On the road again

Departure time out of Albania is scheduled at the crack of dawn. Thus, the ride to Tirana’s airport takes place in the dark at 4:30am, and is quick (only 20 minutes) due to the lack of the usually congested road traffic. All international travels start this early so that the passengers can reach their destinations within the same 24-hrs day.

The small, and now being modernized, Tirana’s airport presents itself well, and is full of activities and people, drinking coffee and smoking. The latter is a real bad problem, still allowed here, and I find the air unbearable to breath, although we are in a large waiting area. Finally, as the reddish light of dawn appears on the horizon, behind the sharp and clear mountain profiles, in this still very cold day, we board our flight to Italy for a further connection, later on, to New York. I feel lucky that my return will not be affected by another Italian airline strike, scheduled in the next 24 hours.