We were trying to see if I could get my booster done in Tirana but when we went to the covid centre at the stadium, we were told that it wasn't open because it was too cold.
So we made our drive to Durrës which took just about an hour.
Shortly after arriving in Durrës, we saw a train station - the trains were all graffitied and looked like it wasn't in use anymore. However, we saw some cleaning crew cleaning the inside of one of the trains, so it must still be in use.
We also saw a building which we don't know if it was already finished, or still under completion, or partially lived in and then they decided to build additional floors on top?
And a car parked at the side of the street that clearly had not been driven in a while.
We found a place to park in the city centre, and as soon as we started exploring the streets of the city, we saw a crime scene investigation happening.
It appears someone had robbed this jewellery store as we saw someone dressed in total white overalls collecting fingerprints and had the number tags, just like in the TV series CSI.
We soon walked into one of the numerous café in the city, as Clemens wanted a coffee. I don't take coffee, and was considering a tea. But when I saw someone else ordered a raki, I decided to do the same.
I think the store owner was rather stunned that an Asian girl had gone into a cafe that was predominantly dominated by guys and asked for a raki in the morning.
I might officially be an alcoholic 😂
Durrës is the most ancient city in Albania, with a history dating as far back as 627 B.C. Historically, it was strategically important to various empires due to its geographic location at the mouth of the Adriatic. This makes exploring ruins and architecture one of the most worthwhile things to do in Durres, Albania.
The Durres Amphitheatre was originally constructed by Emperor Tragan in the 2nd century AD, it’s the 2nd largest Roman amphitheatre in the Balkans. It once held as many as 20,000 people!
By the 4th century, the Roman Empire had adopted Christianity, and a small chapel was built inside.
Only parts of the Amphitheatre had been excavated, as it was only in 1966 that the Amphitheatre was discovered and excavation is still ongoing.
Venetian Tower
From the 1500s to WWI, the Venetian Tower was the geographical border between Muslim Ottomans and Christian Europe, and the frontline in the psychological battle between these factions for the hegemony of Europe.
Byzantine Forum
The Byzantine Forum was constructed in the 5th century AD by the Roman Emperor Anastasius I. It was once the centre of the ancient city of Dyrrhachium, with fortifications, a market complex, and a rotunda. The walls of the fortifications were so strong that historians believe 4 horsemen could ride next to each other across the top of them.
Durrës Mosque
The Grand Mosque is built atop the ruins of an Ottoman era mosque in 1931. Under the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, the mosque’s minaret was torn down and destroyed. After Communism fell in 1991, the mosque was rebuilt and reopened in 1993 with the help of foreign aid.
It's also located near to the sea, so we took a quick look at the Promenade.
We then drove over to Charlie Max Marina for a lunch appointment with Clemens' Business Associates Romir Zalla and Suela Bako. I later found out Romir is a pretty famous actor in Albania, while Suela does a lot of theatre production.
The meal started with fish soup (I was extremely surprised it was served cold, but because no one seemed to complain, I didn't want to say anything), and a hot mixed appetizer for 2 and a cold mixed appetizer for 2.
This was followed by a Fish & Asparagus Pakeri (type of pasta), and the balance of the Dental Fish Grilled.
It was hilarious when the fish was served as the waiter originally gave Clemens a small piece of fish and Romir had a bigger one and Romir made the waiter switch the fish around.
And then we tried Raki Arre for the first time. Raki Arre is Raki made using walnuts. It's a tastier version of the raki I have had all these while because it has a nicer woodier and nuttier flavour and slight sweetness to it.
We all later found out the one the restaurant had comes from Kosovo.
By the time we finished with lunch, we just managed to catch the sunset...
Very long lunch... 😅
We then headed for ice cream near the pier by the time we say goodbye to Romir and Suela, it was already almost 5.30pm.
Clemens wanted me to try another restaurant before we leave Tirana, and so we drove about 1.5hours towards close to Shkodër Lake to a restaurant called Mrizi I Zanave, located in the middle of nowhere, but with over 2,000 reviews on Google and a rating of 4.3.
As we turned into the parking lot, I got a surprise as I didn't expect to see all these geese right in front of the car.
There was also a barn and a lot of corn and pumpkins lying around. It's a farm-to-table kind of restaurant.
We were served a welcome drink - pomegranate juice, followed by a uniquely packaged brown paper filled with chestnuts, Cheese, Fig, bread and butter.
There is no menu at this restaurant. A standard array of mixed starters will be served followed by a choice of 4 mains selection available for the day. As we had been eating almost the whole day, we were still quite full, and asked for just a menu for 1 person, which we will share between the 2 of us.
This mixed appetiser platter is still a lot of food even for 2! Comprising a plate of 4 pickled vegetables, cured meat with different cheeses, and Fli (Albanian layered baked pie). It was way too much for us to finish.
We had to guess what some of the items were as we were not given details of the food when it was served. One of the items we least expected to have was the pickled white tomatoes - the texture was rather crunchy and firm, but there was also no inner pits that you would expect in a tomato.
A mixed platter of Grilled vegetables - cauliflower, pumpkin, Brussel Sprouts, red turnip, and the smallest carrots ever!
Half a duck for main course.
Mixed fruit platter - kumquat, dried red dates, pomegranate, white apple (my 1st time eating white apple).
And cherries in syrup in the small little container
Plus Dessert - Quince filled with caramel
We were super stuffed... I couldn't even finish the duck and a number of the appetiser items that were served. This would had been way too much food for 1 person even if I was hungry at the start!
It's at least an hour drive from any nearby cities, but the restaurant was completely packed on a Monday night, with some large tables of 10 people.
This is definitely not on any tourist guidebook, but I was told most Albanians would know it.
It's now a 1hr 15 mins drive back home, and to call it a night!
No comments:
Post a Comment