually paid for my coffee because I had tried to speak his language. He doesn't speak any English, but I was truly touched!
Back on the buses we headed for Tirana, the new capital of Albania which took another hour. We passed the Tirana airport and just a mile beyond was an old graveyard for Russian migs.
Arriving in Tirana, we went directly to the local restaurant, Sarajet, where we had the entire upstairs. There was a huge buffet filled with cold items - sausages, rolled pork stuffed with carrots, salads, cheeses, olives, bruschetta. The table was decorated with small watermelons carved to spell out Lindblad (Nat Geo's partner). Back at the table were plates of watermelon, a cheese pie which was delicious, some fried bread cubes with clotted cream, and a beef curry. Wine and beer were available. The food wasn't bad but didn't compare to the Sea Cloud.
After lunch a six person dance troupe/band performed some traditional dances with an accordion and a definitely not traditional clarinet.
After lunch we took a brief bus ride around the big square and saw the huge mosaic showing the flow of history on the National History Museum, the clock tower, the statue of Skanderbeg, the local mosque.
On the way out of town, we saw one more bunker at the edge of a park along with a portion of the old Berlin Wall. The drive back took another hour, and soon after we reboarded the ship, we were tugged around and headed onward.
We actually had a couple of hours to relax. The Nat Geo person, Rebecca gave a talk on the Ottoman Empire which I skipped and just sat outside and watched the sea.
Bill wasn't feeling so good (too many good meals) so he skipped dinner. I went alone and sat with good people. We had a salad of fried zucchini, olives, in half a green, yellow,or red bell pepper topped with rocket.
I had the lemon sole with celery puree and asparagus. Dessert was a ricotta cheese cake, blueberry compote, with peach ice cream.
Bill is feeling much better. Tomorrow is Butrint. Another long day.
It was another fun-filled adventurous day starting when the alarm went off at 7. Ugh, but there are things to do and places to go!
We docked at Durres, Montenegro. We had the usual abundant breakfast buffet, and I just had the usual. I am getting tired of it, so I need to wake up and get something else. I practiced my Albanian hello, thank you, etc.
We went down the gangway to our 2 buses. Our new Albanian guides were there, so I tried out my hello. They were a little surprised and told me they normally say good morning, so I tried that and made a little progress.
It was about an hour's drive up to Kruje, the old Albanian capital. I was bound and determined to see some of the 700,000 bunkers, and I finally spotted one. They’re trying to remove them, so they are harder to spot. We did spot one as we started up the road into the mountains, but it was gone too quickly. Several miles down the road, the driver stopped so we could all take photos. Our local guide explained to the others about the bunkers.
One of the highlights was when we drove through modern Kruje, and in their town square was a statue of George W Bush. Apparently he visited when he was president and the Albanians gave him a really warm welcome and erected this statue.
On up to the mountains we went to old Kruje. It was once again fun to see the buses maneuver through the narrow, traffic-laden streets. We were let off by the old bazaar and hiked up to Skanderbeg Castle. First we went through the Ethnographic Museum which is a traditional house built in 1764 and depicts life at it was over the past 300 years. It was okay, but I was not that impressed.
I skipped the Skanderbeg Museum which mainly shows the life and times of Skanderbeg.
Bill and I and one of the older gentlemen that we like walked back to the bazaar. He doesn't walk well, and there were lots of steps and cobblestone streets, so he passed on the Museum, too. Bill bought a few items as we passed through the newer bazaar until we got to the cafe/bar where we were to wait for the bus. We had quite a bit of time so Bill got a Red Bull, and I order a latte (and got an espresso!) to kill some time. I left Bill sitting comfortably and went to shop in the old bazaar and found a few items including a tiny replica of the bunkers.
When I got back with my purchases, Bill tried to settle the bill with the bartender. He charged Bill for the Red Bull and told me (I thought) to pay a gentleman sitting at another table. I went over, and it was one of the guides from this morning who had actually paid for my coffee because I had tried to speak his language. He doesn't speak any English, but I was truly touched!
Back on the buses we headed for Tirana, the new capital of Albania which took another hour. We passed the Tirana airport and just a mile beyond was an old graveyard for Russian migs.
Arriving in Tirana, we went directly to the local restaurant, Sarajet, where we had the entire upstairs. There was a huge buffet filled with cold items - sausages, rolled pork stuffed with carrots, salads, cheeses, olives, bruschetta. The table was decorated with small watermelons carved to spell out Lindblad (Nat Geo's partner). Back at the table were plates of watermelon, a cheese pie which was delicious, some fried bread cubes with clotted cream, and a beef curry. Wine and beer were available. The food wasn't bad but didn't compare to the Sea Cloud.
After lunch a six person dance troupe/band performed some traditional dances with an accordion and a definitely not traditional clarinet.
After lunch we took a brief bus ride around the big square and saw the huge mosaic showing the flow of history on the National History Museum, the clock tower, the statue of Skanderbeg, the local mosque.
On the way out of town, we saw one more bunker at the edge of a park along with a portion of the old Berlin Wall. The drive back took another hour, and soon after we reboarded the ship, we were tugged around and headed onward.
We actually had a couple of hours to relax. The Nat Geo person, Rebecca gave a talk on the Ottoman Empire which I skipped and just sat outside and watched the sea.
Bill wasn't feeling so good (too many good meals) so he skipped dinner. I went alone and sat with good people. We had a salad of fried zucchini, olives, in half a green, yellow,or red bell pepper topped with rocket.
I had the lemon sole with celery puree and asparagus. Dessert was a ricotta cheese cake, blueberry compote, with peach ice cream.
Bill is feeling much better. Tomorrow is Butrint. Another long day.
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