City of a Thousand Windows
We left the capital city of Tirana and headed south to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the town of Berat. Also known as the city of 1000 windows, Berat is located in central Albania on the banks of River Osum. This charming city is famous for it’s Ottoman style houses and unique roof structure. On top of a mountain in the center of town there is an entire city within the walls of Berat castle. Cobbled – stone streets, castle overlooking it’s people, mountains all around, river (albeit smelly), bridges, medieval architecture, mosque and church stones throw distance from one another made Berat an absolute delight to visit.
The first evening we got there, we checked into our guesthouse, dropped our bags and went on to explore the town. Kids wanted a bite to eat so we found a quiet place by the river. Walking around town is a visual treat. We waited till sundown and took some more pictures with the city lights on before making our way back to the guesthouse. That night we had paid to eat at our guesthouse, that way we didn’t need to make our way back in the dark. Hotel Amalia fit our needs perfectly. Clean and quiet digs, homecooked meals from Albanian mom, few rooms and gracious hosts and great company. The following morning at breakfast we met a lively 84-year-old German man, that we called Uncle Vernan. He reminded us a lot of our friends-like-family Grandpa Grant.
After a wholesome breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and made our way to explore Berat Castle. Same drill as always, we try and find a parking spot closest to the castle walls so we can explore the area thoroughly via foot, instead of getting the kids tired from just reaching the destination.
Berat castle reminded me in parts of Greece, and parts of Turkey. People still live within the castle walls and there are small vendors selling goods and restaurants tucked away all over the place. We found a wonderful place w a view to grab lunch and got to talk to the owner. The owner of Mbrica, shared with us that this was his family name and they have lived within Berat for generations. He aired out grievances about corruption and shared his views on the future of Albania. It was refreshing to talk to a local not afraid to speak his mind.
Post lunch, we got back in the car and started making our way to next destination – Gjirokaster with a clear plan to explore Gjirokaster Castle and spend a day at Butrint National Park. More to come on that.
