Brief Stay in Berat, Albania
Touring the "City of a Thousand Windows," making a few friends, and our most unique transportation experience thus far.
November 19-21, 2022
After getting dropped off in Tirana with no bus station in sight, we decided to play it safe and ask a local for help finding our way to Berat, Albania. Like many other instances in which we’ve needed help in Albania, several locals on the bus chimed in with helpful directions. One passenger even told us he was also going to the bus station and would show us exactly where to go.
When our stop came around, our newfound friends all simultaneously urged us to get off the bus and we followed the man who then pointed us in the right direction of the buses to Berat. Just then, someone shouted “Berat? BERAT?”, to which we eagerly stepped forward showing our interest. The frazzled man beckoned us to follow him and we swiftly walked across the crowded lot toward a bus. We paid him 500 Lek ($4.66) and then were shuffled onto an already packed bus that looked straight out of the ‘70s… and it had all the signs of wear to confirm it.
Given the bus’s condition, it came as no surprise that my seat was permanently reclined and bounced up and down with the bumps on the road like a car with no shocks left. Still, it rocked me to sleep for at least an hour.
Once we made it to Berat, it was close to sundown and it looked like it might rain, so we took a taxi to get to our hostel. Just as we reached the locked gate, two travelers from Germany arrived as well. We introduced ourselves briefly and then waited to be let into the gate.
After checking in and paying our dues for the two nights we were staying (1,563 Lek = $14.56 per night), we went to go check out our room. We were delighted to find that our room had its own private patio with an incredible view of the iconic Ottoman-era houses climbing up the hill where the Berat castle sits.
Berat is known for its hillside array of houses lined with windows and, consequently, many refer to it as the “City of a Thousand Windows.” However, we later learned that this is a translation error and is actually intended to be the city of one-over-one windows, due to the satisfyingly symmetrical windows on every house stacked on top of one another as they cascade up the steep incline. I think both are fitting.
Though we intended to go to a cafe to get some work done, on our way out of the hostel, we ran into the travelers we had met when we arrived. We had barely said hello before they asked us if they could tag along and grab a beer.
Caroline had already warned me that even when solo traveling, you are rarely ever alone unless you make an effort to be! Most travelers that I’ve encountered so far are very outgoing and love to meet people, share advice and recommendations, and partake in sightseeing together.
So, as you may have already guessed, our plan for productivity went straight out the window and we ended up at two different bars and a pizzeria. Needless to say, it was a late night for us. Yet another example of why you shouldn’t get too attached to plans you’ve made ahead of time.
Right before we went to bed, we messaged a tour guide about his free walking tour to ask if he had any availability for the next day. Despite it being almost midnight, he promptly replied and said that even though he had stopped giving tours for the year he would still show us around the next day. We went to sleep feeling very lucky that so many people had shown us such kindness in Albania so far.
The next morning, we quickly ate the breakfast provided by the hostel (spinach and cheese burek, bread with jam, some cucumbers and tomatoes, coffee, and a couple of biscuits), and then set off to meet up with the tour guide on a nearby bridge. Two other people who hadn’t realized that tours had stopped for the season joined us at the designated meeting point. It was a lucky day for them, too!
We walked through the part of town at the base of the mountainside and stopped at a few landmarks such as the Orthodox Church of St. Spiridon and the King’s Mosque, and walked through the streets lined with little shops. At this point in the season, many looked closed already.
We walked up the steep road to the castle at the top of the rocky peak above Berat. Along the way, we even watched a car struggle to make it to the top and eventually had to turn around. The car’s tires weren’t the only thing burning– even though it was a relatively short walk, it had my calves on fire from the incline.
It should be prefaced that the Berat Castle is more like what I have previously described as an “old town”—tall stone walls surrounding many small shops, houses, churches, and mosques. Once inside the protective walls, we walked to the peak overlooking the town and Osum River below.
We could see everything from here as Berat is not a very large city (only about 60,000 inhabitants). It was here that we learned the folklore of the mountains and the Osum River. However, I can’t remember many details except for the fact that it was about two brother mountains surrounding Berat that fought for the love of the female river.
It began to rain, so we whipped out our umbrellas and continued on to see the ruins of both the Red and White Mosques and the Holy Trinity Church with a 700-year-old painting on the ceiling. Because of the rain and lack of ventilation in the cathedral, it was not open to the public at that time.
Though no longer bustling with tourists this time of year, the castle still didn’t feel desolate as some people actually live there. It was built in 4BC and there were once 5,000 inhabitants, but now there are only 350-400 people living within the protective walls. Despite living close in proximity to the city’s center, those that call the castle their home are basically stuck up there for the entire winter due to the seasonal closure of the access roads.
We learned that because Berat is so old and has so many cultural landmarks still mostly intact, the city has been deemed one of the 900 cultural World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
As the tour came to an end, it started pouring rain. Given that the stone roads are slippery even when dry, we decided to seek refuge and wait out the rain before scaling down the steep streets. We ducked into a small restaurant, our tour guide exchanged pleasantries with the owner, and we ordered some cappuccinos.
