In Tirana again

Arrived yesterday, safe and sound, and on time, via Austrian Air, which, so far, has never let me down. We were lucky this time to only spend ½ hour taxing the field at departure from  JFK, and the journey was smooth all the way to Vienna. The only distraction during this fully booked flight, was the never ending movements of six Hassidic Jews, who, I guess to conduct their prayers, kept  putting their hats and coats on and off quite frequently. Some of them were not sitting together, so they walked the aisles to meet each other and to stash away their clothing in various overhead bins. 

It’s a bit boring having to spend 4 hours to make the connection to Tirana. My choice not to read, but just relax, usually rewards me with a variety, and sometimes interesting, comings and goings in the waiting area of that airport, equipped also with some lounge chairs where one can stretch the legs. There are not many of these seats, but they are eagerly sought, and, once occupied, travelers easily fall asleep in them. Some young people carry their own, good sized, pillows, which they use on planes and  also to stretch out, length wise, on benches in the transit areas. 

In this zone at Vienna’s airport, very conveniently located next to a busy self-service café, one can watch the world go by: young and old, with different somatic features, mostly dressed in comfortable and even sloppy clothing, dragging all sorts of paraphernalia; a few looking lost and seeking help, while others, self assured, occupy themselves with smart phones, and laptop computers.  

This time I had in front of me for a while, six young Buddhists simply wrapped in their traditional red and yellow, sleeveless robes. They wore socks and modern sneakers, but from their light carryon luggage a couple of them pulled out red cardigans to fence off the air conditioning.  Airport prices are outrageous everywhere, and the concessions are making a good business selling especially water since it’s not allowed to be carried by the passengers anymore. Example this time, in Vienna, I paid 7.40 euro (=$10.00) for one espresso and a pint of water.

Two other observations I made during this travel regard the US Customs Office at JFK, and the passengers’ assistance at Tirana’s airport.  

The first is tucked away in the arrival area with no sign of any kind, behind closed and alarmed doors that you cannot access from the outside.  If you are are departing, therefore, you have to have to descend one level in the building.  The little window available to departing passengers was shut, so one has to ask around. Even airport personnel is unaware how to reach this office, and I was a kind of an oddity when I asked to be directed there. It took more than 15 minutes of walking around, and asking.  I was finally ushered by a security guard, through a locked door, inside the “arrival area”, but with no security check about me!  There, I finally found a uniformed Customs Officer, who smiled when I told him how difficult it was to find him. He was busy (I guess checking incoming passengers) and pleasantly relieved when I told him that I had already filled out for him the required form that I had downloaded from online and printed out at home.  We had a pleasant chat and he wanted to assure me why they do requests certain type of declarations, but I reiterated that they were too ‘invisible’ to the departing passengers…..;-) 

Tirana’s airport is now equipped with a couple of very modern vans for passengers requiring assistance on arrival. They have appropriate personnel in uniform with special signs on their jackets, but, this time, they were not available at the bottom of the movable stairs to the plane to help unload the luggage.  I was fortunate, however, to receive assistance from a young Albanian, fellow passenger. Once on the ground, I saw the airport staff rushing in. They drove me quickly to the arrival building, whisked me thru passport control in a jiffy, and carried my luggage out of the arrival area. 

There, my faithful old driver was waiting for me. In less than ½ hour I was in my apartment, where, as usual, everything was ready for me, including a refrigerator stacked with food, vegetables, and fruits. On my dining table, a bouquet of flowers and some sweets. 

Had to deal with a few glitches that took 24 hours to solve, such as a dead cell phone, and an Internet modem that  did not want to wake up and work for me!

The temperature in Tirana is already in the middle 80’sF degrees. It will take me a few days to adjust to the change of climate, time, and local habits, but here I am, and will be for a while, with loads of work to be accomplished ahead!