Magical Kotor

While planning this trip, we knew we wanted to see a bit more than only Albania. Well, the plan was ambitious - traveling around with a little child is certainly a bit more complicated, but definitely feasible. We decided to give up on many places, and focus on just a few - the most interesting or very well connected. While changing everyday the city was not a problem for me during my previous trips, this time I decided not to do this to my little girl and travel short distances and stay a few days in every place. This is why - after agreeing we wanted to see Montenegro - we decided to see only one place there. And to me the most beautiful place in Montenegro is Kotor.

But before we got there, we still had to leave Albania. Shkodra is located very close to the Montenegrin border, and there's a way to get there by bus, however we decided to continue traveling by taxis. Already on the previous day we were looking for a transport. One taxi driver offered us a ride for 80€, however we concluded it was a bit too much. We went then to a taxi stop and were trying to communicate in broken English and broken Italian. One taxi driver told us that it was not allowed for Albanian taxis to go to Montenegro, therefore we could only go with a "taxi pirate" ;-) The priced offered by taxi pirate was 50€ for a trip to Budva, which was satisfactory for us. Next morning at agreed time the taxi was there, waiting for us. The distance to the border was very short - maybe 10km, however while approaching it, we noticed it would take some time to cross it, as there were many cars waiting. And then it turned out that our pirate taxi driver was really a pirate!! Instead of waiting in the (very) long line, he decided to overtake all the cars, he drove on the opposite direction line - almost crashing with a German driver obeying the rules and driving his line - and made it to the border without waiting. Well, though not very legal, I wasn't complaining as he certainly saved us at least one hour, maybe longer.

At the border we were surprised about the presence of EU flags - although both - Albania and Montenegro are aspiring to become EU members one day, they are not yet in the EU. But it somehow felt like the Schengen zone, as Marijn crossed the border without a passport - just with his ID ;-)

The driver drove us to Budva, which was our stop-over on the way to Kotor, and which is one of the most popular touristic spots in the Balkans. One of its attractions is a very well preserved - Stari Grad - the Old Town. Located on the little island connected to the continent by a sandbar, this medieval city with narrow streets is now full of shops and restaurants. We didn't have much time in Budva, so we had just a quick look at the Old Town, before we took a taxi to Kotor.

As usually, we booked our accommodation very little in advance - simply because traveling with a baby could have been unpredictable, therefore we'd prefer to avoid cancellations. Since the prices went definitely much up, we also have lowered our standards and booked a room from a family living close to the Old Town.  It wasn't my first time in Kotor, but - although I don't like too much to return to places I've been before - I was very happy to come back. This place is simply magical, not only the beautiful Old Town, but especially the location in the spectacular Kotor Bay.

Upon arrival we went for a sightseeing to the Old Town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was full of tourists and I had impression they were much more numerous than five years ago. It is also considered to be the best preserved medieval urban entity in the Mediterranean. Despite of not being very big, it's very easy to get lost among its narrow alleys and squares.

 

 

 

    

In the evening we decided to try our luck in Kotor's one of the best restaurants - Konoba Portun. As it's a very popular place, usually a reservation is needed in order to get there a table. This restaurant was located a bit outside the centre, and we walked along the Bay admiring the beautiful views. We were indeed lucky, and we managed to get a table. As almost every night during this summer, we ordered a delicious seafood. The prices in Montenegro were certainly higher, but still very competitive compared to Brussels.

Our plan for the next day was more ambitious - we wanted to climb up the Upper Town Walls - stretching above the Old Town on almost vertical cliffs. Earlier on we bought a few bottles of water, knowing that on such a hot and sunny day there will be very needed. And with Nina in the baby carrier we went up, over 1350 stony steps. Half way up, next to the Church of Our Lady of Health we made a longer break. The climb was not easy as it was super hot, but once we made it up, the amazing view over the Kotor Bay was our reward. Well, actually only Marijn made it to the top - to the St John's fortress. I stayed with Nina a little bit lower, enjoying the shadow under a few lonely trees on that path.

