Once upon a time Berat was a city of churches. There were 20 or so churches in the castle area alone, although someone told me there was double that number at one point. That’s hard to believe considering how small the castle is but apparently there was a church on more or less every corner. I say apparently because communism put an end to that and all that is left now are a couple of 13th century churches and the ruins of the Red Mosque.

The communists weren’t the only ones to destroy parts of the medieval castle. The collapse of a pyramid scheme in 1997 led to civil unrest and gang warfare around the country including in Berat. This led to one of the most famous Ottoman style buildings in the castle being gutted by fire.

Nowadays though, it’s just neglect and abandonment which have led to the castle literally falling down in some parts and becoming a rubbish tip in others.

Most of the medieval castle walls are still intact and are a sign of what was most likely a magnificent structure in its day.

Berat is hugely popular, with tourists from around the world flocking to visit the UNESCO World Heritage listed town. I even met a couple of Aussies while I was up on the lookout admiring the city below.

The walk up to the castle is quite steep and a little slippery so you might want to get a taxi up if you’re not feeling very adventurous. Entrance to the castle costs around 1 euro. You can read more about life in Berat, Albania here.

Exploring Berat Castle is a post from Europe travel blog Destination Europe.

Awoken by gunshots I wondered what I had gotten myself in for. I knew virtually nothing about Albania and the government travel advisory warned against visiting. My mind was on the civil unrest a few years earlier which resulted in the deaths of thousands. Was I about to find myself in a deadly situation?

To my relief, there was not fighting in the streets. To my surprise, the regular night time shooting was aimed at wild dogs which had a bounty on their heads. Ten years later the shooting has stopped but the dogs still roam in packs.

Even though I was in Albania last year, it has been more than 10 years since I was last in historic Berat. It has been interesting to see how much the city has changed or maybe I should say how little it has changed. The roads haven’t been touched, potholes still abound. Footpaths are to be taken at your own risk. Public services are neglected. The people are still struggling to make ends meet.

At least Mangalem, Berat’s UNESCO World Heritage listed old town, is starting to get a face lift. A number of the Ottoman style hillside homes have been restored to their former glory as either private homes or hotels and restaurants. Skilled craftsmen take 8 hours to create one square metre of the typical timber ceilings you find in these buildings making the restoration a very slow process but a worthy one.

The most visible changes to the bustling city are the new Orthodox church built on the site of a former church which was pulled down by the communists and the new University of Berat which is still under construction but will hopefully inject a younger demographic to the city.

The Financial Crisis

The ongoing financial crisis in Greece and the rest of Europe has seen many expat Albanians return to their homeland but the job prospects in Albania are virtually nonexistent. Even if you manage to find a job the financial rewards are heartbreakingly low. Not being a particularly safe city (or so the locals tell me) each night we left our car in a car park with 24-hour surveillance. That surveillance was mostly carried out by a 60-something man, working from 6pm to 8am seven days per week for the grand sum of 100 euros per month. People like him watched their quality of life suffer with the fall of communism while others benefited enormously.

Continued Corruption

Of course one of the biggest contributors to Albania’s poverty is corruption. Political leaders, judges, doctors, teachers… You’d be lucky to find someone who isn’t corrupt. Even the anti-corruption organisations are corrupt. When visiting Berat to investigate corruption in the local hospital, the government group assigned to the task spent a couple of nights in one of the local hotels. On their departure, they asked the owner to forge the receipt, claiming they paid 40 euros per night instead of 20 so they could get reimbursed the higher amount.

I already knew corruption in hospitals was a huge problem as if you don’t tip the doctor he won’t treat you but I was surprised to learn many teachers are also corrupt. The teachers avoid actually teaching anything during class time to force the parents to pay them for private lessons on the side.

My favourite though was when trying to buy travel insurance for my mother-in-law who was going back to France with us. With the recent liberalisation of the visa process for Albanians, a visa is no longer required for the Schengen zone. All that’s needed is travel insurance and a return ticket. When purchasing travel insurance we were quoted prices ranging from €4 to €30 for 3 months. That’s super cheap for 3 months coverage. Finally I asked what exactly you get for that and the answer was nothing. It’s fake insurance which you just show at the border, it doesn’t cover you for anything. So we got the fake insurance and a fake return ticket for good measure.

Old Traditions

The xhiro in Albania is alive and well. Every evening in the summer, Berat’s residents take to the pedestrian strip, walk to the end of the road and then turn around and walk back. The is repeated for an hour or so while they chat with their friends, gossip with neighbours and admire potential partners (albeit discreetly). While in theory you can meet someone like this or at school or work, many Albanians still have arranged marriages, preferring to find a partner based on class, family background or whether or not they work abroad.

