I went in evening. Our visit was completed with the most incredible sunset! There were no more than 20 people within in the entire walls while we were there (mid-October, evening). This might be one of the coolest places I have ever been. I only wish there was more information about everything we were seeing. We rode/walked bikes up, and had a fun ride back down.

we stopped at Rozafa Castle. The signs here are pretty clear, the only confusing part was the first sign on the main road. We are used to a road sign telling you that the next intersection is where you turn to visit a landmark. In this case, the sign was either made for pedestrians, or all Albanians knew to make a u-turn way down the road. Either way we did not walk too far past the entrance of the castle. As we made our slight backtrack, we walked down a side street parallel to the highway. There were some barking dogs inside of a fence attached to chains. These dogs looked like wolves and they could fit their bodies partially out of the metal bars. So that was frightening. Slightly past that we saw another sign and knew we were back on track. The castle is on a hill, so it's quite a hike up to the entrance. Once we got up to the ticket booth we saw there were cars parked just outside. Walking from Shkodër was a better idea than trying to bike up the steep, stone path, it would have been very challenging. The entrance fee to get into Rozafa Castle was 400 Lek a person. Once inside we were blown away by how huge this was. The castle takes up the entire hill top. There are some bigger openings in the castle wall to look down at the Buna River and the Drin River. There were smaller openings, I imagine, to look out for intruders while still being protected from a cannon ball or other weaponed attack. Inside there are some signs and maps to show you what is inside of the castle. One of the main items is the church. It began as a Catholic Church when the Romans took over Albania, and then became a Mosque when the Ottoman Empire took over Albania. There was also a separate Roman and Ottoman jail. There were cisterns/wells and plenty of open space.

Coming from rural Montana all the way to bustling Shkodër I doubted my sanity, but the serenity and beauty of the Rozafa Castle really warmed me up to Albanian life. We visited on a bright sunny morning that turned nasty cold and overcast, so be forewarned. Rozafa is an exposed hill that offers magnificent views of three valleys, three rivers, multiple mosques and mountains galore. Oh yeah, it has this great huge castle that still stands impressive with towers, walls and archways. We took refuge by the heaters and fire of the cafe and its coffee. We caught the city bus to and fro. Just make sure you go back to the same Rozafa bus stop because the next one closer to town is a long mile walk away. Plan to spend plenty of time. There may not be a better view in Albania!