Berat

This post has been a long time coming. Partly because I didn't have the pictures I needed to complete it, and partly because I think I was putting off writing about my last weekend getaway. My time in the Balkans is sadly coming to a close :(  It was the perfect mixture of exercise, relaxation, city, and fresh air that we managed to fit into a regular weekend. The city of a thousand windows is an easy sell.

So many windows. We started counting and then we realized there were more on the side we were on!

We left for Berat right after school and drove the two hours there fairly easily. Finding our hostel was a bit more difficult since the directions led us on foot from the bus station, but we arrived in the car. (I'm one lucky girl, I know.) Once there I knew we were going to have a fantastic weekend. The staff at Berat backpackers hostel were kind and welcoming and immediately showed us a map, pointing out locations and restaurants we would want to visit. After claiming our beds and using the restroom we were off to see the castle. The hike up was exhausting enough, but short, and well worth the effort. The castle of Berat was one of the biggest I've seen in Albania, and the views of the mountains were perfect for the evening sunset. The lights came on halfway through our time exploring, and  though the trip down was a little scary and difficult, I was happy with our decision to visit that night. Post hike, we were feeling extremely famished, so we headed to the number one rated restaurant in Berat, Mengalemi. The food was disappointing, but satisfying enough. For about 10 dollars I was able to split a salad with Cortney, devour a main course of stuffed peppers and complete the meal with ice cream and 2 glasses of wine. Halfway through our meal, Cortney was kind enough to invite a woman dining alone to join us.

Castle

Sophie, from Switzerland, was visiting a friend in Berat and had spent many years back and forth watching Albania change. She had some very interesting views on all of the politics, and the development throughout those years. After saying goodbye, we stopped at the market to get some water and headed back to the hostel.

My night was filled with strange dreams of foam parties and rafting (don't ask), but overall I slept very well.

The following day was one of the most interesting I've had in Albania. We left at 8:30am after realizing our car was parked behind a weekend market. We had to ask a truck to move for us, and had quite the hassle getting on the road. The "very nice" road was one of the bumpiest I've ridden on, and there were several points where I thought I might throw up.

Eventually, after calling the man in charge and getting misinformed directions from him, we made it to where we needed to be. We snuffed down some byrek, put on our wet suits and hopped into a few jeeps to make the trek to where the rafting  trip would begin. This trip was also awful, but luckily the fact that I had just eaten helped a bit and we made it without problem. Once there, we still had to spend time waiting for another group to arrive. Shortly after their arrival our guide proceeded to give us our safety instructions, and to explain each of the 5 cues to us (forward, backward, left backward, right backward, and everyone inside.)

All ready to go!

Our group of 5 got placed with 2 random people even though the smaller rafts were clearly made for a group of 5. I was quite confused. I also received a broken paddle at first but ended up switching with Eva about 5 minutes down the rapids because otherwise the sides were uneven with 4 paddles on one side and 2 on the other (we were already a paddle short.) Luckily the man who was without a paddle had a waterproof camera with him. These are mostly his pictures.

Such a beautiful sight!

The nice thing about the trip was that it was just the right amount of difficulty that you were able to enjoy the beauty of the cliffs and enjoy the amount of exercise you were getting.  We were also lucky enough to stop several times to look around. At one point I had the privilege of a very safe cliff jump. It wasn't very high and I was wearing a life jacket and helmet.

Me, Eva, Bobby, and Gill in front of the first waterfall

We also got to walk under a waterfall back into a small cave. This was quite overwhelming and the water was very cold, so after this I wasn't able to warm up and the trip got to be a little much toward the end, as my hands were numb and white. Luckily the beauty around me was able to help me have strength for the last portion of the journey even though I was freezing cold.

Walking under the second waterfall. I'm pretty sure I'm the girl out swimming in the deep water. 

At one point, the canyon was so narrow that we had to push our boat through. It was amazing to me that the water was not flowing super fast at this point, and our guide explained to us that the water was extremely deep, and that if it wasn't the water would be flowing quickly and would be very dangerous.

Paddles up, time to push ourselves through the canyon.

We could tell we were getting close to the end of the journey when we started seeing trash all along the sides of the river. I was glad that further out there was no trash and that our guides were super knowledgeable about the preservation of nature(they went around several times to make sure they got all of the trash from our snack.) Leave no trace!

Beauty!

