Today was our last day in Tirana. After we finished packing we wandered down to the lake in Rinia Park and the Taiwan Cafe for breakfast.

I tried the Petulla, an Albanian style of pancakes which was basically like fried doughnuts. They were ok.

After a leisurely breakfast we walked to the Radius office where we had booked to hire a car. The guy in the office took us to their parking lot and handed over a brand new Skoda Kamiq. It’s a very nice SUV and I especially ordered an automatic so I could drive it too.

After filling out all the paperwork I decided to take the wheel and drive us back to the apartment to pick up our cases. Perhaps not the best decision, as not long after leaving the car park I scrapped the passenger side of the car against the wall of a narrow street. I did continue driving to the apartment. As expected there was no parking outside the actual apartment so I parked on a nearby road while Nicola quickly went in to get her case. Once she arrived back at the car I quickly went to get mine. Whilst I was doing that, Nicola was asked to move the car by the police – so she was now driving, which was not a bad thing.

We drove for about 30 minutes to Petrele castle. This castle was built in the 6th century and is 329m above sea level.

Although it was raining there were some lovely views from the top over the surrounding mountains and olive groves.

During the middle ages the castle was a key defensive position against the expanding Ottoman empire and witnessed several battles. During the Ottoman reign it was used for administration and surveillance purposes.

The castle now hosts a restaurant and is a popular tourist destination.

Following our tour of the castle we then drove roughly one and a half hours to Berat. Once we were back on the main roads I did some driving but Nicola did all the smaller and narrow roads. On the way we stopped and took a photo of a very picturesque little mosque.

The roads into Berat castle were very narrow. I tried navigating using the instructions we had been sent, but we ended up in the wrong car park and had to go back down to the lower car park. I then messaged our air bnb hosts and the father came to pick us up from the car park to show us to our apartment. We quickly unloaded the cases and then he drove us to the nearby car park, where we could leave the car.

The apartment was small but lovely – it was amazing living inside the actual castle. Once we had unpacked a little bit we had some tea and biscuits outside in the garden. The view was amazing.

We met Tim and Sandra who were staying in the apartment next to us, so chatted to them for a little bit. They had travelled from Chicago and were also doing their own tour of Albania.

It was then time to go exploring. Berat castle dates mainly from the 13th century and contains around 20 churches and some mosques. It is only accessible from the south side and stands at an elevation of 214m.

The castle was burnt down by the Romans in 200BC but then rebuilt and strengthened in the 5th century. In the 6th century there were more additions and again in the 13th century. Most of the buildings inside the castle were built in the 13th century.

The first church we came across was the Orthodox church of St George. This church was made into a government residence in the 1980s. The upper part of the church, which was originally a basillica style, was destroyed and replaced with a structure resembling a traditional residential house.

The walls of the castle are extremely thick and made of solid stone. They act both as a barrier and a symbol of power.

There were some amazing views from the top of the castle.

After walking around the walls for a bit we made our way to the Acropolis area within the castle. The layout mirrors the contours of the hills on which it stands, creating a minature version of the terrain.

One of the main attractions here is the water cistern. This drops to 6m below ground and is still partially functional today.

We then came across the white mosque. It’s believed that this was built during the 15th century and was used by the ruling administration and the garrison soldiers. It is built from white limestone.

Once again we had amazing views over the town of Berat and Shpirag mountain.

The next church we saw was the beautiful Holy Trinity Church. This is an amazing 14th century church which was unfortunately closed.

We carried on walking to the church of St Mary of Blachernae. This church was built in the 13th century and is the oldest preserved church in Berat.  It also used to have a dome roof but that collapsed and the roof was reconstructed in its present form.

Outside the church is a huge bust of Constantine in honour of the first Christian Roman Emperor. It’s 3.5m tall and symbolises Albania’s historical ties to the Roman Empire and Christianity.

Some cannons were situated on the ramparts, so we decided to take some photos.

And some more great views over Berat.

On the way back to our apartment we passed two more churches. Firstly the church of St Thedore, originating from the 13th century. It is a simple single nave church.

And secondly the curch of the St Evangelist which is likely to have been built in the 17th or 18th century.

And we passed a lovely little cat.

After a quick refresh we decided to have a glass of prosecco on the terrace before heading out for dinner. I took another photo from the garden as the mountain, Mount Tomorr, was looking a bit clearer.

Just next door to our apartment was a restaurant called Mbrica so we went there for dinner. A little cat greeted us as we arrived.

For dinner we had Berat meatballs and a house red wine, both of which were delicious. This was followed by Monblan berati – a meringue type dessert with almonds, milk and honey. I’m glad we shared one as it was very sweet. A lovely dog kept us company too.

And then the owner offered us some free raki to finish.

During the evening we got chatting to the other people in the restaurant. There was a young girl travelling on her own from Australia and two couples from Germany. The younger couple from Germany had just found out she was pregnant so we all congratulated them.

It poured down whilst we were eating so the owner put the sides down on the terrace.

After chatting for a while we headed back home to bed.