Day 62 : Desan and Pejë

The bus ride from Gjakova to Desan was about 45 mins, and I paid special attention to where I stop, as the bus does not stop at a central bus terminal but rather on a main road, enroute to Pejë, which I will be heading to later. 

From the bus stop, it was about another 35 mins walk to the Desani Monastery. Yesterday's snow had resulted in beautiful landscapes out on this part where hardly tourists visits. 

While walking, a snow removal truck was coming at a fast speed towards me, throwing lots of slush far out onto the pavement that I was walking on. 

I happened to be walking past the visitor information centre, which had a wall that I could duck behind, and so I did. 

It appears the truck also saw me and had slowed down to reduce the splash it would create, and was trying to see what I had disappeared to. As the truck passed by the wall and saw me peeking me head from the side, the driver and his colleague laughed. I laughed as well. They waved goodbye and I did the same and then continued on with my walk towards the monastery. 

I was the only one walking throughout this whole time! 

One of the key reasons for coming out here was because I got extremely intrigued reading about it online and how heavily guarded this church/monastery is. They are protected by KFOR, part of the NATO forces. 

I went through one military check point, and then about a couple hundred metres later reached a 2nd military check point where I had to give my passport in exchanged for a badge to get in. 

I was told no pictures inside the monastery by the military police, but I saw a few other people taking photos and videos and so I did the same. The church with the snow covered grounds made it even more unique and incredible. 

Built in 14th century by then-King of Serbia. St. Stefan Uroš III, the external facade was built by alternating 2 different coloured bricks from 2 different cities. 

In the inside it was incredible. It was covered up with frescoes across all the walls and ceilings. 

A priest came and gave me a personal tour with history of the church and information about the frescoes. 

At the time the frescoes were created, this was the only place where the entire history of Christianity is depicted in a single location. 

The first room depicts the calendar of Christ and his Ascension. There's also a family tree of the King on one of the walls. 

Inside the 2nd room. This is where they hold the mass, which is held daily. The frescoes here depict stories of saints and Bishops, Virgin Mary and the various miracles of Christ. 

The King was later celebrated as a matyr and is now buried inside this coffin. 

I asked the priest why is this monastery so heavily guarded. He mentioned that Albanians feel this is a reminder when they were invaded by Serbs, and as a result, there had been numerous attacks and damage to the church in the past. Some of the buildings around the church had been burnt down and then rebuilt, but the church had remained intact. 

He later also gave me a pamphlet in English with a short write up about the history and information about the church. As I understand, there's about 25 priests that lives on the premises. 

And then it's another 35 mins walk out again, this time I was chaperoned by 2 dogs that had followed / led me from the start of the 1st military checkpoint to the 2nd. 

Grabbed a quick lunch nearby and then back to the bus stop where I had gotten off and waited for another bus heading towards Pejë which was about a 30mins bus ride. 

The location to stop for Pejë was a bit more tricky, as the bus terminal was located a far distance from where I needed to go, and I had to continually map the route where the bus was moving on and decide on the place where it would be best to get off. 

I decided to do a detour to the Pejë Bazaar, which was somewhat enroute to where I needed to go. This bazaar looked more interesting than the one in Gjakova in my opinion, as it is pedestrian only and made it more pleasureable to walk through. 

I also did a quick walk through the city centre and saw some buildings with interesting architecture. 

And then it was a walk along the river to get to the Patriarchate of Peć Monastery. 

I struggled to look for this next monastery because Google maps says its further up the road but as I walked further up, I only kept seeing high walls with no access in. 

I walked up and down along the walls a few times trying to see if I had missed an access point - there were security cameras on those walls, so whoever was viewing those cameras must be wondering why this crazy Asian girl is walking back and forth along the walls 😂 

The ironic thing was that I was tired earlier and had sat on this bench before I started walking along the walls (because Google map says there was still a distance to walk). However the entry point was just behind this green booth on the left. 

Funnily, when I finally found the entry, the guard inside this booth said he had actually came out of his station and tried shouting in my direction to get my attention, but I couldn't hear him. 😅 

This monastery was also protected by KFOR, and I had to provide my passport here, though I got it back immediately. 

This is probably the 2nd world's most protected monastery, after the one in Desani. 

