Farm to Table: Albanian Food Heaven

After a one hour flight from Kosovo, we landed in Albania. Albania is yet another hidden gem. It's taken 20 years for the country to take off as a tourist destination since the end of communism in 1991. 

Flying into Tirana.

Our first stop was the New Bazaar, a cooperation between Tirana Municipality and the American Development Fund, where local produce is sold and old communist style buildings have been modernized. Throughout this area, you'll find intricately woven bird sculptures perched on lamp posts and on the ground by businesses. 

Bird sculpture on top of a lamp post.

Since awaking from its communist slumber in the early 1990s, Tirana has undergone an extreme transformation. The city center is now unrecognizable with brightly painted buildings, public squares, and pedestrianized streets. I fell in love with all the painted buildings which were completed under mayor Edi Rama (who, prior to becoming mayor, was an international success in painting) and the graphic designer in me was nerding out. Some buildings are striped and others feature designs that sprawl across their entire facades but what I love is the fact that everywhere you look, the once blocky, communist buildings stand out as individual masterpieces. It's amazing what a little paint and color can do!

Colorful buildings in the New Bazaar

Rather than a pattern, this one had different blocks of color.

We had lunch at Home Restaurant and Bistro, where we were treated to a performance by The Qerimaj. This family band began with Ethem Qerimaj, 83, who is one of Albania's most famous violists. One son, Fatos Qerimaj, plays the clarinet and another, Bruno, plays the organ. Hetem, Fatos, Fatos's son and Bruno's daughter play the violin. Fatos said his father, brother, and himself created a trio that performed in Albania and abroad but now the tradition has been embraced by his uncle, son, brother's daughters and so on until they got to the present situation. We watched the trio, who play traditional Albanian music and classical music. They've performed in France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Ireland and more. After a spectacular performance, we sat down for a meal... starting out with an Albanian round table (local cheeses, homemade jams, assorted sourdough and pickles.) 

Albanian round table.

Not pictured, we also had a granny salad (iceberg lettuce, peas, pickled radish, and granny smith apples with a side of goat cheese and almonds) followed by Albanian lake trout cured in plum syrup... Which totally reminded me of a Jackson Pollock painting!

Albanian lake trout.

Everyone got a kick out of dessert... a sugar cigar (a twist on an Albanian favorite with corn flower, sugar and syrup... what's not to like?) 

Sugar cigar with "ash". 

We headed out in Albanian traffic (I will never complain about SoCal again... it took us nearly 30 minutes to go a few blocks to our hotel) towards what the locals call "the cheese grater". The cheese grater is our hotel, The Plaza Tirana, with its unique architecture. 

Outside of our hotel.

The exterior architecture means you have a unique view from the room... It almost feels like you're in a prison with the giant blocks obscuring the view.

View from the room.

View of the new shopping mall.

With the fast pacing of the trip and a long day ahead, we opted for some room service... Taking in the views as the sun set over the Albanian mountains as I sipped my hot chocolate. 

The next day was one of the longest of the entire trip travel wise, but one of the best. When reading up on Albania, I had heard of the "town of a thousand windows". If the name wasn't a reason to go in itself, once I looked at pictures I knew I wanted to photograph here. We drove approximately two hours from Tirana to Berat. We ended up taking a little beach detour along the way, because our guide kept saying that there was an ocean behind all the buildings and we were teasing him that we couldn't see the ocean with all the recent development. So, we had a nice little leg stretch en route to Berat. Located on the Mediterranean, our guides kept telling us how great the beaches are. On this day we were only a group of four, myself and Lexi included, and we were the only people who saw an Albanian beach thanks to our spontaneous detour... Everyone was jealous! 

After a little leg stretch we hopped back on the van, drove through the Albanian countryside, and eventually arrived at Berat Castle. Surrounded by stone walls with a total of 24 watchtowers, Berat Castle was built during the 4th century BC. What makes Berat Castle so unique is the fact that life inside its ancient walls continues to this day. The castle sustains the lives of its inhabitants, a life that is somewhat isolated. The houses are located on one side of the castle looking out towards the river and city below. Locals are still allowed to drive their cars through the narrow, cobbled streets but visitors must walk up the hill through the castle walls. 

Walking up towards the castle.

Looking back towards the entrance of the castle.

We walked past houses...

...Remaining structures of the castle...

... And narrow streets where locals were selling handmade rugs, woven goods, clothes, and more. 

