Shkoder to Dubrovnik

Before leaving Shkoder we spent an hour or so in the Site of Witness and Memory Museum. It presents a disturbing insight into the excesses, for want of a better term, of the Hoxha regime.

The building dates back to the 19th century and was first used as a private dwelling. In the 1930s it became a training school for parish priests and in 1946 the Ministry of the Interior took over the building whereupon it became an interrogation and pre trial detention facility. It was opened to the public as a museum in 2014. The front area of the museum provides detailed accounts of what went on inside the building, both before and after communist occupation. It's well documented and presented in a really informative fashion. However it's the old cells at the back area of the building that provide a chilling reminder of what went on inside this place. I won't try and describe the interiors, take a look at the pics and better still, if you're in Shkoder visit the museum.

In the current political climate it's particularly disturbing to visit sites like the Site of Witness and Memory Museum. In the early 1990s it was easy to believe that society was 'evolving' politically and we were leaving behind regimes like ones run by Hoxha. There's a whole new wave of thuggish wannabe autocrats emerging in central and eastern Europe and even more worryingly mature democracies in western Europe and other parts of the world. A one time moderate social democrat in Croatia is the latest to emerge and is looking eastwards towards the Putin regime as a source of inspiration. Meanwhile, in the USA conservative voters refuse to acknowledge that their party has effectively been taken over by a man with no respect for the political or judicial system. The phrase 'useful idiot' is wrongly or rightly attributed Lenin. It can certainly be applied to many people living in western democratic nations in 2024.

After the sobering experience at the museum we jumped on the bus to Dubrovnik. I had read some mixed reviews, to put it mildly, about this service. It took the best part of 8 hours. Our driver was a lively character and his personality was reflected in his driving. Some of the comments I had read on various sites talked about the drivers smoking, chatting on their phones and being a bit abrupt with passengers. Our driver ticked all of the above boxes, but to be fair he was a highly skilled driver. His smoking was barely noticeable as he made sure the fumes went straight out the window and he was a bit of abrupt with some of the passengers, but I think they might have copped what they deserved!
Suffice to say we arrived safely and punctually in Dubrovnik for an overnight stay on the way to Mostar. More on Dubrovnik in tomorrow's blog.