 

In the evening we were enjoying the "Boka Night" - a big sea festival taking place every year in August. Hundreds if not more people gathered in the port to admire a parade of colourful and originally decorated boats sailing one after another. It was a very unexpected attraction of our stay in Kotor :)

Next day was supposed to be our last day in Kotor. We wanted to make the trip to Dubrovnik a bit shorter, and spend one night in between the two cities - Herceg Novi. Our stay in Kotor was though so pleasant and relaxing, that we decided to spend here one more night. Unfortunately the studio we were renting out was already booked, however after a very short walk in the neighborhood, we found a room for rent.

A stay in Kotor wouldn't be complete without a cruise on the Kotor Bay. Therefore after we successfully found a place to stay, we headed to the port. There were several companies offering boat trips - shorter or longer, private or with other tourists. We chose a private two hours trip on the Bay until the two famous islands - Our Lady of Rocks and St George - and back.

The views were spectacular and no wonder that the Kotor Bay is a World Heritage Site. High mountains above the water makes it one of the most beautiful and fascinating places I've ever seen and I'd be always happy to come back here. The scenery looks a bit like a fjord, and many people believe that it's actually the only fjord outside Norway and Iceland. But fjords are made with the glacial activity, while Kotor Bay was carved by a river.

On the way to the islands - Our Lady of Rocks and St. George - we passed the baroque town of Perast.

St George is the only natural island on the Kotor Bay and there's an Orthodox monastery in which monks are living in isolation, therefore the entrance is forbidden for tourists. But we could go out and see the second island - Our Lady of Rocks. This one is a man-made island. According to the legend, in the fifteenth century, two sailors saw an icon of the Madonna and a Child on a rock next to the St George. They considered it a sign and made an oath to build a church. Since then, local sailors and fishermen were throwing a stone when they were passing this place. And so, over the centuries the stones made an islet. Today it's a highly popular place with hundreds of tourists visiting the island every day. The main attraction is the beautiful baroque Church of Our Lady of the Rocks.

 

 
 Bye bye amazing Kotor, I hope to be back soon!

Heading to the North

As we couldn't stay more in Gjirokaster, we sticked to our initial plan and went to Vlorë. The owner of the hotel organized a taxi for us, and after a delicious breakfast and the last swim in the swimming pool, we were ready to depart.

On the way we could admire beautiful Albanian landscapes, bunkers and omnipresent flags (mostly Albanian, but also U.S. and EU :)

 

Vlorë was supposed to be only a stopover on our way to Shkodra - to the north of Albania. Thus we booked a very simple room, a bit in the middle of nowhere. Upon we arrived there, we concluded it was not the best idea, place was not very nice, surrounded by horrible blocks and it was far to the centre.

The day wasn't totally lost though as we met a very good friend of mine, who was staying in Vlorë with her husband and his Albanian family. After the dinner we spent a pleasant evening with them in the centre.

Since this trip was relatively "easy", I very much wanted to sense the adventure, and long before we arrived to Albania I planned to get to Shkodra by train. And to this end we planned our trip accordingly. We made a stop-over in Vlorë and the next day we were supposed to take a train. Trains in Albania are quite old fashioned, definitly not very comfortable, but this is what I very much wanted to experience. Upon arrival at the train station we bought a tickets, just to learn 15 minutes later that this train was cancelled. I couldn't believe it! I planned it for the last few weeks and my adventurous journey would not going to happen... Well, we didn't have a choice, but to take a taxi in order to get to Shkodra...

On the previous day we booked a room in Shkodra on booking.com, so we knew where we were going. Interestingly the son of the owner was an Albanian living in Brussels :) After a quick refreshment we went for a walk to the Old Town. Shkodra is one of the oldest cities in Albania - founded in the 4th century B. It is also called a Cultural Capital of Albania.
 
The main attraction of Shkodra is the Rozafa castle, however it was a bit too far from us. We decided then to visit only the city centre, which was a few minutes walk from our guesthouse. I had no clue how Shkodra looked like, and once we started visiting, I was really amazed how beautiful this city was. Nothing to do with ugly blocks and communist architecture. It was a very pleasant and charming place.

