A pleasant surprise. If only I had more time!

Trip Start Nov 15, 2005
1
66
248
Trip End Aug 15, 2008


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of Albania  ,
Sunday, July 23, 2006

My second stop of the day. My irritation at those with whom I was travelling increased immeasurably here. Before I had become so thoroughly annoyed with them and parted company, I had been following their schedule and had booked up the only hostel in Tirana on, since sleeping on the street or paying for an expensive hotel weren't really desirable. The extra night in Saranda had forced this slightly rushed trip on me. In Gjirokastra, it hadn't bothered me so much. Here, I could have spent a lot longer, and had I not been locked into the schedule, I owuld certainly have stayed overnight.

Berat is a beautiful little town, and certainly my favourite place in Albania. Upon arrival, I had another cup of coffee and once again dumped my bag in the cafe, then set out to explore. Totally missing the town, I went straight up to the castle. Situated a good 15 minutes uphill and commanding some great views, it's not a castle as I (and probably most of you) would think of a castle, but more a fortified village
01 Watchtower
01 Watchtower
. A winding maze of white stone streets and houses, it's stunning place to walk around and the view from the narrow watchtower was incredible. I spent a good couple of hours ambling around the castle walls, quite content.

Descending only because time was getting on (reliable public transport, if it can be called that, seems to stop sometime around 5 in ALbania. After that, you're leaving it all to chance), I was fortunate to look back at just the right moment and notice the town proper that had been hidden by the glaring sun on my way up.
Set into the hillside, I only had time for the briefest exploration of the jumbled mass of houses. Once again, I could have spent far more time discovering the hidden back streets here if only it weren't for the hostel booking! As it was, I'm glad I had even the briefest opportunity to explore, even if it did make the rest of the journey to Tirana a bit problematic.
Slideshow

Use this image in your site

Copy and paste this html: