On Friday night we went to our tried and true Duff Bar to have dinner and a Malibu for Joey's birthday. We were shocked when we showed up and there wasn't a seat in the house. After a bit of wandering we noticed that all of the tables were occupied by Scotts donning kilts. We were a bit confused because we didn't think the football match was until tomorrow yet here they all were, crowding our spot. We pulled two stools over to the bar and sidled up to our fave bartender. We came to find out that the Scots had flown to Tirana and arranged for a caravan of 20 buses to take them to Shkoder for the Albania versus Scotland match the following day. They were staying in Tirana for the night and damn were they making it a night. From what Mark and I have gathered Albanians are much quicker to drink coffee than they are to drink wine or beer. However, Scots are the exact opposite. These guys partied, HARD. They were falling off of the stools they were so drunk. In between falls they were singing happy birthday to and buying shots for the bartender whose birthday isn't even in November. #ScotsOnTheRoadToShkoder
The next day we took a taxi to Durres with Brett and Kirby, the two who organized the outing to the match. Our plan was to take a 5 hour train from Durres to Shkoder, have dinner and then head to the match at 8. The "raki train" as we dubbed it, was like something out of an old Wild, Wild West film. The windows were shot out, the car shells were graffitied and half of the seat bottoms were removed.
However, for 100 lek (about 1 USD) how could we say no?
We brought enough booze to drown an army and took up two cars worth of space.
Inevitably one of us was going to have to use the bathroom, which turned out to be the best part of all. It consisted of an open window that was perfectly level with your private bits next to a toilet with a completely open bottom. t'was incredible efficiency really. Mark and I didn't know most of the group before boarding the train but after drinking a few brews while playing names on heads it was like we were old pals. Luckily for us most of the group was staying at our hostel so we all walked there together after exiting the train.
We flooded the downstairs bar and ordered pizzas in order to make it to the game on time. The hostel was situated on property that dates back to the 1500s and includes part of a preserved house in addition to a well.
While the property was unique and impressive to look at, the drafty, frigid hostel was anything but cozy. I slept in my coat with shower towels over me and each time I got up to use the toilet it felt like I was sitting on an ice cube. Going to the game however, made it all worth it.
The stadium reminded me a lot of the Fighting Illini except with more comfortable seating. The cheering sections were large and the fans were rowdy.
It was an incredibly cold evening, yet the Scots were there, kilts and all.
Unfortunately the Albanian National Team was beaten 4-0 but that didn't deter us from going out after 😊
On Sunday we splurged on bus tickets and made it back to Tirana in a third of the time but with 1000 less lek in our wallets (10 USD) It was a great weekend away and we'll definitely always have a place in our heart for The Albanian National Team.... And Chicago. Always Chicago.
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