ALBANIA – KRUJE

MAY 3, 2025

All the towns and cities in Albania are built on very steep hills / mountains with roads and streets a maze of crazy switchbacks. When you put an address into Google Maps, it says “You have arrived” but in reality you are on a parallel street either above or below the street you are meant to be on. It is not a simple matter of turning at the end of the street and heading up or down. Sometimes it is kilometres before you can turn around. And even then you aren’t sure if you are supposed to go up or down. Kruje was a particular challenge.

We had to stop and ask someone if they knew the address. As is the case in most cities, they are familiar with their little neighbourhood and nothing beyond. Finally, we got someone to call the hostess for us. We were not far away so she actually walked ahead while we followed her.

As I have said many times, NEVER assume things are as they are back home. As it turns out, our Airbnb was beside a stone structure that looked like it might have been a public well at one time. We had driven past it many times. If that landmark had been indicated on the ad, we would have found it easily. As well, locals all seemed to know where it was.

The hostess was pleasant and gave us snacks. Since this was our last self-catering night in the Balkans, we gave her all of our groceries that we had left over.

We immediately headed out to the Kruje Fortress, but got sidetracked by a nice outfit in a shop window. The owner invited me in and I ended up selecting a few lovely linen outfits. When I went to pay, my credit card did not work. I tried a second and even a third credit card. Not one worked. Pierre then said “Let me try my credit card” It went through immediately. The owner laughed and said “Sneaky way to get him to pay!” We all laughed.

Her friend, and neighbouring shop owner, stopped in and invited us to her shop for a shot of homemade schnapps. I love this country!!

We finally made it to the Fortress. The Kruje Fortress was built in the 5^th or 6^th century. It was later the centre of Skanderbeg’s rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. It withstood three massive sieges from the Turks, also under Skanderbeg’s reign. As such, it is a source of immense pride and identity to Albanians and is the centre of tourism in Albania.

There is not much left of the original fortress. There is an old mosque and a crumbling minaret.

Within the fortress is the National Museum “Gjergj Kastroiti Skendergeu” (George Castroti Skanderbeg. The Museum is built to look like an ancient castle, but was built in the 1980s.

Inside the museum are a lot of original documents, objects and authentic reproductions that represent the history of the Albanian people in the 15^th century.

There is a huge sculpture at the entrance with Skanderbeg standing front and centre, surrounded by a troop of soldiers and, interestingly, a female bearing a shield to his immediate left. The museum is also the icon of the city’s skyline.

Returning from the Fortress, we passed through the market, but did not buy anything.

Alas, our time in the Balkans had come to an end. We returned to Tirana and stayed at an airport hotel, where Pierre was delighted to watch planes come and go.

We were off to Paris…..