We drove out from Ohrid midmorning to get ahead of the border crossing traffic, of which there was some (but not too bad). Our first stop was just a few minutes past the border around the other side of the lake: a village called Lin. The village was very small, and we were pulling down a narrow street into town while everyone was setting up shop and running errands. We parked, grabbed a coffee, and strolled down the road, admiring the donkey loaded with goods, the onions and other vegetables hanging for sale, and the hubbub of it all. There were not many tourists.
After Lin, we drove for a couple of hours south west down the mountains and then into the canyons of Albania where we arrived in Berat – The Town of a Thousand Windows. Immediately, I loved it. We drove down a cobblestone road that hugged the castle on the mountain and parked the car (for two days) in a lot. Our Airbnb had a beautiful view that I constantly was taking pictures of. I immediately set out as the sun was starting to set to get pictures and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere (and we had to get cash).
Really, the town was just breathtaking. I walked down Bulevardi Republika, admiring the layers of homes that rose up the mountain toward the castle. The sun was warm, and our first night we got dinner under the minaret of the mosque. Each night we strolled around the river, crossing different bridges, on both the Berat (Muslim) and the Gorica (Christian) sides of the town. We climbed up narrow streets to find small churches, grape vines, and restaurants.
