EASTERN EUROPE - Berat - Albania

The Ottoman Houses of Berat

The Trinity Church

Berat – March 2, 2010

Laurent ,a Frenchman I met in Tirana, and myself boarded an early bus to Berat. A long trip due to the fact is this was a “commuter’s” bus. Meaning that there are no predetermined stops. People can get on and off the bus anywhere they wish. In addition, for the first half of the trip the narrow road was full of potholes. We go by several non-descript villages but I noticed several interesting things. First, there are many incomplete building, often, only the basic (concrete) shell has been erected. I wonder if those were started under the communist regime? Secondly, I noticed that many house have units consisting of solar panels and water tanks. These units look like integrated assemblies. I have seen similar kits in Vietnam and China. I have to assume that they must be reasonably priced. How about it USA?

When we got to Berat we started looking for a tourist information office. After getting conflicting infos we decided to go the hotel of my choice to get the info Laurent needed to get to his hotel, where he had made reservation. As it turned out he needed a bus and some walking to get to his place. I have not seen him since!

My hotel is in an old comfortable sprawling Ottoman house. The hotel provides a rarety in Albania, a decent breakfast. The choice of five different breakfasts is included in the price of my private room (ensuite), a reasonable 20 euros per night.

I had intended to get infos about the roman site of Appolonia, and went to a travel agency that serves also as a Tourist Information Office. As I approached I noticed the door open. I walked in and approached the woman behind a counter. I asked a question and she motioned that she did not understand. She was however able to let me know that the office was closed. One of the challenge of travelling at this time of the year is that all tourists facilities are at a minimum.

One of the major sight in Barat is the 14^th century citadel built along a ridge high above the town.

After climbing the long steep path to the Main Gate, I spent a good part of the day exploring the many sights inside the walls and getting lost in the numerous narrow cobbled alleys. Many people are still living within this walled complex. I met only half a dozen of other people during my visit. Most of the time I was alone with several cats and very noisy chickens. Accidentally, I came across a very small tavern with three tables, three people and, of course, one cat. I had a refreshing beer and got confusing direction to a church I wanted to see.

Not many people speak English around here and communication can be difficult (I consider this my problem, not theirs!) and misinterpretation can be interesting at times.

I wanted to eat lunch and I went to a restaurant on the main strip. A woman came down to take my order and I wanted to see their menu. She went to the counter and had some conversation with a man, she came back and indicated that they did not serve food in this place, then she said “do you want to come upstairs with me” A better offer than food I thought! Of course I realized that there must be an explanation for this. Eventually I left, and several building further I saw another restaurant with the same name, and it was located upstairs, and they served food! She had been nice enough to offer to take me there.

I have read about the Albanian’s hospitality, often when you ask direction, they will actually make a detour to personally take you there themselves. It happened to me a couple times and this is even mentioned in the Lonely Planet Guide.

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