Status Update (July 28, 2014 at 04:45PM)

4 border huts later and we are in Turkey, country number 12! Propably gonna reach Istanbul tomorrow ;) @ 40.905438,26.376042

Status Update (July 24, 2014 at 03:25PM)

We passed the 3000km mark before even reaching Greece :D @ 41.241252,22.489671

Durrës & Tirana, Albania (20.-22.07.2014)

We left Montenegro by little overland streets and crossed into Albania. Once on the other side of the border the streets improved and we could cruise along. For lunch we stopped at a tiny restaurant where the owner was super delighted to have us as guests ;). He spoke Italian and we answered in Spanish ;) A big meal later we continued on.

A lot of people here seem to have worked just across the Adriatic sea, Durrës having a direct ferry connection to Italy. Also mostly they thought we were Italians on holidays...
Whereas the car of choice in Bosnia was the VW Golf it is Mercedes Benz limousines in Albania. All in all I would say one third of the cars we encountered on the street were Mercedes. And the rest other German manufacturers. We propably drive one of the shittiest car here o_O
Because of a lack of alternatives we decided to spend a night in Durrës before heading on to Tirana.

This beach town consists of a big port, some crappy beaches and ugly concrete buildings. On the other hand we visited the ancient Roman amphitheater in the middle of the city and had a drink on top of the old Venetian tower.

We stayed at Nais Hotel, at least that was where Rainer made the reservation. Guided by the Bing Map on my phone we ended up at the Nais Beach Hotel, which we didn't realize. When Rainer asked if they had a reservation for us the guy at the reception answered eagerly in broken English: Yes Yes! A trip to the beach and a shower later we got told they had no reservation for us and we were in the wrong hotel ;). We visited the proper Hotel Nais and tried to resolve the issue, but the reception girl spoke so badly English she couldn't grasp our problem and kept asking if we wanted to see the room ;D. A lot of talk later we managed to split the costs off one night over both hotels, as they belong to the same family... ;)

Next stop was the capital Tirana. We arrived in the middle of the day, the heat was ruthless... In the evening the temperatures dropped enough to explore the city. We visited the main square, saw the Albanian Fried Chicken and strolled through the party & bar district. 

The following day Genti & I continued on to Mazedonia whereas Rainer stayed for one more night before flying home.

S63 AMG

Fun facts: 

• Seeing 151'000€ cars in a country with an average monthly income of 380€
• On our entire way through Albania we counted at least 12 abandoned gas stations... O_o. 
• We saw six weddings in one day
• Some times they add an additional zero to the numbers/bill (has to do with the old currency...)

SeaDance (15.-20.07.2014)

This year the Exit came in form of the Exit Adventure, including the SeaDance festival near Budva, Montenegro. The line-up was mediocre at best and the organization totally unprepared. When we arrived most of the drink stalls weren't opened and the area not entirely fenced in. The film stage had to use a delivery van as canvas o_O. We managed to walk out of the festival and were told at the entrance we're only allowed one admission a day (but they let us in anyway).
Headliner of the first night was Jamiroquai: some dude jumping around on the main stage in the local outfit, a track suit ;). We visited the Dance and the Latino stage situated at the beach, but the atmosphere wasn't really the best. Genti blames this on the served Tuborg beer ;)
The following day we went into town and visited the old part of Budva. The little alleys and plazas were a nice contrast to the ugly concrete buildings lining the beach. We visited the local dive shop and made an appointment for the following Friday (afternoon ^^).
On the second night Example should have been the highlight, but delivered a boring performance. Luckily Eddy Temple-Morrison saved the night!
A relaxing day pool side later we headed for the third and final night to Jaz beach. We emptied our debit-drinking-cards and left, without seeing the main act Underworld ;)
On Friday Genti visited Budva while the rest went for a dive. As expected of the Mediterranean sea there wasn't much to see. Also our guide caught an octopus and squeezed him to make it blow ink and cracked some sea urchins to attract and feed fish. Not so nice...
As Winston was flying home from Podgorica (formerly known as Titograd) we drove to the capital of Montenegro for a night. After visiting the Millenium bridge and Mall of Montenegro we had seen all the attractions of the city ;). Some cheap wine, drinks, beers and a short night later we drove to the tiny airport where we dropped off Winston and the remaining three continued on to Albania.

PS: Fun fact: Montenegro uses the €uro unilaterally (without having an agreement with EU ^^)

Lo-Fi Cruising in Bosnia

A little teaser of our trip through former Yugoslavia.