Albania for foodie - what to eat and where to eat in Saranda

Already at out first dinner the travelling companion at my recent trip to Greece and Albania picked up on my love of food. She stared at me, head tilted and observed how "I really, really love my food". Towards the end of the holiday (after my week of octopus orgy) the interest gave way to stunned curiosity. "What on Earth are you going to be eating when you go back to Finland and can't have octopus every day?" she asked me. Well, maybe not every day, but I can tell you I do have a couple of kilos waiting in the freezer...!

The best thing about travelling is all the ideas and inspiration one gets to take home. And hey, can you think of a better way of holding onto the holiday mode than bringing those flavours alive in your own kitchen and having your friends over to feast on them?

I've already shared with you some of souvenirs from Greece: garlic and potato dip skordalia, Greek meatballs keftedakia, Mediterranean rice pilaf and Corfiot specialty of sofrito.

Now it's time to direct our hungry eyes towards the other destination of the trip, Albania. 

Albanian cuisine is a mixture of Mediterranean and Balkan traditions. There are differences between different parts of the country, too: in the South one gets to feast on fresh fish and seafood whereas in the North one gets to tuck into gjellës ja tavës, all those wonderfully comforting stews.

Italia has also left their influence on Albanian culinary legacy. Especially in the Southern Albania (like Saranda), popular among Italian tourists, British pubs with their English Breakfast Served All Day Long- menus are nowhere to be found. Pizzas and pastas on the other hand are everywhere.

Fish and seafood:

The beach boulevard in Saranda is full of restaurants of varying quality, invariably geared for the tourists. Though the prices are inexpensive, I recommend you skip them. 

If fish and seafood are what you're after, head over to Gërthëla, located on Rruga Ioanianet street adjacent to the boulevard. Selection is mind boggling even for an aficionado like yours truly. So, what did I do? Went for seconds. And thirds... 

Out of the city centre you'll find peshkaterias, taverns specialized in fish and seafood. One worth recommending is Taverna Peshkataria, located on Rruga Peshkatari, departing from the corner of Rruga Mitat Hoxha and Rruga Idriz Alidhima. The venue is very popular among the locals, so especially for lunch arrive early.

Closeby there's also Fish Land, another cheap and cheerful (though not particularly attractive) joint. 

Lamb, lamb, lamb:

Lamb is something that is consumed in Albania a lot. And damn, it is gooood. Tavë kosi, melt-in-your-mouth lamb and yogurt stew is one of the dishes worth a try. 

Offal is not awful:

Albania is one of those countries where the history has taught people to be frugal and make the most of every part of the animal.

So, the menus boast offal as well. Lamb liver is one of the staples that you can get either grilled (mëlci të skuqura gengji) and stewed in a clay pot (tavë dheume mëlҫi qengji). 

Another local specialty is kukurec, a porchetta-like roll of meaty deliciousness, stuffed intestines and spit-roasted into a glorious meat-lover's feast.

For (meat-eating) vegetarians:

Veggies are widely used in Albania, too but mostly they're pickled of stuffed with a meat and rice mixture, so vegetarians aren't really in for a treat. Stuffed peppers (spece të mbshur) and aubergines (patëllxhan të mbshur) are the most popular ones and can be found practically on every menu (and yes, soon on the blog, too!)

Cheese is another source of joy for the locals and they seem to have hundreds of varieties (to the eyes of a non-cheese-eater anyway...) so maybe it's possible to just eat that?

Traditional taverns are not easy to find in the Saranda city centre, but it doesn't mean they don't exist. I had a hunch and sure enough it didn't fail me this time either. In the corner of Rruga Ismail Tatzati and Rruga Abedin Dino you'll find Leo's Tavern, the highlight of my Albanian getaway. Blog's Instagram-followers (surely you are one of them?) have already been introduced to this gem. 

It's a family restaurant that ticked all my boxes: great, authentic food at amazingly cheap prices. Even with beverages the total of the meal will come to about €10.

