We went to Berat from Tirana by bus which took around 4 hours. But the craziest thing was we had to wait at the bus station until the bus was full to depart even they said the bus would start at some certain time. Besides, they also stopped many times to get more customers like the coaches in Vietnam. So be prepare for that.
We arrived at the bus station in Berat which was a bit out of the center so we had to take another bus to town. We talked to a nice man on the bus who spoke very well English and even volunteered to take us to our airbnb place. After settled down our stuff, we started to discover Berat.
The name of the city in Albanian is "Berat" or "Berati", meaning "white city" in old Slovenian. The town is still renowned for its historic architecture and scenic beauty and is known as the "Town of a Thousand Windows", due to the many large windows of the old decorated houses overlooking the town.
Like many cities in Albania, Berat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, comprises an old fortified city filled with churches and mosques painted with grandiose wealth of visible murals and frescos.
To go to the fort Berat’s Kala, you can go by car or just walk up hill.
From the ruins of the Berati castle we will have the opportunity to admire a view of the Tomorri Mountain, in the east of the city with a height of 2416 m. This mountain is also famous because it is a pilgrimage place for the Bektachi, second largest religion in Albania.
From the castle of Berat we can also see a building that looks like the White House in Washington DC. That is the Albanian University of Berat, Bulevardi Republika, a church, the river Osumi, the modern city and the old Christian quarter across the river.
At the top of the hill you can enter the castle where you’ll find a small town with a few bars and restaurants, charming characteristic white houses, ruins, the statue of the head of Constantine the Great, the church of St Theodor built with red bricks and the cistern of the Byzantine Era who was used to save the water as well as the museum of the famous Albanian painter of the 16th century, Onufri.
Actually, when you visit Berat, you would hear about Mangalemi and Gorica. Mangalemi is located on the north side of Osumi river and Gorica is on the south side. While Mangalemi is traditionally muslim, Gorica is christian. Both districts are composed of narrow alleys of ancient white stone houses with terracotta tiles, timber doors and fresh flower arrangements. Gorica and Mangalem are connected by the Gorica Bridge, from 1780, made up of seven arches and suffused with folklore.
Bulevardi Republika is the gathering of the Berat citizen. The walkway is lined with cafes with outdoor tables and chairs on one side, and on the other side there are rows of trees. Something that makes Bulevardi Republika so appealing is the stunning backdrop of The Tomorri Mountain in one direction and the citadel in the other. When the town is lit up at night, the town is also very attractive.
One interesting thing we experienced in Berat was the local dishes in two different restaurants, one was an expensive and famous and one was a very local and nameless. But we did prefer the local nameless restaurant with their specialties: fried brain and fried liver, just so delicious. It’s just so cheap to travel in Albania comparing to other European countries. Therefore, even in that expensive and famous restaurant, we just paid about 5 euros for a main dish.
Besides all those nice things, Berat and other cities in Albania need to take care more about the environment. There were still a lot of rubbish around like in Vietnam.
But in general, we had a good time in Berat with its charm and hospitality of its people.
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