Eventually we arrived at the Onufri Museum, an Albanian national museum dedicated to Byzantine art and iconography. Built in 1797, the Cathedral of the Assumption of St. Mary is located at the highest point in Berat Castle. While the Ottomans were Muslim, they allowed Christians to continue practicing their faith (though not very visibly.) It is here that you'll also find the Onufri National Iconographic Museum built in 1986. The museum's name comes from the Albanian master painter of the 16th century, Onufri, who is responsible for a legacy of iconography in the country. The museum contains 173 objects from Albanian churches and monasteries. After a visit with the museum's curator, we made our way back down the cobbled streets, passing by more shops. While we were walking up towards the museum, one rug caught my eye and as we were walking down, I couldn't get it out of my head...

...So I bought an Albanian rug. The middle section apparently represents the Albanian eagle, which appears on the flag, and the geometric shapes reminded me of all the newly painted buildings we saw throughout the capital. 

Here are a few more photos from our walk down, just because I love all the narrow streets!

We headed out the main entrance and towards Nova Restaurant, admiring the surrounding Albanian hillsides...

...And the town below.

The four of us decided that at this point in the trip, we were all a little vegetable deprived so we asked our guide for a full vegetarian meal... easily one of the best meals I've ever had. We started off with a salad with tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, strawberries and a balsamic vinaigrette. 

We then had the best appetizer of the trip... An Albanian cheese and zucchini filled pastry. 

Followed by stuffed bell peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant.

Following lunch, we descended the steep hillside of the castle and drove along the river to see the White City of Berat. This city is 2,413 years old and is a UNESCO site worth visiting. The city's life began as an Illyrian settlement, later becoming a castle city known as Antipatrea. We first drove along the Osum River, stopping on the bridge of Gorica (built in 1780) that links Gorica with Mangalemi. 

Below the castle, you can see the famous view of the facades with windows that seem to stand above one another. Traditional houses have two floors, where the second is most prominent with windows and wood carvings. With its houses built along the steep hill, the town has gotten the nickname "town of a thousand windows". 

After taking a driving tour through the small UNESCO town, we headed back towards Tirana. Instead of driving back the same way we came, we took the more scenic route through Albanian lake country. Albania is home to 247 natural lakes and more than 800 artificial lakes. Albania even has the Balkans deepest lake, reaching a depth of 935 feet. While our drive to Berat was pretty, we all preferred this route. We passed people working in the fields...

Rolling hillsides...

Livestock grazing...

And large lakes in the middle of nowhere...

It was the most relaxing drive we've had, and since we were only a group of four we could spread out! We each had our own row in the van, switching sides to take photos as we descended the windy roads down to Tirana.

The following morning, we had a brunch at Uka Farm before departing for the airport. Uka Farm is a pioneering concept in permaculture farming founded by Professor Rexhep Uka (professor of Agriculture at Albania University and former Minister of Agriculture.) Founded in 1996, Rexhep Uka started organic cultivation of agricultural products on a small plot of land. His son Flori, a winemaker and chef, is now the driving force behind the restaurant. We got a tour of the 2 acre property, passing through a Tuscan-like driveway...

A variety of crops...

And the farm's very own winery. 

We then walked towards the restaurant...

...Passing delicious artichokes on the way!

We sat down to our lunch, easily the best meal of the entire trip. Sitting among the fields, this was as farm-to-table as you can get!

We had the best bruschetta I've ever had (and that's coming from someone who studied abroad in Italy... twice!)

A delicious mix of potato salad, roasted squash, charred greens, and tomatoes... 

A selection of cheese (including blueberry cheese!) with jams (apricot, strawberry and peach jam.)

Apricot, strawberry, and peach jams with different kinds of cheese (including blueberry cheese). To. Die. For. 

And a traditional fergese (peppers, onions and sour cream), sadly not pictured because I was so excited to eat this... It's a traditional Albanian meal that we had elsewhere. 

Our meal ended with a selection of fresh fruit. 

We drove a few minutes through the red poppy fields to the airport...

...Where I ended up buying another Albanian rug. 

And away we went!

We landed back in Athens in the late afternoon. We took in the view of the Acropolis from our hotel room one more time...

Before deciding we had to go to Not Just Falafel one more time! This time, it wasn't pouring rain and we knew exactly where we were going. We must have looked very excited, because the chef said "it's so nice to see such happy people coming in here"!! 

After a farewell dinner at the hotel, we stood on the balcony one last time and said goodbye to the Acropolis.

We woke up at 3am for our early morning flight to Amsterdam, but at least we had some last minute spanakopita at the airport!!

We ended up being delayed in Amsterdam (we passed time by eating ramen) but we eventually made it home exhausted but happy. 52.98 miles walked. 352 flights of stairs climbed. 133,318 steps. Cheers to an amazing journey-- incredible destinations, fabulous food, and with the company of one of my best friends. Thanks for following along my Balkan adventure and stay tuned for the next trip... Portugal, Tanzania, Madagascar, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Rwanda! 

Be sure to hit the subscribe button on the homepage to be notified of new posts. As always, follow my instagram @elissatitle for more pics.