Hotel Fieri

... bewoelkt ist ist es immer noch 30 Grad und recht schwuel.

Berat besteht aus einer Burg auf einem Berg. Diese enthaelt ebenfalls Kirchen und auch heute noch bewohnte Haeuser. Am Berghang gibt es dann einen alten Vorort und auf der anderen Flussseite, durch eine Steinbruecke verbunden, einen weiteren Vorort. Drumherum gibt es heute aber natuerlich auch eine moderne Stadt mit guter sozialistischer Architektur.

Gruss
Ralf

... and sometimes struggle to start.

The ride is very bumpy but shows how rural population lives. Most people have used their yards as gardens, growing grapes, corn … Many buildings are half built. Effigies are common but can't tell what they are for. Deserted factories. Trash everywhere. Concrete military bunkers are all over the strategic locations (eg, town entrances, hills, bridges). I am taking photos from the bus but ...

... evening I sat outside of the hostel and cooked some steak on the barbie, the outdoor area was great and before long there were about ten of us sitting out there and enjoying some 50 eurocent beers. We hit some bars in the old town and had a nudie swim (well I was nude anyway) and drank some local spirits that the bartender brought with him to the beach. Except for the sun coming up as we got home it was an awesome night/morning.
The next day was quiet except for a 2 hour walk ...

... of joining the PC). Thru her I learnt a lot about how people live in this region, including a ritual called “gyro” , which is kind of like our “cruising”, but on foot. Every evening in the summer a section of the main street will be closed to traffic between 7 and 9 pm, and people, especially the girls, put on their best and walk up and down the street. All men and women of any age can join in, but most of them are younger ones. The men ...

... I told her that I have a boyfriend in the US and he wouldn't like me meeting other men like that. Thankfully that seemed to stop all talk of her brother. Once the woman seemed to have had enough talking to me, I had an interesting conversation with translator-man. He learned English while studying on international programs in Finland and Switzerland. I didn't quite understand what he was studying in either place. He ...

... Slowly but surely, I make my way to the inner most fortifications. The grass around them is bright green in the rain and with the gray sky, it almost looks like I'm in Scotland - not that I've ever been there to really know. Quite wet by now, I decide it is time to return to the hotel and dry off - if only the heat were on! At 6:30, I decide to go for a stroll around town. The power (which has only been on for two hours) cuts just as I step outside ...

... We had to shower between 4 and 6 pm, even though we just started sweating again immediately afterwards. The electricity came on at 5:30 so Katie put in a load of laundry, including some of my clothes, and even hung them all up for me later when i was out sightseeing. Katie had a class to teach at 6, and around 7 pm I headed up to the citadel - I wasn't in a huge hurry to sightsee in the heat. On the way I saw the Leaden Mosque, plain but nice. On the way ...

Berat to Apollonia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollonia% 2C_Illyria Apollonia in Illyria (modern Albania), known as Apollonia (Albanian: Apolonia or Apollonia, Greek: Aπολλων&# 943;α κατ' Επίδαμ 57;ον or Απολλω 57;ία προς Επιδάμ 57 ...

... over Another" (një mbi një) windows. Indeed, the quarter is built in a very steep place and windows seem to be one over another. Same views can be admired also in Gjrokastër (Albania) and Catanzaro (Italy) where once an Albanian minority lived. The Citadel overlooks the river and the modern city as well as the old Christian quarter across the river. It is a well preserved area containing narrow streets, Turkish houses and Orthodox churches. Modern Berat consists ...

We stopped in Vlora, by the sea on our trek to find the "virgin Albanian beaches" we had read about, and we weren"t too encouraged by this place. There is a slight (major under statement) rubbish problem in Albania as you can see in the photo... er... virgin beaches, I think not. The system of clearing up is to rake all the rubbish into a pile and burn it, old CFC plastic bottles included. No wonder there was a strange smell about the place...