Upon arrival back they provided a small barbecue snack of french fries, veggies, and lamb. The lamb was particularly good, however after our hard workout we were still hungry. After driving back to Berat we headed to White House for a dinner of pizzas. The evening consisted of showers and an early bedtime.

We spent the following morning hanging out at the hostel. The rooftop porch was just what we needed to relax our muscles and soak up some sun. I was also lucky enough to get my hand on a guitar for a brief 5 minutes (after that they hurt.) I only remembered about 7 chords, but I was able to play and hum along to "Oh My Sweet Carolina." It felt great to hold an instrument. I may have to invest in one in Jakarta. We'll see.

This was our morning

A brief drive was followed by a tour of the Cobo Winery in Berat. This is a family owned business, and I was excited to finally go on a winery tour since I believe Europe is the place to do it. The man who did the tour was the same man who makes the wine today (his grandfather started the company) and he was very sweet and kind to us. As it turned out the same group we went rafting with was doing this tour as well. They, of course were in a hurry, so after sampling all the wines, eating some delicious homemade olives, bread, and cheese, they quickly left to go to Durres for lunch.

Storage

We took our time. I had 2 glasses of the most expensive wine (the reserve) and even enjoyed/purchased the walnut raki. During the last part of our time there we had a fantastic conversation with the man concerning his opinions about Albania, and their transition into freedom. I would describe him as a progressive, who had the right ideas about what Albania should be doing: perserving their heritage and culture. This country tries so hard to be European/American, but they aren't and that is what makes them special. You can go anywhere and find people walking in heels, shopping in malls, eating at expensive restaurants, and driving cars. But you can't go anywhere and almost get in a car accident with a donkey(did I forget to mention this?), or hike up to a castle, or sip on walnut raki.

Vineyards

Overall I'd say Berat was one of my favorite experiences in Albania, and was the perfect last Albanian trip before I head home.

Friends

So I’m currently supposed to be editing my final paper for college. Maybe the final one ever. But I just can’t focus on that. I had a great day and finally got a chance to work out, and my energy levels have skyrocketed. I’m dancing around the house listening to the Roe Family Singers and sipping on a new kind of beer, which is pretty delicious considering it is a wheat.

I have to admit that I’ve been having a lot of mood swings recently. I’m so happy about going to Jakarta, and with having the opportunity to visit home (even if briefly.) But I’m getting very sad about leaving my friends. I’ve started realizing that I’m going to miss certain things about Albania, but by far, the thing I will miss the most is the awesome friends I have gained.

One of my friends back home suggested, awhile ago, that I write a blog post about the people that matter the most to me. I told him this was impossible, because I didn’t want to describe them in an inaccurate way. The time has come, however, to try and explain what these people mean to me. Where to begin?

Scott: Dependent. From the very time we met I knew we would get along. You kept asking Jeff questions (that I had) and agreed to explore the city with me. You encouraged me with stories of your past experiences abroad and your support has continued to this very point. The fun only continued when we began our road trips together and you suggested we get a beer with our coffee. This is when I fell in love with you. Our explorations of the city continued and have left me with great memories, and better viewpoints on the culture of this city. The explorations even collided into our teaching careers as we took on photography club, football club, and science club together. Thank you for introducing me to, possibly, the best book ever, and for always being willing to get a beer and quofte with me. I can’t wait for our adventures to continue in Southeast Asia J Ermagherd Indernesher!

Cortney: Thank you for suggesting we teach first grade together! I was so thankful to have the support and encouragement during my first year. All those times laying on the carpet and sorting out our classroom issues were what kept me sane. Also, I have managed to learn a lot about classroom management from you. If it weren’t for you I’m not sure that I would be moving to Jakarta. You planted this seed of knowledge about what existed in the world, and gave me the advice on how I could see it all. Also thanks for being a girl and having serious girl talks with me. I love the boys to death, but sometimes girls have to talk out their girl issues. You got me out of my shell, dancing, and goofing off when needed. We will keep in touch for sure.

Robert: Where do I begin with you? When you first arrived in Tirana I thought that I was going to lose a very good friend, and as it would turn out I was about to gain one of the best friends ever. We needed a young soul in the group. Thank you for supporting me through the pain of my tattoo, and day drinking with me on several occasions, and just for doing things with me in general."Hey Robert! You do stuff with me..." I’ll never forget jumping into the freezing cold water with you in Bosnia, and our talks on the porch will remain my favorite memories of this city for forever. I'm so proud of who you are becoming. Fucking zeros and goddamn ones!

