Back north, direction Belgrade.

Today i leave Djirokaster with the objective of reaching Tirane. 200 kms of roads. This means some good 4 if not 6 hours in Albania. Morning picture session is not convincing i am sorry i lost last nights pictures... i get a taxi out of town, and get of when i realize he is a taxi, charging 1000 lek to Fier, only halfway... :) A truck driver then picks me up and gets me into Tepelene, some 20kms further. He is all wonders “what the hell i a you doing here?? Why? Who are you??”. The conversation is simple since i speak no word of Albanian besides good, yes, no, no problem, hello, goodbye and thank you :) We somehow understand basics about each other using international words and a lot of gestures. In Tepelene i get picked up by a football fan heading for Tirane for the football game against Sweden. He owns a cafe in Saranda, he is a nice man with simple life and a very good and open minded when we exchange our philosophy about life and religion. Respect, helping each other etc... But when it comes to god, he exists and there is only one! We stop in Fier for a refreshment, to drop his friend and meet a bunch of others. Since he cannot drink during the Ramadan, he washes with cold water to cool of. Who hard that must be on days like this driving a car with no cooling r ventilation...
In Tirane i meet a german-italian couple cycling trough the Balkans who loved Bosnia and are now a little disappointed. I recommend them the southern part of the coast and since they have little time, they go catch a bus down there right now. I myself then get to the Sky tower and meet with Eleonora, Nora for friends. Frappe, cold water and a long chat in thee parks about professional life and choices.
I find the same discussions but in different voices, words and emotions everywhere. Questions, fears, dreams, ideals... Nobody knows and anyway it would be boring to know. Nora goes of for dinner and me to meet Stavri, my host. She recommends me a delicious Qofte, at Tumi’s. Delicious in deed this little sticks of grilled meat. But also friendly, real fast and refreshing thanks to a nice tap beer. Simple, Fresh, Cheep, Fast and Friendly you certainly rarely find this in Switzerland. Waiting for Stavri i watch the boring game on Tv... I finally
meet with him and his friends At Iliria’s for a couple beers. Soon we start excited chats about music, exchange band names, addresses, tastes and then a bit later opinions... I love these first moment when you have a beer with strangers, laugh a lot , exchange information with excitement and discover all those new things about new people! By the way the pub is named after Ilirians, the ancecters of all Albanians.
As Stavri will later say in the park, they bring me local knowledge which i spread in my travels and thereby contribute to the ongoing, unstoppable globalisation :) The chats go on in the park where we meet Marie and listen to music. One friend goes into a private session of ipod listening, tripping on Roni Size dirty beats :) It is late, we grab food and go get some deserved sleep. Getting into the family’s apartment late and waking the parents is a problem for nobody. Every body falls back asleep.

Girokaster to Tirane