135. Old Friends In New Places

Day 135
Location 26: Tirana, Albania
Mar. 15, 2023

Midway through ordering my hostel's complimentary breakfast I was interrupted by a familiar face: a guy named Lea I'd met a few weeks earlier in Skopje, Macedonia. We said hello, acknowledged the coincidence, and I returned to my breakfast order. 

"I'll have the french toa—" I was once again interrupted by a familiar face. Four months ago and 687 miles away, I'd met Noah at my Budapest hostel. We couldn't believe we were (1) both still traveling all this time later and (2) not only in Tirana at the same time, but also staying in the same hostel. 

I don't know the odds of us three running into each other again, but it's at least as rare as a double rainbow or a functioning McFlurry machine or a guy in a Punisher shirt who's not racist.

The two long-lost friendly faces gave me a sense of safety in a city so far from home. It was as if I'd been reunited with my "familjare" (the Albanian word for family). I imagine it's the same kind of warm fuzzy feeling citizens of Gotham get when the Bat-Signal illuminates the sky. Speaking of which...

For dinner, Noah suggested "the soup kitchen". Confused as to why he was recommending a charity that gives free food to the homeless, I asked for clarification. He explained that it's a normal restaurant that serves soup, but someone had described to him as "the soup kitchen" so he maintained the moniker, and apologized for the mix-up.

Like it was a thin piece of metal used to bind together a few sheets of paper, the soup kitchen became our staple. We ate there almost every night for a few reasons. "Te Pacja 2004", the restaurant's official name, was open 24 hours, took less than 5 minutes to prepare the food, and offered beef soup, beef steak, and rice pilaf all for a grand total of €9. Plus they gave you unlimited bread. It was basically a less-expensive, Albanian Olive Garden. "When you're here, you're familjare."

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