Bobby: Though I don’t know you as well as I’d like to, I do have a few things to thank you for. The cookies and cupcakes you make are incredible! Thank you for purchasing and allowing me to use your scanner on several occasions. Also, thank you for setting a good example of what a nice respectable man should be. It has been awhile since I’ve met a gentleman like you.

Adam: You rock! Thanks for introducing me to several places with good beer(not sure how I would have survived otherwise), and for always translating for my lazy language learning skills. You taught me a lot about this country that I wouldn’t have known otherwise.

Jeff: You deserve a shout out for being an incredible boss. I’ve had my fair share of good bosses, but the light you bring to our school is incredible. You were always there to sort out the messes and make sure we all had smiles on our faces. Thank you for organizing all the trips, making sure everything ran smoothly, and doing twice the work of all of us combined. 

Thank you, to all of you for being part of this adventure and making sure I had the time of my life. I'm sure this isn't the end of any of our relationships. Cortney would agree that it is time for an inspirational song:

Kosovo

I knew that Kosovo would be an interesting cultural experience. Firstly, Albania claims that Kosovo is actually part of Albania, and secondly Serbia claims that Kosovo is actually part of Kosovo. Confused yet? I know I was. In reality Kosovo is a country all of it's own, but when I visited Prizren this is not how I felt. I felt as though I was in a slightly cleaner version of Albania.

The road to Kosovo was probably the safest road I've been on since I arrived in the Balkans. It included  a 5km tunnel, filled with lights and signs, as well as actual road markings. Though it was the same distance to Prizren as it was to Saranda it took about half the time because the highway is fully paved.

After arriving, I was in pretty bad need of a coffee, and Prince Coffee was able to deliver with several options for iced, milky, sugary coffee drinks. I had a delicious Iced Almond Latte. If I was in America chances are I wouldn't have ordered this in a million years, but as time would tell I ended up getting a second one before we left. It's amazing how much not having something makes you want it.

Post coffee and baked items we hiked up to the fortress, which was only about 10-15 minutes up. There were plenty of breathtaking views, and a very nice cannon which we used as a prop for picture taking.

After we felt we had explore the entire fortress we headed back down into the city for a relaxing lunch of fish, chicken, pasta, and vegetable stew pot at one of the higher rated restaurants. I found the food to be adequate  but nothing spectacular. The next hour or so was spent just walking around and looking at the artwork along the river. Shortly thereafter, we decided we had seen what there was to see and were ready to go home.

The thing I found interesting about Kosovo was that for a country that has worked so hard to be independent, I saw more Albanian flags there than Kosovarian flags. Overall a day was perfectly adequate to see the whole city, and we were lucky to have a very sunny day. Kosovo was a very small step up from Albania, mostly because there was less pollution.

Spring Break Day 2: Skader Lake National Park

We woke up super early to head into town and grab some breakfast before heading to a national park. Originally the plan was a baked good, coffee, and gone, But we ended up discovering a delicious restaurant called Venus. After looking at the menu I could not decide what I wanted. Luckily Arielle was willing to split the fried pancakes and the sweet pancake with me. It was just enough of both to fill me up and satisfy me. The fried pancake was deep fried and filled with cheese and ham, and covered with a yogurt sauce and some of the best pickles I’ve ever had. The sweet pancake was stuffed with a banana, chocolate and cream. Yummy! I also had a double macchiato to cure any form of a headache I had.

After breakfast I was ready for a beer, so we ran quickly to the supermarket to grab one before hopping back into the van and on the road to Shkadar Lake National Park. To say it was a rough drive would not do it justice. It was the worst of all the drives we have been on yet. There was a few points where I actually almost threw up. I just tried to close my eyes and pretend like it was a bad dream. The road had several random holes, looking a good half mile down to the ground, and also had plenty of rock slides for us to drive around. 

Skadar Lake National Park

No need to worry. Eventually we made it, and did a short hike up to a castle. The views were beautiful, and I quickly began to enjoy the mountain fresh air for my runny and stuffy nose. We arrived just in time to hop onto a boat tour filled with older German men and women. I spent the majority of the hour on the boat just trying to stay in the sun so that I could stay warm. We did get to see the “Alcatraz” of Montenegro while we were on it and I like to make believe that I saw otters. After the hour of cold and a little bit of complaining about when we’d be back, we were all ready for some more food, so we found a restaurant and grabbed some chicken, fries, and eel, along with a bottle of wine. We fed a few cats some of the bones from the eel, and before we knew it we had a whole group of cats by us waiting for more.

