What is all the fuss about!

Another day crossing Albania, heading towards Tirana, but our next stop, Berat.

Last night we had wandered down to the old town to check out the bus situation and we established there were no direct buses so we would have to change. They seemed to go fairly regularly though. We are up reasonably early this morning and head back down the hill. We have time for a coffee, and they have Wi-fi, so we can update on any emails, tweet and generally check in. This is a double plus with Susana; if she doesn’t have her coffee life is not worth living, for me that is, but mainly the Wi-Fi is to download the latest economic podcast!

We head off for a leisurely 9.00 O’clock departure. This time no Greek buses for us, instead we headed for the little minibuses, which are here referred to as furgon, or something like that. They do not tend to overfill them, so they are not too uncomfortable.

As there was no direct bus to Berat, we will have to change somewhere on route. We are not sure whether it is going to be Lushnje or Fier. We have to trust our driver here. The bus is going onto Tirana and isn’t really that full. Perhaps they will be picking up more people on route.

We pass out of this beautiful valley, heading for the gorge at its head,

all the time following the twisting river, stunning except for all the rubbish.

It is difficult to understand how people can live with so much rubbish. I suppose it is the same in the UK, where since they introduced charging to get rid of rubbish the unscrupulous builder will dump it in the countryside, blocking some farmers gate. It is so difficult to prevent without having CCTV covering the whole of the countryside. The costs end up at the farmers door somehow. It is on his land and he has to deal with it. It usually stays there! Maybe this is progress.

At Fier we change buses for the short trip towards Berat.

Everything is very smooth. We get chucked out at a roundabout, are stewarded towards this guy who pointed out our next chariot. It leaves within ten minutes. Maybe the UK could learn something from this! I am not sure whether this is the guys permanent job, nor how he gets paid, maybe he is on commission for everyone that he gets to board the bus. This would seem to be a common theme in Albania. You might not get a direct answer, but from somewhere a group of men gather to discuss the problem, then get to a conclusion. Answer by committee you might say.

The journey to Berat is at breakneck speed, until a guy decides his mule needs to take up the whole highway. Our driver thinks he is Ayton Senna, and he will end up like Senna if he continues to drive like this.  Susana looks very apprehensive

It is a relief to arrive. First things first, find our accommodation. This is easier said than done. We have several committees discussing the whereabouts, whether the street actually exists and then coming to a general conclusion it is over there. It isn’t. We do eventually find it. It is very abstract. It is above a shop selling gas appliances, but on top of the shop is a bar and terrace frequented by numerous old men. A spiral staircase off of the terrace leads up another floor to a small apartment; two bedrooms a bathroom and a kitchenette.

When booking our room we chose the deluxe version, with balcony. It was the same price as the standard, balcony free room, but we have a problem, the women pleads with us, she has American guests that are staying three days and they have also booked the deluxe room.

We don’t care if you have the Queen of Sheba staying, we have booked the deluxe room, here is our confirmation email and we are staying in the deluxe room.

She seems upset. Are we unfair? She doesn’t even offering a discount, just pleading with us on the back of the fact they were staying three days. And they were Americans. I guess for these countries, the American brand is still quite valuable. We hope they will come to terms with reality with the times. SM

So they can spend one in the small room.

Americans shouldn’t be in Europe anyway, they get cultural overload and cannot cope!

It is 13.00, so we make use of the deluxe balcony and have lunch.

During lunch some people turn up, we ignore them, then they leave, we might be on our own tonight!

After lunch we head up the hill to the castle.

It is a steep path and it is hot, and it is after lunch, but still we have some serious sightseeing to do.

The place is pretty much deserted, except for those wishing to fleece the tourists.

Here they are flogging handmade tablecloths. Dora doesn’t like tablecloths, she prefers the austere minimalistic look, she is so Germanic.

We try to explain this to the vendors, but it is lost in translation.

The castle is more like a walled village.

We continue up the narrow streets, everything is closing down as it is now the hottest part of the day.

Tablecloths everywhere, Dora wouldn’t approve, she doesn’t have a washing machine, she needs wipe down surfaces.

It is pretty cute though, but not quite up to the verbose superlatives of out guide. There is never any criticism. It is always the best small town, amazing nightlife, phenomenal cafe culture. Apparently this is the best Ottoman town ever, the town with a thousand windows, we only count 847.

We eventually get to the castle proper, nice views, as always.

How does that stand up!

Wanna be up there trekking, looks nice.

You might say that travelling for such an extended period makes you immune to the special qualities of each place, or does it make you more realistic, more judgemental, whatever the guide says we prefer Gjirokaster, maybe because it is more real.

This place was meant to have an audio guide. Not sure what happened to it, maybe someone didn’t return it. The signs are still here. It would have been useful as there is precious little other information.

There is a museum hereabouts but it is currently closed. We wait, having a drink in the shade.

After our drink the museum has yet to open, so we do another lap of the castle.

And we find an abstract sculpture, interesting.

Eventually it opens.

A group of Spanish tourists are with their guide.

The lecture seems to last hours, but eventually they get to accomplish the goal, a group photo, no matter that is says no cameras, it is only a church!

Spanish tend to travel in groups. They travel because they want to see other places, but it is always more fun if you do it with more other people. Then you get back home and show your trophy photos to the family. “Look, and this couple was from Valencia, we are going to keep in touch and maybe see them next summer. This other family is from Huelva, we became intimates”. SM

Sheer hypocrisy on our part, we couldn’t resist photographing them being photographed. Please ignore, out of respect, the religious crap behind.

We head back down to the town.

And there are the 847 windows.

We are not sharing our apartment. Good. After one of our luxury showers we head out to join the thousands of locals who are wandering up and down the promenade.

We prefer the cool of the river. Football is on, and they are showing it in all the bars, so tedious.

Those windows again.

And a lovely bridge. Don’t get me wrong, Berat is beautiful, just don’t big it up too much!

We find difficultly if finding our referred restaurant, the address is wrong on Tripadvisor! Our second choice is fully booked, those bloody Spanish no doubt, but we find a nice terrace, three storeys up, overlooking the river. Susana has grilled fish and I have lamb, delicious.

GDR