And we loved it!
And we have enjoyed each return visit just as much.
However, there is a downside to this. Many other visitors have enjoyed it as well, and Albania is no longer under the radar. This has caused prices to rise in tourist areas, and Albania is enjoying a strong economy related to the increase in tourism. This means the the Albanian lek has risen versus other currencies, and combined with the weakness in the Canadian dollar over the last five years means that everything is at least 25% more expensive for us compared to five years ago. Add in inflation, and Albania is nowhere near as cheap as it used to be.
Breakfast yesterday morning at the hotel near Tirana Airport.
As an example, yesterdays breakfast cost 350 lek ($5.75 CAD, $4.20 USD) each. Still very reasonable compared to many other countries, however five years ago 350 lek was $4.25 CAD or $3.50 USD. Plus the breakfast probably only cost 275 lek back then.
Our airport hotel was quite expensive, and priced in euros. The same thing with our car rental. We knew that accommodation and car rental were going to be expensive because we are here during busy season. The car rental is also priced in euros and cost €500 for 20 days. So, €25 ($40 CAD, $29 USD) per day which in Canadian dollar terms is the most we have ever paid for a rental car.
Anyway, we got into our car and headed for the city of Berat, however we made a detour to the beach town of Durres just to see what it's like during busy season. We have been there before, but it's been very quiet because it wasn't warm enough!
But it was warm enough yesterday!
Blue skies and a high of about 32C (89F).
We enjoyed a walk on the beach in the sunshine, and then headed another hour further south to Berat and our accommodation for the next three weeks.
Our car was given to us with under a quarter tank of gas. Gasoline is now very expensive in Albania because it's all imported and they don't make any of their own. Not sure how the locals can afford it! It now costs 166 lek ($2.72 CAD) per liter! That's about $7.50 USD per gallon!
So, it cost 7,500 lek ($122 CAD, $90 USD) to fill the tank of our little Fiat! Good thing it's fuel efficient!
Small outside balcony.
We are on the fourth floor and have a beautiful view!
Looking towards the main part of town which is on the other side of the mountain on the left.
You can see Berat Castle on top of that mountain.
We are in a very local building not in the tourist area. We are paying €25 a night. The same as our car rental.
We relaxed for a bit, then went out and did some grocery shopping. Again, we noticed the difference in prices.
Around 6:00pm, we walked to the central area. It's about 2 kms (1.3 miles) one way from our apartment.
It is dry season, so the water in the Osum River is low.
Can you tell why Berat is called "City of 1,000 windows"?
Such a beautiful area.
Tomorr Mountain in the distance.
If the weather is conducive, we might attempt a summit during this visit!
Berat old town.
More windows.
The main pedestrian area with Tomorr mountain in the background.
Regular readers will remember that the main reason we came to Albania right now is to visit our dentist. I had a bridge anchor tooth rebuilt here four years ago, and it became infected a couple of weeks ago. There is no pain, but the dentist in Scotland said she needed to do an x-ray to see what the problem is, and without treatment she expects the infection will return.
I had tried to contact him through both email and WhatsApp, but didn't get any response. But we know he works many evenings, so we took a chance and walked over there. Sure enough, he was just finishing up, and welcomed us to Berat. He even remembered my name!
Anyhow, we have an appointment for 7:00pm this evening to do the x-ray and decide a treatment.
From there, we went to a local bar near our apartment for dinner...
Meals away from the tourist area can still be quite cheap.
We shared a plate of pork, a plate of chicken breast, fries, and a salad along with a glass of wine, two small beers, and two shots of raki for 1,500 lek ($24.60 CAD, $18 USD)
Nighttime view from our balcony.
We've had a pretty hectic few days, so we're looking forward to just relaxing today.
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And in Canada at Amazon.ca.
Berat is looking so inviting with the blue sky! We spent all of May in Albania and on our day out in Berat it rained on us for 4 hours…. Totally drenched. Beautiful city, and country. ❤️
ReplyDeleteBerat really is beautiful. It's such a shame that it rained so much on you that day. You will have to make a return visit. In our opinion one day here isn't enough. We love doing day trips in the surrounding area as well as hiking lots of the back roads. Yes, Albania is a beautiful country for sure.
DeleteWow, what a price on that dinner! Quite a difference from the breakfast spot! Hope the dental work prices haven't increased too much. It looks like a very attractive spot with that mountain in the background. Love the pedestrian street and your view!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great dinner but the meat was quite salty and overcooked but for the price we couldn't complain, we weren't expecting a gourmet meal so we were good with what we got and we were full when we were finished.
DeleteThis dentist works with the locals so we aren't expecting the prices to have gone up too much but the difference in the exchange rate will make the price more for us.
Berat is a beautiful town/city, we always love our visits here and we are loving the view from our apartment, I don't think we could ask for a much better one.