Unlike the last monastery which housed priests, this one houses nuns. 

One of the Nuns saw my arrival and came out  to specifically open the door to the building for me to see the inside. 

I was the only one there the whole time, no other visitors at this church. No one said I couldn't take any pictures or videos, so I quickly took some. 

The monastery church is unique in Serbian medieval architecture, with three churches connected as one whole, and a fourth one just located on the outer part of the building according to the below diagram, but I didn't get to see the 4th one. 

Built in the 13th century, it became the residence of Serbian Archbishops. It was expanded during the 14th century, and in 1346, when the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć was created, the Monastery became the seat of Serbian Patriarchs. 

During medieval and early modern times it was also used as mausoleum of Serbian archbishops and patriarchs. 

Since 2006, it is part of the "Medieval Monuments in Kosovo", a combined World Heritage Site along with the one in Desani and 2 other monuments of the Serbian Orthodox Church. 

And then it was a long walk back to the bus stop back to Gjakova. It's funny how I got charged €1 for the bus from Gjakova to Desan, and then another €1 from Desan to Pejë, but the return trip direct from Pejë to Gjakova was €2.50. I would have thought it would be cheaper than 2 split trip. 

Having only a small meal for lunch, I was starving by the time I got back into Gjakova and went back to the restaurant at Hotel Happy - afterall, why bother looking for another place for a meal when it was so good yesterday, and so cheap for eating within a Hotel Restaurant. 

Ordered a fish this time. I did hope they had served the soup first and then the fish later, but they had brought all the food out at the same time. 

Everything here plus 2 glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice was only €9.50. Unbelievable. 

I was so stuffed, that dessert was no longer possible. 

Day 61 : Albania - Kosovo (Gjakova)

Today's trip has been a real adventure. 

Brandon and I were to be picked up by 6.20am by the ferry company from the hostel to Lake Koman, and so we had woken up early to get ready. 

We were waiting at 6.15am when Brandon spotted horses in the opposite street, not just 1 but 4! 

It's really strange seeing horses roaming about freely in the city centre. One of them was rummaging through rubbish for food, while the other 3 had walked away and when the last one decided to move on too, he realised he had lost his friends and started panicking and running around the streets and neighing away. 

If I could speak its language, I would had given it directions 😂

Shortly after seeing the whole horse episode, the mini van came to pick us up. There were a few others also in the van including 1 washing machine! 

This was the start of a 2 hour ride to the start point, of which about 1hr 15mins was over very bumpy roads and windy mountainous paths. 

It got to a point I felt almost sick in the stomach - it was a good thing we haven't had any breakfast. 

We reached the ferry start point at about 8.20am, and then it's a wait for the ferry to arrive. During this time of the year, only the passenger-only ferry runs. 

The ferry was punctual as it arrived at about 10 mins to 9am. Brandon and I were the only foreigners on the boat, and we noticed that almost everyone seemed to know everyone else. The washing machine was brought onto the boat too. 

The ride was through turquoise waters surrounded by tall mountainous ridges. It's hard to imagine anyone living here, and so we were very surprised when the boat suddenly slowed down and stopped, with a guy getting off at almost nowhere. 

It didn't seem like there could be any civilisation especially since all we could see were trees and bushes! 

The entire ferry journey was about 2hr and 45mins. Throughout this whole time we had no rain although rather cloudy, and I was really glad the weather held up so that we could enjoy the boat ride. However just about 10 mins before we were to arrive at the ferry end point, it started pouring.

We expected there would be some mini bus that will be available to hop on for a fee to a nearest town, and from there we could change to another transport to get into Kosovo. But there was none, because it is low season. 

We were kind of stuck ... A guy asked if we needed help and we told him our predicament. He suggested a taxi to take us to Gjakova, one of the nearest town in Kosovo, which was also where I needed to go to. He told us it would be €35, and we said OK. 

After about 30 mins wait, our ride arrived. We were expecting an actual taxi, so to see a truck, it was not quite what we expected. 

And then there were 2 people squeezing in the front passenger seat, though 1 of them dropped off about 15 mins into the trip. 

30 mins later, we arrived at the border, but only the driver gave his credentials to the officer.

The officer could clearly see we were behind but no one asked us for our documentation even though I had it prepared. 

