Berat Castle and 2000 steps....or more

Yesterday booked a tour of the city of Berat through Tripadvisor.  I invited my new friend Elda to come with since I was going to be the only one on the tour.  What a great day!!!  The guide was amazing, fun, informal and Informative.  We started with coffee in the old castle in Elbasan, then to Berat for its grand castle, and picturesque houses and landscape.  The Berat castle (Kalaja e Beratit), which is actually a fortress, really surprised me due to its size and uniqueness (churches and mosques). I really felt like I went back in time, and we seemed to have the place all to ourselves – big advantage of traveling this time of year.  As we strolled through the streets and saw the icons in the Orthodox churches, I just kept marveling at the depth and breath of Albania’s history.  Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and invasion after invasion.  So complicated and dynamic.  Did you know half the GDP is from income from Albanians immigrants that live in other countries?  Most Albanians don’t live in Albania due to the many wars and invasions in the region.

Follow-up to the laundry situation.  The mother did it in one day and everything was beautifully folded.  So generous.  People are just so nice here.