The jail in the middle of the lake

We were hoping to get in a short hike in the National park, but realized that sadly we would not have time if we wanted to get to our destination before night fall. Mostly we wanted to be sure we could see the coastline as we drove, and boy could we! It was beautiful. We stopped to get some pictures overlooking so incredible rocks in the middle of the sea. 

Our road trip stop.

Eventually, we arrived in Kotor only to realize that we had no idea how to find our apartment (Google maps sucks here since there aren’t really street signs to guide us.) Adam was nice enough to get out of the car and ask for directions at a market. The lady at the market called and the owner of the Apartment came and picked us up. The apartment was larger, with three bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, and kitchen. After a quick hour of settling in, we were in desperate need of a walk and some food. We set out with the goal of finding a place nearby. In the end we ended up walking about 8km to find a restaurant. After a dinner of pasta and more chicken we stopped at the supermarket to get some items for breakfast the next morning, including real bacon, eggs, and bread with Nutella.

The Bay during the sunset 

Arielle and myself were craving ice cream and thankfully found some. Unfortunately it was very hard ice cream and it was still quite cold outside. I ended up only finishing 2/3^rd of mine before I realized that I felt like complete crap(in terms of fullness.)

Once we ended up back home I went almost directly to bed because I was so exhausted from all the walking. 

Berlin: Instant love

We spent our morning riding the train to Berlin. It was a bit too soon to leave Amsterdam, but next time we will plan for more time everywhere we go. There we no issues getting on the train, but a bunch of the seats were reserved. Luckily, we found two with a table so we could play some cards, however when the train switched over to Germany a ton of people got on, including a large family that had reserved the seats we were in and a bunch around us. What followed was a countless number of times switching seats, eventually standing for about an hour and then finally getting to sit again. We arrived in Berlin and followed my directions to our next couch surfing hosts' place. Unfortunately I had forgot to write down the last name we needed to buzz at his apartment complex.

Cheddar Cheese on the train!

We quickly found a cafe with Internet and looked it up while enjoying a coffee. We went and rang and were let into a super nice apartment. Our host was great and joined us for dinner at a vegan restaurant. I felt right at home with a veggie burger, fries dipped in REAL catsup and a delicious German beer. Me and daryn decided to walk around for a bit while Fabian(our host) went home to do some work. Our luck continued as we found a small brewery a few block away, called Hops and Barley. Here we not only sampled delicious beer, but also met a very nice couple from Israel. We talked to them about their travels and discussed the joys of couch surfing with them.

Beer at Hops &Barley

At this point we headed back to Fabian's apartment to map out a plan for the following day. So much to see in so little time, and I never wanted to leave. You know how they say you know love when you have found it? Well I was in love. With Germany.

Me and Daryn both took showers and shortly after finishing we headed to Fabian's friend's house. As it turned it he had studied in Milwaukee  Together we ahared 6 beers and then headed to a nearby bar for a few more. We met so many interesting people who were all interested in Albania, and wanted to share their culture with me. The more I talked to them the more I longed to stay. We attempted to head to some clubs after this, but no where would let us in, because we had too large of a group. Daryn and I left the group behind and ended up finding a semi secretive place to pee on our way home. We stopped for a beer and discussed the possibility and desire to stay another night. It would mean missing out on some Munich beer, but it was worth it.

Favorite art at East Side Gallery

The next morning Fabian offered us a breakfast of delicious bread, coffee and fruit. He approved of our idea to stay another night, so we headed out to see the sights.

We saw a lot of very cool buildings and places related to world war 2. I won't bore you with information(mostly because I don't remember any of it) but I will tell you my favorite part was the East Side Gallery. This sight consist of part of the Berlin wall, that is now covered with gorgeous artwork, and a lot of graffiti.

Our biggest(and only) complaints about te city are as follows: too many tourists, having to pay to pee, and that fact that some restaurants don't serve tap water. I was so dehydrated at one point that I ended up paying 3 euro for a very small bottle.

