The photos will give you an idea of the gorgeous landscape and full spring colors here. We did back to back weekends. The first was white water rafting in an amazing canyon near the UNESCO city of Berat and the second weekend to the Vjosa Valley with some biking plus finding an old monastery and a Ottoman bridge.
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| UNESCO city of Berat |
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| Who said all the houses in this UNESCO city had to be white with brown roofs. These wild colors are only allowed in the new part of town. |
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| Saturdays is "hang your rugs out" day, all over Albania |
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| We ran across an international youth modernized folk dance festival. This group is from Bulgaria. |
The following morning, we drove 1 1/2 hours south of the city along the Osumi River and had an amazing rafting experience.
The following weekend we went with a group of American and Albanian friends to the town of Permet in the Vjosa Valley.
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| Spring green against the flowering fruit trees and snow capped mountains |
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| Add in an Ottoman bridge |
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| Way above the town of Permet is a 400 year old monastery.You can only enter if you find the neighbor with a gargantuan key to let you in. The stone work, curved stairs and shape of the doors are elegant. Inside, although needing much rennovation, is an amazing amount of carved woodwork and frescoes. The paintings have long since been stolen. |
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| This is the "road" to the neighbor's house who has the key to let you into the church. Sunday morning in the "city" of Permet |
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| Kids of Permet. Below is their fire truck. Seriously. You should see the older one parked around the corner! |
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| Catholic mass outside the church. Not sure why??? |
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| One biker and two friends. Am I seeing wine and beer at the lunch stop?????? |
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| Beautiful landscape to bike through. We really love Albania!! |
