Leaving Ourselves Behind

Comparing Berat and Paris is certainly off-base, but our beautiful little boutique hotel was indeed situated on the Left Bank of the this old fortified city, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008.

This is the Hotel Koroni, open just 10 days after a lengthy renovation. The young owners bought the building three years ago, which had been abandoned for 13 years and they have put heart, soul and passion into its restoration.

The couple and their mother could not have been more welcoming and hospitable. Our room, including a breakfast that would feed most North American families of four, was a bit of a splurge for us at fifty euros. They are targeting a higher end market (which should give you an idea of what hotel rooms cost in Albania), and they’ve thought of everything. As we left, they handed us a bottle of wine produced from their own vineyard.

But they face a bit of an uphill battle. Berat has a robust tourism industry which fuels a good part of their economy and competition among hotels is fierce. The hope is that demand will only continue.

There are still a lot of abandoned buildings in Berat, just waiting for someone with vision and a few lek to transform. This is the building right next door to the hotel.

Berat means “White City” in Albanian, in reference to the predominant colour of buildings in the older parts of town. The original descriptor “One Above Another Windows” was somehow co-opted by a marketing type with the snappier “City of a Thousand Windows” and that reference has stuck. Either way, Berat is known for having similar white and stone buildings that climb the hillsides, with many windows, one above another.

This view is of the principal part of Berat, the Right Bank, the neighbourhood known as Mangalem.

Across the River Osum on the Left Bank is the neighbourhood of Gorica, the oldest community in Berat.

A view of both sides of Berat.

The river is more of a trickle than a river really. You could wade across it, like this herd of goats.

The more common way to cross the river is by either of two pedestrian bridges. The newer bridge was just a skip from our hotel.

The seven-arched Gorica Bridge dates back to 1780 and was originally built of wood. It was rebuilt of stone in the 1920s and is a major selfie stop.

The Gorica Bridge was also where we met our guide Bruno for our excellent walking tour. We were a group of seven – two German couples and an American woman who had lived all over the world – taught in Greece (in Greek) for several years and had survived coups in Venezuela and Chile. I love walking tours for that reason – you almost always meet interesting people, and you find out curious facts about a place that aren’t immediately apparent.

The biggest attraction in Berat is the 13th century castle – the largest one in Albania. It holds a command post over the city and is in excellent condition, as there are still residents and businesses who live within its walls.

Bruno gazed at Stephen and I thoughtfully as our little group made our sweaty way up the hill, and kindly offered to “get a car for us” if we needed the help. We puffed out our chests and declined the offer, but the reality is that we are often the oldest in the room by many years and the concern is never patronizing, it is only ever out of kindness.
The castle is home to a number of mosques and churches, including the beautiful Holy Trinity Church.

During World War II, the castle was a refuge for Jews; over 60 families, both Muslim and Christian, hid their Jewish friends and neighbours in their homes.

As well, during the communist regime, Berat became a place of exile for those deemed public enemies.

Bruno spoke proudly of how all religions get along in Berat. Since religious practice was forbidden during the communist regime, the ability now to freely express religious beliefs is not taken for granted. Many Muslims in Berat tend to be moderate; men and women pray together and they drink alcohol.

We love to listen to the nightly call to prayer – usually done by a man with an exceptionally beautiful voice. It’s very moving.

One of Berat’s mosques.

As we walked down the hill from the castle, some lively music and dancing from a restaurant drew us in.

I didn’t catch it on film, but a young man on a motorcycle flew up this hill at a breathtaking speed (cobblestones, no helmet), and then popped a wheelie ( do they still call it that?), and flew all the way back down again. Someone’s son.

For the rest of us ( who exchanged shocked looks and incredulous head shakes) this was our sedate pace.

We all took turns posing at the peak of the castle.

The October Wine Festival in Berat was an unexpected bonus. For the entire three days we were there, the streets were filled with booths selling wine from Albania’s many growers.
Bet you didn’t know that Albania is one of the oldest wine-producing countries in the world; beginning 3000 years ago.
Ottoman rule, two World Wars and then 40+ years of communism crippled the industry, but it is on the verge of hitting the international world stage. Winemakers have studied in other countries, but they are no longer bringing in other grapes – they are proudly promoting their own.
The shesh-zi grape, unique to Albania, is full-bodied and delicious, and if you like, you can drop quite a few euros for a superior bottle. But with excellent homemade wine available on every corner and half-litres selling for $6 or $7 in every restaurant, there’s no need to splash out. Small production “homemade” wine is a big deal in Albania – many hotels and restaurants grow and bottle their own, and most of them are very good.

The wine festival was fun to wander around, talk to some producers and sample a few. On the day of our walking tour, we almost bumped into Albania’s president (guy in glasses) and Berat’s mayor (guy beside him in suit with his head down), shaking hands and creating photo ops.

Even more exciting was the presence of the Albanian singer, Kida, a 24-year-old Kim Kardashian look-alike who had the crowd all wound up the first night of the festival as the headliner.

Even when major pop stars are not in town, Berat is a lot of fun at night. No need to do a whole lot other than have dinner, go for a drink, or have an ice cream. Everyone is out for the “xhiro” – the see and be seen stroll – little kids and old grandmothers. The town lights up.

During the day, you can be sure to find some lively games of chess going.

There was a little park not far from us that seemed to be a central meeting place for most of Berat’s old gents. They would sit, two or three to a bench, sometimes talking, other times not saying a word. Almost to a man, they would have a suit on, definitely a nice shirt.

We walked past this monument, where a group of kids were kicking a ball around. As we were trying to read the plaque (which we could not understand), Stephen got bashed in the back of the leg by a soccer ball, and he immediately went into a fake, grabbing his leg and yelling.

The poor kid looked stricken and to make matters worse, a nearby adult yelled at him, so it took a bit of doing to reassure everyone that all was well.

No scary driving this time – the vehicle-accessible streets are straightforward. This lovely street ran in front of our hotel; two-way for traffic and divided for pedestrians. We parked our car down the street in a secure lot for two euros a day, and the rest of the time we were on foot.

A typical narrow street in Berat.

Berat and Gjirokaster are often compared, as they share a lot of similarities – the hillside setting, the castle, the stone buildings and streets. But we found each had their own distinctive qualities. One unusual quality about Gorica (our neighbourhood), is the fact that the mountain behind Gorica blocks the sun from November to April. And we complain about the weather back home…

We arrived in Tirana this afternoon, after a positively hair-raising driving experience. The drive between Berat and Tirana is just over two hours, and we needed to get our rental car back to the airport before noon. From there, we would take the bus into town.

As we were about a half hour from the airport, we were blocked from entering the autostrada by a phalanx of police cars. Why? An accident? No idea and also no idea where to go next. Stephen had to navigate several lanes of irate, frustrated Albanian drivers, figure out what road to take and not get sideswiped – all at once. He noticed a large black SUV stopped for a minute by the side of the road, figuring out an alternate route to the airport? Possibly. He followed him, which turned out to be a good instinct, even when we found ourselves on a narrow road high up in the hills.

We had an opportunity to talk to a police officer who told us that access to the airport was shut until noon. we called our rental guy, who told us there was a European Summit on, and all the dignitaries were arriving, so we would have to return our car to the downtown office.

If you come to Albania – DO NOT DRIVE IN THE CITY OF TIRANA. Everywhere else is fine, although there are the random crazy drivers, but Tirana was terrifying. People drive like they are late for their own funerals. We came within a hairbreadth of getting hit – and he honked at us.

Anyway – it’s all good. We’re here – great Airbnb, and ready to hit the bricks tomorrow. Still lots of impressions to share.