It’s worth mentioning that it felt as though just about every local we passed seemed to know Bruno, our tour guide. Supposedly, he is the only tour guide in all of Berat and when he first started out, no one really had faith that his idea to guide tours would pan out. During peak tourism season, Bruno now sometimes has 40+ people on a single tour.
Suddenly, the sun came out and we chugged the rest of our drinks, ready to take advantage of the nice weather. Bruno insisted on paying for our drinks and after going back and forth about it we finally gave in and let him cover the bill.
As we walked back down to the city below, we asked Bruno for food recommendations. He told us that the restaurant called Friendly House had the best vegetarian food. We also asked him what traveling by bus would be like from here on out considering we were in a lesser traveled area of Albania and had been warned by other travelers that it could get confusing at times.
If Caroline and I thought we were lucky to encounter so many nice and helpful locals before, we had just hit the lottery. Bruno said that he was also leaving Berat the next day to do some business in Saranda and offered to meet us at our hostel the next morning and accompany us to the bus station and hook us up with the correct driver to get to Gjirokastёr, our next stop. Not only did he guide us through his hometown, but he was even willing to guide us across the country!
We parted ways with Bruno and headed to Friendly House and feasted on some stuffed eggplant, pispili (Albanian cornbread dish with vegetables and cheese), tarator (cucumber and dill yogurt sauce) with fresh bread, and a Greek salad— all for just 650 Lek per person ($6.05).
That night, we decided to do some work at a cafe, Shtëpia e Kafes Gimi (Gimi Coffee House), that seemed to be very “happening” because it was packed with young locals doing nothing but enjoying the company of their friends. We ordered salep, which is a warm Turkish drink made from milk, sugar, and orchid root and is quite possibly my favorite warm drink of all time. I’m not even exaggerating– it’s like drinking liquid marshmallows with a hint of cinnamon. And don’t even get me started on the crepes we had for dessert…
The following morning, we packed our things and met Bruno outside the gates of our hostel. We walked to a bus stop and waited for a bus that seemingly wasn’t coming. Bruno ended up waving over a passing Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van (essentially a minibus) that happened to be driven by one of his friends. It was filled with locals on their way to work. This is a common method of transportation in Albania.
Once we arrived at the bus station, Bruno tried to pay the driver but he kindly refused to accept his money. As I said, it seemed that everyone knew him. It definitely wouldn’t have been such a breeze had we been left to our own devices to figure this all out.
Acting as our advocate and translator, Bruno spoke with the various drivers and found one that would take us to Gjirokastёr. While we waited for the driver to accumulate more passengers, we went into the bus station to use the toilets and get some coffee and croissants. Attempting to show our appreciation for Bruno, we paid the cashier before he had the chance to but were scolded by him because in Albania it is considered an honor to pay for one’s guests. Whoops. Lesson learned!
Since we were all headed south, Bruno was able to take the same bus as us which was very convenient because no one spoke very much English (although we could have made it work). Along the way, we stopped every so often to pick up other passengers. What was most interesting is that many of these people were just standing on the side of the road with no marked stop and flagged the bus down, like hitchhiking. They would negotiate in Albanian, and then climb on board.
We eventually stopped at a rest stop with a small diner in what seemed like the middle of nowhere for about 15 minutes. Bruno bought us some rice and told us a little about his life growing up in Berat. Before we knew it, we were being called back to the bus and we continued on for about 20 more minutes before pulling over on the side of the road next to a car.
Bruno quickly explained to us that we were to get in this car to be taken into Gjirokastёr. We took a moment to thank Bruno for all his help and said our goodbyes. Next thing we knew, we were jamming ourselves into a car with 4 elderly passengers, none of whom spoke any English. I can’t imagine how confused we would have been without Bruno’s help and translations…
It’s a good thing the drive from there into town was only about 10 minutes because we had our luggage crammed on our laps and barely fit in the seat. What a journey it was and I enjoyed every moment of it. We made a new friend, successfully made it to Gjirokastër, experienced transportation just like a local from Berat, and now have a great story to tell.
Since we visited Berat during the off-season (and it was also raining for a good portion of the time), there wasn’t much more we could have done there that we weren’t able to accomplish in our short day-and-a-half stay. But when it’s warmer, you can hike into a nearby canyon, go rafting on the river, and enjoy some wine and raki at the beautifully picturesque vineyards nearby. There was even a wine festival that had just ended a few days before our arrival, unfortunately. All things considered, Berat is a quaint, charming historical town that has a lot more to offer than we were able to take advantage of but made for a good stopping point on our journey south nonetheless.
I loved reading this!! Such good memories. And Bruno! What a guy. Hope he's doing well now. Maybe he has 50 people on his tours these days. :)