Welcome to Tirana, Albania!
Not much to see in this capital....the country's only airport is here, so here we are. But they have local beer!!
This is one of Albania's most famous buildings. Yawn. Next!
Another of the famous buildings. This is the truly ugly Pyramid, which was commissioned by their former dictator as a museum. Now it's an abandoned hulk, and people climb up it to drink. Seriously.
Tirana, Albania has a curious reverence for former President George W. Bush. Thankfully we do not share this reverence.
The next morning, we were on a 7am bus for the 3-hour ride to Berat in the center of Albania! I brought excellent reading material.
I often say "I'm a nickel cab ride from losing my shit." In Berat, Albania, the bus ride from the bus station to the town center was LITERALLY A NICKEL. I'm finally on a real nickel ride! Wheee!!
Berat is nestled in the mountains, and quite rural. This is our hike to find our guesthouse.
Our amazing, nearly perfect guesthouse, Guesthouse Vila Lili.
Our room had a lovely terrace overlooking a garden, with views of the mountains.
And the adorable innkeepers gave us Turkish coffee to welcome us!
....and there were pomegranates growing in the garden!!!
We picked a few. They were yummy :)
The guesthouse owner even insisted on peeling the pomegranates for us. She was so sweet.
This is Albania in a nutshell: All around is a rural setting, or old buildings; then smack in the middle is a brand-new, highly ambitious building with no visible usage. This university is in the middle of an open field, yet in a classic Greek style. It's so clean and unused it doesn't look real.
Berat is known as "The City of a Thousand Windows," because of this view of the buildings.
The Joneses in Berat!
The view of the Thousand Windows from the city's promenade.
The view of the Thousand Windows from across the River Osum.
Berat Castle is on top of a very steep, very slick-stoned street. Here we go, up the hill...
Albania