7 a.m. Schnapps

Indeed. Just as the title indicates it has been yet another interesting day in Albania. It all started with a strong coffee in a local cafe bar and hailing down one of the many mini buses that swarm the city looking for passengers. Because Albania has one of the worst train systems ever, where there are two trains that depart Shkoder at 5 a.m. and one 45 minutes later, these mini buses or furgos are the main form of intercity transit.

So Moe and Hops had a plan to go to see these great beautiful lakes and reservoirs to the north of Shkoder called Vau i Dejes. According to the Lonely Planet guidebook there was a sightseeing ferry from the city of Koman to another one across the water and the trek was supposed to take three hours round-trip.

So after stepping into this minivan serving as a bus we finally got underway, and the roads were the windiest and in the worst condition I had experienced in a while. This doesn't necessarily say anything about Albania, but more just the area we were at in particular. Long windy roads with cliffs hanging over us and dizzying turns through a landscape that looked equal parts beautiful and barren. So besides picking up a few locals who looked like they lived out in the middle of nowhere and worked on the land (turns out they did) we three were alone in the van with our semi-eccentric driver. He told me to get into the front seat after the last stranger got out — even though there was plenty of room in the back. But speaking through waving hands I eventually just went to the passenger seat. I mean I can't be rude and leave the guy all lonely in the front, right?

So as we drove along he asked me if I am Italian.
No.
Spanish?
No.

I tell him I'm Cuban and the only two words he manages are "Fidel Castro" and then puts two fingers together as if to symbolize that he likes and agrees with Castro or, well, God knows what.

Now I'm sure you're wondering what time it is. Well considering we forced ourselves out of bed at a quarter past five and were now making this hour-and-a-half journey to the lakes it is about 7 a.m. And yes, now the title becomes relevant.

So our driver points to the panel next to me and signals for me to open it. I do so and pull out a flask. A full flask. At this point I wonder if he is going to drink and drive, which (although scary considering the terrain) I seem to just find hilarious. But then he does the unpredictable. He opens the flask and presses it against my hand. There is no shaking of the head at this point (which actually means yes in Albania).

Looks like I'm hitting the hard stuff before most people are even awake. I don't even know what to expect as I press this to my lips and take a swig.

It really wasn't that bad at all. In fact, downright good. So of course he gestures for me to spread the love around and I pass it back to my German duo in the back, and we are all dying of laughter and rambling off in German about how ridiculous this all is. And then he insisted we drink more and so another round went by and this time he joined in as well. Absolutely unbelievable.

Well turns out that would be the funniest part of the day. When we arrived there was no ferry. There was not even a proper boat. We paid to be driven into the middle of nowhere, albeit not so much. But there was breakfast at a restaurant, and our waiter offered to take us on a boat tour for an hour if we paid him. Yes, you read that correctly, our waiter became our captain and off we went into the scenery.

Despite the biting cold wind and cloudy skies, I really enjoyed it. I hadn't been out on water in a while and it was nice to have a relaxed feeling after so much constant traveling.

As we returned it was only 9:30 a.m. and the entire day was in front of us. To make a long story short (as it now is half past midnight and I am exhausted) we had an incredibly uncomfortable and packed ride back to Shkoder, only to decide during lunch that we needed to get the heck out of that place and find our way to the capital. We ACTUALLY ran into the same old man that brought us across the border the day before and he fixed us up with a mini bus to Tirana in no time. Talk about fate.

Tirana seems so much nicer and obviously larger, but the Albanian elements are still ever-present. Double-headed eagles everywhere, stores that glow red from the amount of nationalistic merchandise they sell and, of course, U.S., EU, and Kosovo flags waving proudly in the smoggy skies. You gotta keep up a reputation after all.

Moe cooked us a nice dinner, I think my stuffy nose will disappear as I finally found some goddamn juice with vitamin C in this country, and we have tomorrow to explore the city by day. Who knows, maybe it will start out with some schnapps once again.