Yesterday we woke up to snow! It was cold and beautiful. Shkoder was being dusted in white, just in time for Christmas. At first, I thought it was just sleeting, but after leaving the house I was pleasantly surprised to see white everywhere. The garden looked almost mystical, with the cacti and palm trees all dusted in white.

We made our way to my family home and on the way met school children, all happy to be in the snow and my father’s words came to mind. Every time it snowed he would say “La neve e’ la gioia dei bambini” (Snow is the happiness of children) and how right he was. How many times, we, as children rejoiced at the sight of snow. How many times did we drag out our sleds at the first snow and run outside finding a hill, any kind of hill, just so we could slide down it and scream. How many times did we have snowball fights or build a snowman.

Every time it snowed when I was little I remember being happy. Snow does make children happy and sometimes adults too!”

Today started out rather pleasantly as we woke up to a nice, cloudy day instead of the downpour we had yesterday, so we took advantage of it and out we went. We started walking up Rruga Don Bosko where we live and headed to the main street which crosses our street, unfortunately nobody seems to know the name of the street, it is something I will have to get back to you on. The street is part of the revitalization of Shkodra and it is shaping up to be the nicest looking street in the city. It leads to the pedonale on the north and to the Bashkia (Municipal Building) to the south. The whole strip is one big walking path with beautiful pavers, trees, lamp posts and benches. It is scheduled to be completed within one month and I just know it is going to be lovely come spring!

We headed out to lunch and ended up at Cocja Bar Restorant, on Rr.Vasio Kadia, next to the Orthodox Church (seen on the right). The house was restored after a fire and houses a lovely restaurant, with a bar downstairs and an outside garden patio which is open in the summer. Upstairs is the main dining room also leading to an outside patio area for summer dining. The house is charming and very warm. There is a beautiful decorative wall across from the bar made with river rock, we just happened to sit right by it and I was amazed at how beautiful and well constructed it was. The staff was very friendly and spoke both English and Italian and the menu was in English. We both had veal, ham in a wine sauce for me and Vince’s with mushrooms in a cream sauce. We started with a mixed salad and Djath Bardh Furre (baked white cheese), it was simply sublime!! It just melted in our mouths and the toasted bread brushed with olive oil paired it perfectly. We had some red house wine which was exceptional! All in all I would recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting or living in the city. It was fairly priced, the service was excellent and the atmosphere very inviting. I loved the way it was decorated for the holidays and I also loved the fact that it had a bicycle rack outside for the more adventurous types. We are definitely going to make this restaurant one of our favorite stops in Shkoder!

I can honestly say that the “St. Nicholas” chicken was much better than any other chicken I have eaten. Maybe because I knew it was especially sacrificed for us, or maybe because it was “organic”, whatever the reason it was delicious. My cousin Gjilda prepared a beautiful lunch along with roasted potatoes, rice pilaf and Kadaif. Everything was scrumptous and as usual we ate way too much!! Faleminers Gjilda and thank you Vince for being a good sport!

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It is with great regret that I must inform you of the demise of the St. Nicholas rooster! Yup, Vince was tasked with the deed, it was his “duty” as a male to perform the ritual and so, without hesitation I might add, he donned his finest shirt, pants and shoes and off to the chopping block he went with a butcher’s cleaver. Not to be outdone, my aunt Bardha and cousin Gjilda were also on hand to assist, I, on the other hand, was nice and warm by the fire keeping my uncle Deda company as we deliberated the poor creature’s destiny, or shortness thereof.

After the success of the ever so short event, my cousin called me to assist with the “plucking”, another feat which I decided to forgo, although I did go down in the yard and witnessed the rather quick and neat procedure. The creature was put in a pot of extremely hot water and they plucked away, my cousin and aunt. I was surprised how quickly the feathers came off. I mean, what do I know of plucking chickens, let alone guillotining them, but I did find the whole ordeal rather interesting. Apparently this has gone on for centuries all over the world, and Albanians are no strangers to it, but when you grow up in a city like I did the best place to get a chicken, and a rather nice plump one at that, is the local supermarket!!

I am looking forward to tomorrow’s meal, it will be very good!! Not only will we celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas but we will have a delicious fresh chicken along with pilaf and Kadaif, a classic Balkan dish. Buon Appetito!!!

Among Albanians Saint Nicholas is known as Shen’Kollë and is venerated by most Catholic families, even those from villages that are devoted to other saints. The Feast of Saint Nicholas is celebrated on the eve of 5 December, known as Shen’Kolli i Dimnit (Saint Nicholas of Winter), as well as on the commemoration of the interring of his bones in Bari, the eve of 8 May, known as Shen’Kolli i Majit (Saint Nicholas of May). Albanian Catholics often swear by Saint Nicholas, saying “Pasha Shejnti Shen’Kollin!” (“May I see Holy Saint Nicholas!”), indicating the importance of this saint in Albanian culture, especially among the Albanians of Malësia. On the eve of his feast day, Albanians will light a candle and abstain from meat, preparing a feast of roasted lamb and pork, to be served to guests after midnight. Guests will greet each other, saying, “Nata e Shen’Kollit ju nihmoftë!” (“May the Night of Saint Nicholas help you!”) and other such blessings. The bones of Albania’s greatest hero, George_Kastrioti, were also interred in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Lezha Albania, upon his death.

In preparation for this celebration today we went shopping for a rooster! Not just any rooster, this had to be the “perfect” rooster, a plump one who was not going to loose to much weight by tomorrow when it would meet its untimely death. Yes, I am sorry to report the rooster will be sacrificed for the good of tradition and undoubtedly a scrumptuous meal.

As luck would have it Vince is the only male in the house capable of accomplishing such a feat. He has been chosen to administer the fatal shot tomorrow, not only because someone has to do it but because a “male” should do it for good luck and who better than him? This is the tradition in Shkoder and one I must say taken very seriously, this was obvious today as we we were walking around the markets and saw dozens of roosters for sale.

I did feel a passing wave of sorrow for the poor guy, but in the end what’s the difference? We eat chicken all the time, we’re just used to buying it all nice and clean and ready for consumption. Tomorrow will be an experience, but hey, when in Shkoder….I will say a Hail Mary for the poor guy though, I’m not totally heartless.