Only in Albania

One of the great things about travelling is seeing new things and learning about new cultures and customs. But there are some things which are so different that you can’t help but laugh. Cows and chickens walking along the motorway. The infamous bunkers dotted around the country. Rubbish collection done by horse and cart. Or someone deciding to tie up their horse by the street in the middle of the city, as you do.

Or someone using the river as their own private farm.

Berat’s Famous Castle

As well as being known as the ‘town with a thousand windows’ due to the pretty Ottoman style buildings in both Mangalem and Gorica (the Orthodox areas of the city), Berat’s other famous attraction is the kalaja, the castle which overlooks the city. The local government recently received €1.5 million from the EU to upgrade and restore the castle. Work was due to start in June of this year but one of the local residents told me nothing has been done to the castle in years and the previous two years in particular has seen a rapid decline in the area including collapsing buildings and rubbish everywhere. Hopefully that money hasn’t ‘disappeared’ and the work has just been delayed.

Where to Eat in Berat

I think I’ve tried every restaurant in Berat. They all have what I call the ‘Balkan menu’ which consists of pizza, pasta, salad, grilled vegetables, whole grilled fish and meat which has had every drop of moisture cooked out of it. At least it’s cheap. The most popular restaurant with tourists and businessmen is the Whitehouse which is right on the river in Mangalem but my favourite restaurant was the Greenhouse (original name, no?) which is a little out of the town centre on Rruga Antipatrea but they have free wifi.

For drinks, Hotel Palma has by far the best view of Berat from their rooftop terrace but be prepared to sit in thick smoke as the smoking ban is not enforced in Albania. Sadly, none of the bars in Berat do cocktails.

Hotels in Berat

I’d recommend staying in one of the small,traditional hotels. Hotel Berati (near the bus station but without wifi) is around seven years old but was built in traditional style or you could try one of the hotels in Mangalem; the very popular Hotel Mangalemi or newly refurbished Hotel Osumi. Hotel rooms in Berat go for around €20 per night.

Photos of Berat

Although the problems faced by the city might seem to be a negative for the tourism industry, there are actually more visitors than ever visiting Berat, especially tourists from France. Most just spend one night exploring the old town and castle and then head south to Gjirokastra and Butrint. The more adventurous tourists take the time to hike up Mt Tomorri which is worth doing if you want to get away from the city and off the beaten path.

Berat 10 Years On is a post from Europe travel blog Destination Europe.

Albania’s capital Tirana is a polluted, chaotic mess. A lot has changed since I was last there 10 years ago. It was a chaotic mess back then but it was no where near as polluted. At that time, the population was about half of what it is now and there was not that many cars on the road. There were so few cars back then that the entire country only had 2 or 3 sets of traffic lights and they weren’t working when I saw them.

Constant construction, unlawful buildings, and no knowledge of how to use rubbish bins has resulted in a dusty, dirty city with rubbish throughout the streets and construction rubble piled up high. The main square Sheshi Skenderbej is one big construction site with all the roads and paths pulled up and traffic jams on every street. Thankfully a Belgian company is working on the square so it should look great when they’re finished.

Pollution is unbearably high. The heat, the old car exhausts, the lack of greenery all contribute to thick smog which makes breathing difficult. Tirana is not a city you want to spend time walking in.

Not that there is much to see anyway. As far as architecture goes, you’ll find 90% of the buildings are hideous concrete blocks built during communism. There are a few attractive Italian built buildings dating from the 30s and a handful of older buildings built long before that. If beautiful or interesting architecture is your thing, stay away from Tirana. The parks need maintenance too but maybe my standards are too high after having lived in France for so long where you don’t see a single flower out of place.

The most popular part of Tirana is the Blloku area which is where the former communist leaders used to live. It was blocked off to the public during communism and is now the place to meet up for a coffee in the afternoon or drinks in the evening. Drinks are super cheap, tea or coffee is around 70 cents (euro), red bull is around 2 euros (it’s 5.50 here in Paris), and cocktails are 3-4 euros. Drink up!

Drinking coffee is the favourite pastime of Albanians. Not many people seem to drink beer or other drinks, it’s coffee, coffee, or coffee. Cafes are full day and night but there don’t seem to be that many restaurants. I have no idea where the people eat. Maybe they have their coffee and then head home.

One of the specialities of Tirana is what they call hot chocolate but which is more like a dessert. I was quite shocked when I received it. It is a thick, mousse like ‘drink’ which you eat with a spoon. It is sickly sweet and neither F nor I could drink it. The poor waiter felt sorry for us and didn’t charge us for it which I felt really bad about it. I had no idea it was their specialty and I would have finished it if I’d known but I was expecting something completely different.

The food in Tirana (and in all of Albania and Kosovo) is generally simple meat dishes like kebabs and qofte or roast lamb or chicken with potatoes. All the food I had was delicious and very, very cheap, usually around 5 or 6 euros per person including drinks. It’s so much cheaper than when I was last here. That’s what competition does I guess. I recommend eating at Lulishte 1 Maji and Villa Ambassador (in the former East German embassy) for tasty Albanian cuisine.