The officer then handed the driver his documents and we drove off.

We looked at the driver and asked don't we need to give passport, and he said no.

There's also usually 2 country immigration clearance we need to go through but this only had 1.

What's going on? Both Brandon and I were baffled.. Did we just enter the country illegally? 

And then we read online that Albania and Kosovo had come to an agreement that there will be no more stops from Albania to Kosovo and vice-versa, with all border controls lifted

OK, now let's see if I will get into trouble when I try to get back into Albania again in about 10 days time 😅

We arrived into Gjakova about half an hour later, at about 1.40pm. It's been an adventure, and so glad to had shared it with Brandon. 

Brandon accompanied me to my accomodation and also to ask for more details about buses that goes to Prizren. The host family was nice, and Fairy drove us to the bus station so that Brandon could get his bus out. It was when we also realised that the bus station is a fair distance from where I was staying at. 

Kulla Dulla, my accomodation for the next 2 days, has heritage status, as it was built at the end of the 18th century. It's a typical Albanian house with very thick stone walls.

Another characteristic of the house is the stone arch entrance way. When we arrived, the left metal door was dismantled to be repaired (can see the repair mark on the bottom left). 

I did some sightseeing after Brandon left, but had to give up halfway as it started raining a fair bit. 

There isn't a lot to see within Gjakova, though there are some which are hard to miss such as 

The Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest and largest in the entire region, and longest in Kosovo

Sulejman Hadum Aga for the stretch of bar litted with bright lights

I also popped into the restaurant at Hotel Happy which was also brightly litted with lights. 

At the waiters recommendation, I ordered a beef soup and Tavë Gjakova - a beef Casserole in tomato based sauce. The soup was served really hot and tasted so wholesome. It was served with some cheese and grilled capsicum, and I didn't know what might be the right way of eating the dish. 

The beef came out not too long after and was almost brisket like and easily tore apart. And that basket of bread was served really hot and it was also crisp.

The entire meal was just amazing!

Definitely coming back here again!

Day 60 : Bye Montenegro, Hello Albania

Today is very much a day just spent for travelling. Ideally I would had loved to take the 8.30am direct bus from Budva to Shkodër, but since it doesn't run everyday during low season, I just had to settle for a less direct route via Podgorica.

Leaving Budva on a 10.55am bus, I arrived at Podgorica by about 12.15pm. With more than 3 hours to while away and having spotted Ramada Hotel not far from the bus station yesterday, I decided to just settle at the restaurant for the next few hours, grabbing lunch and dessert.

Dessert - Date Cake with Ice cream, was highly recommended by the waiter and although a little on the sweet side, it was sooooo good.

3 hours went by very quickly and I slowly made my way back to the bus station.

Here I met Brandon, a British currently living in Cologne, and have a bus ticket on hand to Tirana. We both took the same bus and when he heard my plans to Shkodër and how I will be doing the Lake Koman crossing into Kosovo, he decided to change his plans and joined me instead.

Immigration clearance on both Montenegro and especially Albania was super smooth, no questions asked, just scanned my passport and stamped and I am through! 

The arrangement with the Koman Ferry with pick up from Shkodër from the hostel also came through and I got confirmation that they will be doing the pick up at 6.20am tomorrow. 

I had picked a hostel (Hostel Central Shkoder) that had road access, though it did mean climbing 4 flights of stairs to get to the hostel. Stairs are my nemesis at the moment especially with luggage! Not the nicest hostel even though its said to be fairly new. Mattress was also the least comfortable. 

The town of Shkodër surprised Brandon and I, as we were both expecting it to be a really small town. But it was bustling and lots of activities going about. There were 2 pedestrian only streets which we walked through but was not overly exciting. The shop houses architecture could easily be passed off as something from Singapore / Malacca or some parts of Asia. 

We also spotted a huge mosque and a church located in close vicinity with one another. 

I was craving seafood and we found a restaurant Rozafa Seafood and ordered a few dishes to share. The food was yum! We cleaned out almost everything on the table with the exception of the olives in the salad 😂

With an early morning start tomorrow, we headed back early to get rest. Looking forward to tomorrow's trip as it comes highly rated by Clemens! And he just confirmed he might be able to join me around Albania! Yay!