Famous Building, TV Tower

It was funny because Fabian had told us how to get from place to place using the train system. We found however that by the time we had reached the first place walking we could see the next place in the distance and it would be easier just to walk there. Then we ended up deciding to walk home. All in all, I believe we walked a minimum of 10 miles during the day. And by the end of it I was sick of seeing sights.

Check-point Charlie, where the Berlin was was first torn down.

It was beer time again, and after walking for a bit we decided we had like Hops &Barley so much we may as well go back and get more beer. These beers led to our inevitable great and deep talk about life, where we are going, and our feelings. We talked mostly about our family and the things we inherited. It was decided that we get our way of showing our feelings from our father, holding everything inside until we just can't anymore. And as I talked about my future plans and we discussed the possibility of not seeing each other for a year or two, we almost began crying, but opted to hold it in until we had to say goodbye for real.

Then we headed out for some dinner, because after walking 10 miles, without water, and drinking 2 beers food becomes necessary. I had some falafel and Daryn had some vegetarian lasagna. The previous night when we were lost we had seen a sign saying Porter, and after drinking nothing but wheats Daryn was in the mood for some dark, so we went back in search of it and eventually found it.

This bar was quite strange for us. It felt a lot like a bar from our hometown. I couldn't decide if I liked it or hated it. It was filled with smoke, loud music, and people who were crazy drunk on a Sunday night. We quickly finished our porters (which were extremely sweet) we given some plum liquor shots and head out with everyone kindly shaking our hands and saying goodbye to us with huge smiles on their faces.

Even Berlin loves the Packers!

When we arrived back at out lodging Fabian asked us if we had any other plans. The plan was to go to bed, but when we told him their was a packer game on he was kind enough to find a way for us to watch it on the big screen in his room. Daryn ran down to the market to pick up a few beers for us all to split. I only made it through the first half, and sadly we lost to the Vikings, which sucks!

The next morning I was not ready to leave to Berlin

Belgium: Singing in the streets of Ghent

Wow! I thought for awhile that I hated western Europe, but all I actually hate is the cost. We got on our airport super early and they kept trying to sell us shit. All I wanted to do was sleep, and I would have understood if they had asked us once, but it was every 15 minutes.

After arriving at the Brussels airport we purchased our bus tickets to the central train station. Unfortunately once again these cost us even more money at 18 euro a piece. After a nice 45 minute ride, we arrived at the Brussels central train station, activated our eupasses and hopped on a train to Ghent. We made it only 10 minutes later than I told my couch surfing hose we would.

Didiers was a very cool guy to stay with, and he was also hosting a girl from the states who was studying abroad in London. We dropped our packs off, planned on meeting up around 7 and headed out to explore the city.

Typical street. Charming even in the rain :)

We spent several hours just walking around and seeing some very cool architecture in the form of castles and churches. There were several christmas villages along the way. Eventually we found a beer house and headed in to select several beers to enjoy. I had a triple and daryn had a hoppy beer. I made him agree in the beginning that we wouldn't ever order the same beer, due to the vast options. Starting off the afternoon with an 11% was probably a great idea. We then split a hopped duval triple, which was the best beer I've had since I left home. We headed out of the bar feeling much better about life, unfortunately we must have wandered a bit far, because we got insanely lost. Luckily, we had plenty of time to wander around, eventually ask for help, and to find ourselves again.

Gavensteen Castle

It was noted that we still had an hour and a half before we needed to meet up with people, so we stopped for another beer. The regular duval sucked, which is surprising, because I was told it was the best beer in Belgium. Maybe it was good, but I was just comparing it to the previously incredible beer.

hopped duvel tripple: reaction after first taste

Dinner was soup and bread, eaten over a discussion of what we all did during the day, and shortly after we headed out for some more beers, because we were in Belgium and what else did we want to do? We got a bit lost on the way, taking directions as best as we could from our host, but the lights on the buildings were beautiful, and eventually we found our way. Me and Daryn were lost as to what to try next, so we asked the bartender for suggestions and he was very helpful. I had a wonderful hoppy ipa and an 8% something else (which he recommended when he found out I liked stouts and was in charge of getting everyone home.) Daryn noticed some men drinking quite large glasses of beer (de dulle griet) and was intrigued enough to turn in his shoe to get one. We thought this may be similar to "das boot" in Wisconsin.