 

Cathedral of Saint Stefan - main Roman-Catholic sanctuary in Skoder

After a delicious dinner in Vino e Pasta, we were wandering on Shkodra's narrow streets, admiring the lovely architecture and colourful buildings. Some were renovated recently, others still needed some rebuilding. The main pedestrian street - Rruga Kole Idromeno was very alive and full of people. It looked so.... European :) At its end we were enjoying a concert of local stars :)

Sometimes it's great not to have any expectations, in order to have such a nice surprise later :)

Chilling out in Albanian mountains

After a few days in Sarande it was the time to hit the road again. Our next destination was the town of Gjirokastër - one of the three UNESCO sites places in Albania, known for its well preserved Ottoman architecture.

On the previous day we found a taxi driver, who agreed to drive us there for 6000 Leks (44 euros). Gjirokastër is located quite close from Sarande - only 62 km - and there's some public transport, however given the very low prices of taxis and the fact that we were with a baby, we didn't even consider getting there by furgon.

The price included also a stop in the Syri i Kalter (Blue Eye) - an incredible water spring, which was located just on the way. Blue Eye is a popular tourist attraction and on this nice and sunny Sunday we expected a lot of tourists. And indeed there were hundreds of them. Getting by car to the Blue Eye's surroundings was already difficult, as on this small and narrow road there was a traffic, but also getting to the Blue Eye itself was quite a challenge. Dozen of tourists were standing around the sort of pond and it was not very easy to see this stunning natural phenomenon. Once we eventually managed, we were stunned by the blue turquoise crystal clear spring pushing out from the green water around. Apparently this rather small blue spot is fifty meters deep. It is definitely freezing - nevertheless several people were jumping into the water :)

 

 

This place is really beautiful, and I could imagine it's really magical when it's empty.

After the Blue Eye, we continued our drive to Gjirokaster. Our hotel - Kerculla Resort - was located on the top of the hill, therefore we had to drive through all the Old Town and still up the hill to get there. Upon arrival we were amazed by the beautiful view from the hotel - on Gjirokastër, its castle and mountains. On that day we decided to stay in the hotel and relax.

But the next day - after a relaxing swim in the swimming pool - we went for a sightseeing.

 Gjirokastër - also known as a Museum City and "city of 1000 steps" - is described in the UNESCO World Heritage Site as "a rare example of a well preserved Ottoman town, built by farmers of large estate". In the Old Town there are many houses built in a distinctive local style - some of there were renovated, some of them continue to degrade. Apparently there are a few hundred of them, which were considered as "cultural monuments". And so we started visiting of Gjirokaster from such an Ottoman house - Skenduli House. Upon arrival we were greeted by the daughter of the family owing a house. She spoke excellent English and was our guide. We learned from her that the house belonged to the family since the eighteenth century, when it was built by her ancestors, and it came back to them recently, as during Hoxha regime it was confiscated. Currently it serves only as a museum, as the family lives in another place now.

 

 
The house is very big, it has four floors and a very special roof. The girl showed us everything - from the cellar containing a cistern and which might also serve as a shelter, through the secret passages and guest rooms, until the beautiful ceremony room. It's very well preserved, and we were happy to sense this Albanian lifestyle from before many years ago. 

A few steps from the Skenduli House there's the Ethnographic Museum, which is also place of birth of Enver Hoxha. Or more precisely the museum was built in the place where Hoxha's house was standing before it was destroyed by fire. This time there was no guide, however there was not really such a need - we could admire all the folk costumes and household items without further explanation.

The last attraction we visited on that day was the  Gjirokastër Fortress, which is overlooking the city from the surrounding hill. It is one of the largest fortresses in the Balkans. From there we had a stunning view on the town and its beautiful and distinctive buildings. Most of them date from 17th and 18th centuries, and look similarly to the Skenduli House we visited earlier.

On the way back, while walking on the cobblestone charming streets of Gjirokaster, we passed by the Bazaar. In fact it was smaller than expected, and we couldn't really admire it, as several buildings were under renovation. But at least I bought a carpet :) We finished that day with an excellent lunch in a lovely, family run restaurant RRapi

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 Gjirokaster turned out to be a magical and truly unique place. I think our visit there was too short, but when we wanted to prolong our stay in the hotel, it was already fully booked. There's then at least one reason to come back to Albania :)