We woke up Wednesday morning in Himare and got ready to take a bus to Berat. As our luck would have it, the guy helping us at our bungalow’s restaurant for breakfast said he was actually from Berat. He asked how we were planning to get to Berat and we told him our plan. He suggested we change buses in Lushnje rather than in one of other places we were looking at. The bus ride went smoothly and when we got to Lushnje, we stopped at what looked like a very random spot in a round about, and the bus helper kindly pointed out where we need to stand to wait for a bus to Berat. We are so thankful for the kindness of everyone we met in Albania because without their help we would have been lost and we would have never found that bus! My overall take on Albanian buses: excellent choice as long as you’re willing to ask for help!

Berat is one of Albania’s 4 UNESCO World Heritage sites. It’s over 2500 years old and filled with rich history, legends, and culture! Our Albanian friends are also from Berat and lived here before moving to the USA years ago, so we knew we had to check it out. It’s also a city known for its hospitality. Really, all of Albania is known for being hospital, but especially Berat.

One of the things we were most impressed by was its history of thousands of years of religious coexistence. In multiple places, you can literally find a mosque next door to a church. During World War II, both Christians and Muslims hid Jews in their homes and protected them like their own family members. They also let Jews worship in their mosques and churches. In fact, you can actually find a Star of David on the wall of the main city mosque. During communism, religion was strictly prohibited and many places of worship were destroyed. After the fall of communism, the local Muslims of Berat helped the Christians rebuild their church. When they finished, the Christians welcomed the Muslims to use the newly build church as a temporary place of worship while they helped rebuild the mosque next door. Furthermore, during the Kosovo War, many people took in refugees from Kosovo straight into their homes and fed and housed them. What an incredible type of hospitality to be known for!

We took an excellent free walking tour with Bruno, a cool local guy who went above and beyond to make sure we saw as many highlights and learned as much about the city as we could! He led our group all the way up to the old castle at the top of the hill with phenomenal views, even as it started pouring raining! Inside the castle, you can find 360 degree views of the city, ancient cobblestone paths, mosques, churches, statues, and of course some shops and even hotels built into the old walls.

After our lovely tour, we decided to spend the afternoon at the Cobo Winery. The area around Berat is surrounded by family-owned wineries! We’ve been told you can even eat the grapes growing wild along the countryside, though we didn’t try. The winery we wanted to visit was closed; however, Cobo is the most famous name in wineries in Albania, so we were thrilled to get to check it out! When we arrived, the owners’ teenage son came out to greet us and told us he would do our wine-tasting. He brought us a plate of incredible local cheese and olives and introduced us to some of their top reds, whites, sparkling, and of course, walnut raki.

For dinner, we had some awesome traditional food and tried some more local cheese and tavë kose (the quintessential Albanian dish made of lamb chunks cooked in yogurt and eggs). I wasn’t sure how it was going to taste, but the flavors exploded, and I’ve already found myself craving more!

We highly recommend Berat and would certainly visit again!