Daryn and our host with their de dulle griet

We ended the night by catching the last tram home and singing Gram Parsons in the streets of Ghent. Who knew that after walking about 8 miles in one day the next day on the train would be even more exhausting (see next post.)

Beautiful night time view

Syri i Kalter

The Saturday of vacation was a rain day. We have been overall very lucky to have sunny and perfect weather on all of our vacation days. Our plans to head to Girokaster were changed by the terrible rain and coldish weather. We spent our morning in reading Ismail Kadare**, making lesson plans and drinking Nescafe, beer, and tea.

Around 10:00 Cortney and I headed out to the market to get some pasta for lunch and some snacky food. However we returned and around noon our power went out. It was our first true Albanian power outage experience, but we remembered to immediately eat our ice cream. At 2 we were getting pretty hungry and were unable to cook our pasta, so we headed out to our pizza place from 2 nights before. However we ran into Argosto (a restaurant Cortney read about online) and after looking at the prices, decided to try it out. The reviews stated that a main course about 1200 pounds (really expensive) so we had decided not to go. The thing I love about Cortney is that she is so willing to check things out for herself rather than taking other’s opinions. So we stopped quickly for her to look at the menu. Overall the meal for the 4 of us (including a salad, appetizer, drinks, main meal and desert) cost us 4250 lek (about 40 dollars.) I was amazed at how good the food tasted and would rate it as the best resturant I’ve eaten at in Albania so far. I had two glasses of the cheapest wine (which still tasted fantastic to me) part of a Greek Salad, some exquisite fried octopus (never thought I’d eat octopus and be craving more and unable to quit eating it) half a salmon (the worst part) and some delicious mushroom and cream sauce on some fettuccine (so incredible) and a piece of baklava-like desert all for about $11. What?!?! Later that night we went back to Argosta, because it was so incredible and shared the following items:

1)    Arrugola Parmesan and Tomato Salad with parmesan

2)    Prongs in delicious sauce (tasted like an incredible smoky sauce)

3)    Grilled Sea Bream

4)    The same Fettuccine Mushroom deliciousness we had in the afternoon.

Fried Octopus!

After the first meal out Scott and I were feeling pretty full and in need of some exercise after our afternoon off, so we went for a walk to Saranda proper. It took us about 25 minutes to get there. We stopped in a tourist shop and took some great pictures of some older ladies trying to figure out their umbrella. We decided to sit down for a quick coffee break and had some great talks, while being stared at by old Albanian men and women. These talks continued later over wine and candlelight at the apartment with Cortney. (Blog post on this subject to come later.)

Rainy Day walk

The following morning we woke up with no power, and so we packed in the dark and headed out of Saranda. We made one very important stop on the way home. The Blue Eye (Syri i Kalter) is one of the most gorgeous things I have seen in my life. This is a natural spring that flows up with water from the mountainside. Because the water is fresh it is clean and clear and Albania has been able to keep it that way. Apparently you can jump in the spring (It goes at the very least 50 meters,) although it is always cold. I wanted to, but decided not to because I wasn’t feeling particularly well and the rainy day made it feel colder than it probably was.

The Blue Eye. The little railing shows were you can jump in.

We also made a stop in Telepene to go to the bathroom and the restaurant we stopped at was beautiful. We wanted some coffee, but their power was out. Oh Albania….so Scott bought some honey and we were on our way.

Naturally flowing water

After a very interesting experience on the new “safe” inland road, and our chance to be part of an Albanian wedding recession we made it back to Tirana. Once we pulled into the car rental place they saw how dirty our car was (due to mudslides and rain) and demanded we clean it. Oh Albania….

**Ismail Kadare is a famous Albanian author. I highly suggest his books as I was able to read over half of one on this particular morning. 

Butrint National Park

At the entrance and super excited about our day

We woke up this morning and spent some time relaxing before heading to Butrint National park for some hiking. Oh my god!!! It was beautiful and incredible in so many ways. It wasn’t like I thought it would be. I knew there were some very ancient buildings, but I thought we would have to hike through some wilderness to reach them. Cortney compared the whole experience to that of Machu Picchu, only with less hiking. The buildings in Butrint are actually older than those of Machu Picchu, and after hiking through it we decided that in 10 years it will be a way different experience than we had, because it will be much more valued, and therefore more roped up. The way we were able to explore it and touch things was incredible.

Pretty View of the sun coming up and the ruins.

