Day 9 in Albania

Our last full day in country started like all the others. We got up had breakfast and did a devotional before heading over to the church. But this was not a normal day as we got to spend the day playing tourist. The team from the church got a van to take all of us about an hour away to a town that has a castle. The team from the church had been there before and was able to help us understand some of the history.

The castle that we got to see was the Castle of Kruja. This was the castle that belonged to a man who is known as the country's hero, Skanderbeg. He lived in the 1400s and rose to power in the country due to his military prowess. Skanderbeg was able to hold back the advancing Turks from taking Albania and, by extension, the rest of Europe. It was not till his death that they could finally move forward with taking Albania and other parts of Europe.

The castle as we see it today is actually not the original castle but a rebuild. I am not sure if the layout is completely the same as the original castle or if they built it knowing that they were going to have the museum there. You can walk through the main part of the museum guided my a tour guide. The guide will help teach you about the castle and about Skanderbeg. It was a beautiful spot full of history. The photographer in me wished I had more time just to explore the town and take pictures, but the town is on the side of the mountain, and I am not sure I am in shape to walk up and down the streets doing that.

After getting to go through the castle, we had lunch at a very popular restaurant nearby. The food was served family style on a kind of charcuterie board. I don't have any pictures of it because I was too busy enjoying the food to even think about taking a picture of this unique dining experience. But before the food arrived, I was able to take a moment to enjoy where we were at.

After lunch, we made our way to the tourist trap shops for the city that is close to the castle. They had all the good fun tourist things to get, like magnets and trinkets. After our quick shopping trip, we got back on the bus and went back to where we were staying. It was a quiet day after that. We got everything to go, and most of us plan to stay up all night as we have to leave for the airport not long after midnight.