The tiny restaurant has an even tinier yard that opens right next to the pavement and in the corner there's an open BBQ, which the Granddad would get going every evening with the help of a blow-dryer (!). Just imagine the scent wafting in the air...! This is one of those places where absolutely everything is delicious, but their lamb ribs (brinjë gengji zgare), grilled lamb liver and qoftes, the local take on meat balls are particularily delicious.

Somewhat confusingly all the restaurants seem to use the same photos on their menus. Another confusing thing was the pricing: with meats and seafood the price is listed per kilo, yet no-one would ever clarify how much I'd like to order. The serving size is about 300-400 grams. 

For our foodie trips for the first leg of the journey please see the following:

Dining and wining in Agios Stefanos

Culinary Corfu - what to eat?

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ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

         

Butrint in Albania - thousands of years of history (and selfie-sticks galore...)

Though Saranda's historic merits might be a bit on a modest side, you don't need to travel far for those.

About an hour's drive away from Saranda there's Butrint national park, home to ruins of an ancient Roman city.

In 1992 Butrint was added onto UNESCO World Heritage Sites, of which the whole country only has three. It is the single most significant archaeological site in the Southern Albania and a must-see for history buffs. Or anyone with a selfie-stick...

First signs of habitation in Butrint are from 10th-8th century BC. First it was occupied by an Greek tribe called Chaonians.  The Romans took over in 167 BC and it became a Roman protectorate. The best preserved parts of Butrint are from this very period. 

The park hosts a pagan temple, a bath house, amphitheater, early Christian church, fountain and palatial buildings. Going through the entire site (and avoiding those goddamn selfie-sticks!) takes at least a good couple of hours. If you're here in the summer, come in the morning and do bring lots of water as it gets really, really hot.

Butrint was supposed to become a hospice for the veterans of Roman wars, but in the 3rd century AD an earthquake destroyed most of the city.

By 10th century Butrint had fallen under the Byzantine rule and kept fending off Norman invasions until the fall of the empire. In the following centuries Byzantine, the Anjou-dynasty of Southern Italy and Venetians all fought for the dominion of the place. 

Midway the 13th century Charles I, the ruler of Sicily, took over Butrint and the neighbouring island of Corfu. This marked the beginning of massive renovations around the walls and the Grand Basilica.

In 1386 Republic of Venice purchased both Corfu and Butrint (jeez - I can barely afford milk for my tea!). The new owners weren't particularly interested in Butrint though and the area was left to crumble.

By the time Albania gained independence from the Ottoman empire in 1912, Butrint had been abandoned for centuries.

First modern excavations were started in 1928, but upon the Communist era international research was effectively shut down. 

After the fall of communism in 1992 Butrint was awarded a place among UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the new administration started plans to develop the area. In 2002 the park was opened to the public.

Butrint is accessible from Saranda by bus. The travel time is about an hour (for a 14-kilometre-journey!). For timetables, please see here. The price of the one-way ticket is about 100 Lek (a little less than €1). Beware though- bus drivers seem to be like rock stars in Albania. They turn up when they feel like it and not when the timetable would indicate it. 

The bus route operates via popular beach destination of Ksamil, so more often than not it's packed, so you might want to hire a taxi. The fare for a return trip comes to about €20 (room for haggling!)- the driver will wait for you.

Entrance (for foreigners) is 700 Lek, about €5.

Oh, all that selfie-stick rage of mine? Hell yes. Throughout the entire tour I had to watch out for those bloody idiots waving them about and blocking every passage. Why, WHY bother turning up here, to the site of thousands of years of history just to show your Instagram-followers you can pucker your lips and do a peace sign?

Oh, no. I've become a grumpy middle-aged woman, haven't I?

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ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

      

Costa del Albania - Saranda, no love at first (or the second!) sight

A trip to Corfu allows you to tick another country off your list, too: Albania. 

On the map Albania's distance from Agios Stefanos is about 3 mm. Even in real life it's so close you can actually see there. Because of all sorts of passport and visa check requirements though you'll have to make your way to Corfu town first (for more info on the buses and how to get there see this earlier post).

