For every reason to steer clear of Tirana, there exist two to go to Berat. An undiscovered jewel three hours south of the capital, Berat welcomes you with both the same Albanian hospitality as before, but in more majestic and sanitary surroundings. Mysteriously, much more trash seems to find its way into bins and dumpsters that appear out of nowhere. While indeed ditches and the riverbank are defiled with non-biodegradable garbage, it is only a fraction of scenes further north. This permits the eyes to concentrate on Berat’s real attraction: the white-faced village communities perched on both mountainsides of the valley and the imposing walled castle with town located within. The two hundred or so dwellings that make up the castle village are home to about 1,200 residents, who enjoy life in a quaint, sheltered, and
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