Never skip a visit to Kruja!

by Taulant Pjetergjokaj – For some of you who have already visited, it’s doesn’t sound too much to talk once more about Kruja town or its well-known Old Bazaar and Scanderbeg Castle. Could I leave without mentioning the numerous souvenir shops in the town, or restaurants offering exquisite lamb meat dishes, etc, etc … ? Today, I visited the town again. Even that I can not remember how many times I have visited it, this time Kruja seemed to me once more different on its way… it was raining all the day and the clouds had covered the top of the mountain of Kruja. It reminded me of some virtual Hollywood famous movie scenes… the sky bands down over the earth and covers it with a gray touch of fog and smoothly pokes the wild rocks. Kruja, Albania Natives are friendly, ready to help you at any time, and they know, if you are a tourist or a stranger, you bring money in the town, in some way every one will profit from that, sooner or later. On the other hand, everyone knows everybody in the town, that is the luxury of small towns in Albania, you never get lost in the town. Native people at early spring do not get so often out of their houses. They do not like to get wet or feel cold. They like to stay in a warm room, close to a stove heater burning wood. Men like having a small glass of Raki on the table, while women like having a cup of Turkish coffee, sipping it time after time and having long talks about everything and everyone. Gossips here are an art, you will easily notice it. kruja, albania During this short visit, I had a light lunch at Restaurant “Bardhi”, a fancy restaurant which offers Albanian cuisine dishes. I ordered a Kabuni, an oriental desert made of rice, mixed with some sort of Kadaif cords in it which are made of wheat flour, Sherbet with lots of sugar and the whole thing flavored on the top with cinnamon, all of them combining a unique oriental taste. kruje, albania Later I visited the Scanderbeg Castle Museum and the best part of it, the panorama view from the balcony of the castle, from where you can see a 360 grade panoramic view, the Adriatik Sea, Tirana city, fields, hills and the high mountains on your back side. If you ever have a chance to travel to Albania, never skip a visit to Kruja. The infrastructure is better nowadays, offering a faster transfer from the capital city of Albania, Tirana and vice-versa. You can get from Tirana to Kruja in 30 minutes by car and 45 minutes to get back to Tirana Center. Kruja warmly welcomes you at any time.