The port the Albania-bound ferries depart from is within a walking distance (about 1 km) from the terminal serving the long distance (a.k.a. Green) buses. You can buy the tickets at Ionian Cruises, located halfway there. In Saranda their office is next to the port.

There are four daily routes between Corfu and Saranda. First departs at 9am and is the quicked one, only taking half an hour. The later ones take about an hour and a half. One way ticket costs €23.80. Don't forget to bring your passport (No visa needed for EU citizens though). The return ticket can only be purchased in Albania.

I'm not entirely sure what I expected of Albania, though it's probably safe to say not a lot. I think I'm not alone in this one. I mean, what do you think first when you hear "Albania"? Poverty, misery, beggars and asylum seekers yes. Sun, sea and Sex on the beach (of course I'm talking about the cocktail over here!)... no.

All I really cared about was getting yet another country on my list, really. I'm not a good person, am I?

So, the view that greeted us in Saranda was nothing short of a surprise. Hoardes of tourists, hotels as far as the eye could see. Saranda has for long been a popular holiday destination especially among the Italians.

I'll freely admit the Costa del Sol-like scenery did not make my expectations any greater, though that's what these border crossings are like. I mean, no-one would go to Tangiers and expect to encounter Morocco at its most authentic, right?

Already in my Andalusia posts I've advised you all to avoid the crowded beach boulevards and over-priced tourist traps located there but I must say Saranda didn't exactly charm us outside of them either. 

However, every now and then there were little glimpses of Mediterranean mellowness I've come to love so much. Take the amphi theatre-like plan for instance. The city is built in three rows following the curve of the bay, each layer connected to the the others by stairs.

In the mornings the streets come to life the way they do across the bay. Old men gathering in cafes they never seem to leave, younger men taking up residence on makeshift stools on the streets, playing board games and going through endless tiny cups of coffee. Toothless fruit vendor organized the figs (now in season!) and throwing away yesterday's tomatos that have gone bad. Moustached grannies yelling at rowdy kids and let's not forget those those old, old ladies, clad in black with scarves tightly wrapped around their faces (Angels of Death as I call them). 

Stray cats, stray dogs, stray cows (!)...

The only thing that really tells you've moved on to the other side of the Mediterranean is the pryaer call echoing over the rooftops at sunset: 60% Albanians are Muslims. 

City itself is tiny, which is a good thing. Navigating based on the map quickly proved impossible, mostly because only about 10% of the street names were printed on it. No use anyway, as the locals wouldn't even know the names.

As far as historic sites go, I suppose I could mention the Lekursi castle, a fortress guaring the city on eponymous hill overlooking Saranda (free entrance). The road leading there is in such bad condition, that you might want to take a taxi (and get ready to haggle. A lot. )

Another one is the ruins of an ancient synagogue, located smack in the centre of the city, right next to the bust station. In all honesty though the site (from 5th century BC), once famous for its mosaics, just looks like a construction site for a car park.

The main attraction of Saranda is this. The beach. Which there's a lot of. It's rocky though, so bring swimming shoes. The water is clear though, so if a cheap and cheerful beach holidays is what you're after, you could do a lot worse.

And hey - the perfect way to compliment the beach, hot sun and cooling sea is a cold beer. Which here is cheap (about €1 a bottle). Local wine (strangely watery yet tart) didn't really wow us and the prices even in the local shops were significantly higher than back in Greece.

The currency was probably the single most confusing thing of the trip. They don't operate euros here, you see. Oh, no. They have lek. €1 comes to 139 leks, so you're carrying quite a wad of notes, which made restaurant bills a nightmare for someone as hapless with numbers as yours truly(so what's the price in real money? €3,40? €34? €3400?!)  And do stay tuned - there's a separate post coming up on Albanian food. 

Next stop however, takes us to a Unesco World Heritage site. Any of you familiar with Southern Albania? Any guesses as to where we're headed?

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ANYONE FOR SECONDS?