We walked into the park after paying less than expected (apparently 3 people count as the group rate) and were able to walk right up to the door of a Venetian Tower. I mean I literally walked up the steps to the door and tugged to see if it was open. The trail continued next to some partially broke down walls, which I walked on top of just because I could.

Walking on top of the wall

The wall took us to a Roman town house, and then to a fountain followed by the 2^nd largest basilica in the world. The basilica was gorgeous (probably my favorite part,) especially with the shadows in the background. It seemed like around every corner there was another beautiful ancient building to see. The land was so beautiful and we felt free to explore as we wanted. 

check out those shadows!

So, we took a very random pathway to the Lake Gate to reach some giant walls, rather than the path they had created for tourists. The back path had some very old stairs and we couldn’t help relating ourselves to Indiana Jones. The great big walls led us to the Lions Gate, where we were forced to listen to some kids as we took pictures. Eventually they passed us and we stopped to take a snickers snack break.

The carving shows a lion eating a boar. - at Lions Gate

The Venetian castle followed, including a museum that contained pottery from 14^th century BC. That is some old pottery!! We were so intrigued that we were able to touch old sculptures without being yelled out or getting nervous about getting kicked out. There was also a lot of interesting pictures to look at and information to read. I mean, who knew Cesar was in charge of Butrint and treated it like his adopted son for a portion of time? So Interesting!

Touching the sculptures

looking out at the top of the Venetian castle onto the Albania flag.

Next on the list was the famous theatre, built in the 3^rd Century BC. We goofed off on the stage performing some tap dancing and hand stands, and took some contemplative pictures in the stands. Apparently they still do performances on the stage, but usually these take place during the tourist season. On the way to the theater you can see Greek inscriptions on the wall, which apparently are indicative of the release of slaves.

hanging out in the theatre

The final thing on the map was by far the most interesting. Not because of the beauty(because we were unable to see it,) but because of the history behind it and the relation it has to my life. The baptistery was built in the 6^th century and contains a mosaic representing Christian Salvation. Unfortunately the mosaic is so incredible that they want to preserve it, (imagine that!) therefore they have used some sort of blue plastic and sand to cover it and keep it safe. Apparently the rising and falling of the water ruins it, so they open it only once every few years, and only for a few days. I wish we could have seen it, but it is also sweet that Albanians are preserving this history.

Baptistery- in the middle is where they do the baptizing. This sand is coving the actual mosaic to protect it. 

Pretty much my only compliant about the park was that there was still trash (minimal) in some areas and that the mosquitoes were awful. If you go I recommend bringing a trash bag (do your part) and some bug spray (so you don’t get malaria.)

At the Monastery

On the way to Butrint we noticed a sign for a monastery and promised ourselves we would check it out on the way back, so we did. The hike was covered with huge random rocks, but we managed to walk our way around them and up the large hill. The rocks were super interesting to look at and I’m hoping that my soils friend Erika Wertz might be able to tell me something about how they were formed and why they are like this. The monastery made me feel like I was home. Mostly because there was a basketball court next to it, a couple of cows, and a large cross overlooking the mountains. It reminded me of church in Wisconsin. We happened to notice a deserted beach below, and vowed to come back to go for an afternoon swim since our morning had been so productive. 

I'd say it was a gorgeous day!

It was only about 1:00 when we got back to the apartment to grab Scott (who stayed home to work) and head back to the beach for some swimming and a bottle of wine. I had probably my most hippie like experience ever. I skinny dipped in the Ionian Sea (because why not?) and then proceeded to put on my pants (sans underwear) with my new hippie-like scarf, and to drink a bottle of cheap wine directly out of the bottle. 

Monastery beach from up top

Swimming in the Ionian sea

Hanging out on Monastery Beach

Hippie experience.

Once again we were surprised by the time when we finished our swim, and managed to shower, change, and make it to dinner at a restaurant by Burtrint by only 5:30. Cortney and Bobby had some delicious fish and Scott and I shared the seafood risotto. It was actually quite a good meal, and we were proud of our ability to find a restaurant we enjoyed. The evening was once again relaxing and laid back and I felt like an old person when I went to bed at only 8:15. Right now it is 7:00 am, and I’ve been awake for an hour and a half. We were planning on heading to Girokaster, but it is raining pretty bad, and still a bit dark so we are going to wait to see what happens.