Shkoder-Carnivale 2011

The poster tells it all; we are headed to Shkoder for the weekend and Carnivale with 12 other intrepid friends. The road will take us through Lezhe, and on to Kallmet where we will stop for a brief visit at a local winery. The winery is named after the town and serves us a light white wine and a fair red made from a varietal grown in the region. The winery is very modern with stainless vats, tile floors and new oak barrels lining the back wall. Our hosts are gracious, explaining the future plans of the winery and the additional participation in the
Albanian plan to plant one million new fruit, nut and olive trees.

So, after a great reception at the winery, we depart with wine and olive oil pressed from trees from around the region. We are heading north towards Shkoder and a pottery studio featuring local artists.

The studio is located behind a Catholic Church which is undergoing renovation and directly across the street from the most unique use of Albania's famous bunkers I have ever seen. The bunkers are used as pedestals for religious metal sculptures that front the road. Earlier in the week we attended a presentation from a PhD candidate who is doing her dissertation on the cultural phases of the bunkers.

The road from Lezhe to Kallmet and then the intersection with the Puke road is a smooth one and one-half lane road that meanders through the countryside. We are now looking for a restaurant that some of the party have visited in the past. It is reputed to be excellent, however, we will not find out today as a rather large wedding party has beaten us to the door.

Across the road from the restaurant, locals are building a stone house with peeled logs for roof beams. We watch a man peel the logs with an adze; one by one he is slicing close to the wood to remove the bark from trunk of the tree.He is fluid,moving the minimum to lift the tool, short swings, each stroke is measured, effort is controlled for maximum affect.

Hunger has us now in its' grip; we are on a mission to find food before we check into our hotel and before our tour of the Venetian mask factory.We find a restaurant just past the Kallmet-Puke road intersection; service is a challenge as fourteen people overwhelm the single waiter, a tough afternoon for the young man.

Back into the SUVs and to Shkoder we go; our destination is the Tradita G & T, a
17th Century Ottoman House that was remodeled in 2004 and is currently a Hotel and Restaurant.

We are guided to our rooms and each couple picks a place for the night; we pass by a wall covered in urns, a traditional loom with a partial piece of woven fabric and dark ceilings dimly lit.

We have just a few minutes to place our bags in our rooms and head to the mask factory.I did not realize we would be stepping back in history as we entered the show room; such intricate costumes from the past.

The walls in the showroom are covered from knee level to the ceiling with masks, some with feathers and fans attached, leather and sequins, glitter and bold splashes of color, animal faces, human faces and mythical creatures...okay so I'm getting a little lost with my thought, but wow, what a lot of masks!

After a resounding wow from all, we settle down to selecting the "right" masks to purchase. We are offered an opportunity to visit the craftsmen/women in the shop and are soon climbing up to the second floor where the real artists reside.

The floor is covered in work areas which are littered with masks in various stages of completion. The months leading up to Carnivale are the busy times for the factory; the owner explained that once over, the staff could take a deep breath and then head to the design boards for next year. Oh, this factory produces the masks for the Venice shops and a mask shop in the Venetian in Las Vegas.The owner is also a big supporter of the Carnivale in Shkoder as is Gjon(We will talk about him later), the owner operator of the Tradita.

It is time to regroup, so back to the Tradita for a few minutes of relaxation and beer and wine with friends. We find a place on the second floor overlooking the dining area and the huge fireplace. The bar is open and at just the right height to lean on it; a definite thumbs up here!

While the others are in the upstairs lounge, I head to the dining room to check out our table and the setting for the evenings' festivities. The table is a wow moment, as is an incredible aroma floating in the room.

A walk around the table reveals Carnivale masks set at each place, serving bowls of traditional Albanian food; carafes of wine and that smell, what is it? The table looks like it has been set for an evening of fun for all of us.

I must locate the source of the smell that is teasing my senses; if I were a cartoon character, I would be floating like Goofy in the direction of my temptation. As I near the fireplace, I spot a large stainless steel roaster pan with a large side of pork tied and browned, steam is coming off the meat; okay, this is killing me, no knife, no nothing, so all I get is a picture of this beautiful hunk of meat!
I know I am going to enjoy eating some of this tonight.I will be proven right once the meal is served; the pork is as tender and juicy as any I have ever eaten. I believe we all had at least two helpings of the pork roast...just wonderful.

The group has found me and moves as a wave towards the table. Our host explains the masks are for our wearing tonight as part of the dining experience in honor of Carnivale. It does not takes us long to don our alter-egos and get into the swing of the evening.

The music is emanating from a balcony over the fireplace, the musicians sound great and the vocals are smooth; this leaves the dining room floor open for dancing and fun.

Some choose to dance with a partner(there are some really strange partners on the floor!) and some free-lance their Ginger Rogers routines!
However, as the night presses on, the dancing morphs into some sort of "conga" line that winds around the restaurant, engulfing all who wonder into the path of the dancers.

Our host in traditional Albanian dress, dances a traditional Albanian folk dance while wearing a rams head mask. He has seen to all of our requests tonight and has not missed an opportunity to ensure this is a night to remember for all of us; and for me it is my birthday and they have ordered a cake for the table.

We brought a cake too, so we invite the whole restaurant to share in eating both cakes. What a great party tonight, however we must hit the bed soon as we must be at the Carnivale festivities in the center of Shkoder in the morning for the "parade". One last opportunity(herding cats photo!) for a group photo before heading off to bed.

We are up early on Sunday for a great breakfast in the restaurant with our host. He will lead us to the Carnivale site and he will be wearing a sheepskin and the ramshead mask. We retie our masks from the night before and step out into the morning.

Gjon is excited to show us his city and how the towns people dress for the event. We get a lot of looks from the people on the street as we walk towards the staging area. We do not see many people dressed in bright and gaudy costumes nor any real sign that such a "wild" event is taking place in Shkoder. Gjon tells us that the Albanian government will not support the Carnivale in Shkoder, so the costs for advertising and sponsoring the festival falls on the local businesses and townspeople.

As we near the center of town, the music takes over and the colors of the costumes dominate the scene. Gjon gets us into the center of the stage next to the mayor and sponsors to see up close the costumes and the people.He explains to us that each grouping represents a neighborhood, an association, a business, and/or even a church.
I can see from the looks on the childrens faces; their laughing and shouting at each other and their surge forward when "their" group is asked to stroll around the center stage area that this is more than fun; this is a great experience for them.

The adults are in the "swing" of things too. A presentation stroll in period costumes is orchestrated for the crowd to see, complete with waltz music.

I have "shot" about 180 photographs this weekend (gotta love digital cameras)and could have taken a lot more photographs, especially at the festival.This visit has proven to be an area rich in subjects and with the colors and costumes of Carnivale a lot of fun for me.
We must leave Carnivale and make our way back to Tirana. We have one last stop for lunch, outside of Lezhe.

We will eat lunch (wild duck, fish and eel!!!) at a restaurant located in the wildlife sanctuary and then take a short walk on the beach ( our dog Gracie loved to run free across the sand), before the final leg home.

Carnivale next year will be the weekend of February 18-19, 2012; Fat Tuesday is the 21st...could be in our plans for a return visit. A definite thumbs up for the Tradita G&T; where we were treated like family and dear friends, what a memory we all have of this weekend and so, thank you Gjon.