The biggest danger when visiting Albania are the cars. No one knows how to drive. I’m pretty sure they all bribed their driving instructors to get their drivers license (this is actually commonplace). They like to speed and do u-turns or 3 point turns at the most inappropriate times. They often won’t stop at red lights. They don’t wear seat belts. You take your life into your own hands when crossing the street and beware even if you have a green light.

Also on the roads you need to watch out for potholes. This was a huge problem 10 years ago and I can’t believe it hasn’t been fixed yet. Be careful driving and watch your step when walking, especially at night. You don’t want to fall through the road and end up in a crappy Albanian hospital.

Another thing to be aware of is that Albanians nod their heads to say no (yo) and shake their heads to say yes (po). This can be very confusing and I’ve been caught out numerous times misunderstanding what people are saying. I think younger people are starting to use the European way but oldies definitely won’t.

The last annoyance with Albania is the currency. The currency (lek) was revalued over 45 years ago and yet the people still refer to the old values when they discuss prices. Albanians are obviously stubborn people who don’t like to change! So if something costs 1,000 lek (8 euros) they will say it’s 10,000 lek but you’ll pay them 1,000. Don’t give them 10,000 or you’ll be paying 10 times too much (although they always use new money with foreigners, they don’t try to rip you off). It’s completely ridiculous and extremely confusing, for me anyway, they think it’s normal. I’ve argued with F about this many times but he just says, c’est comme ca.

Tirana is a post from Europe travel blog Destination Europe.

The only reason to go to Kukes is to change taxis on the way from Tirana to Prizren in Kosovo. Kukes consists only of communist era and new buildings as the old city was flooded and buried by the nearby dam.

F’s father is from a nearby village and he still has relatives in the region as well as in Prizren. On the way back from our day trip to Prizren, a guy offered us a lift back to Tirana. Within two minutes of taking off we discover this guy is married to one of F’s relatives and he knows all about F’s family. Small world.

We then took a detour to visit this guy’s uncle who wrote a couple of books about another of F’s relatives, Havzi Nela, a famous writer/poet/dissident who was hung in the centre of Kukes for political reasons, just before the fall of communism.

It definitely made for an interesting trip as I am always interested in hearing stories of life under communism in Albania.

Kukes is a post from Europe travel blog Destination Europe.

Most tourists only visit Shkodra, in northern Albania, on the way through to Tirana from Montenegro. That’s exactly why I was there. Since the end of communism, the town has been in decline and there is very little to see aside from the Rozafa Fortress.

I got a quick glimpse of the fortress while stuck in traffic in a gypsy camp where local kids knocked on the car windows begging for money. That reminded me of the last time I was in Albania when after entering getting off the ferry at Durres, I was waiting alone in my car when about 10 gypsy kids surrounded the car knocking on the windows. The kids are quite cute but they can be very aggressive!

The only building I saw in Shkodra which wasn’t a concrete apartment block was a mosque recently built as a gift from Saudi Arabia.

Shkodra is a post from Europe travel blog Destination Europe.

F headed to Albania yesterday, leaving me alone for the rest of the summer. He has to take care of some family business, plus he wants to spend some time with his mother, so he’ll be there for at least a month.

I could have gone with him but there’s just no way I can take that much time off work. F was trying to convince me that I could work from there but without ADSL there’s just no way. Can you imagine having to go back to dial-up?

So lets see what kind of mischief I can get up to while he’s away…

Alone Again is a post from Europe travel blog Destination Europe.

I haven’t been to Albania since 2001 and while I don’t have any immediate plans to return, I am glad to see they are slowly making progress in improving and developing the country (if you ignore the massive corruption problem).

They have recently been promoting tourism in Albania with a serious of ads on CNN and now I’ve seen this video. It was clearly made to promote tourism and investment but is interesting nonetheless.

I think F will be heading to Albania in a couple of months (his mother lives there alone) but I can’t bring myself to go. Sitting in his mother’s tiny apartment in a dead city where I don’t speak the language is not my idea of a fun holiday.

Developing Albania is a post from Europe travel blog Destination Europe.

For Ferbent. Only in Albania.

Only in Albania is a post from Europe travel blog Destination Europe.

The second site I created for Ferbent is about Albanian news. F is forever on the internet reading the news. He loves to read about anything to do with Albania, whether in his own language or in English. So I figured he may as well make better use of this time by posting the most interesting news stories on his own blog. He’s decided to go ahead and do that with his blog called Tomorri.

Again, I hope he will continue to update it often and won’t lose interest. He could easily get quite a few visitors to his site if he works at it so fingers crossed.

Albanian News is a post from Europe travel blog Destination Europe.