Penguins Bike

Day 43 & 44 - Downtime - Shkodër, Albania

Sarah

August 2-3, 2026 biked through town

After moving out of our surprise hotel and back into the studio apartment for the rest of our stay, we spent the rest of the first day bopping around with our friend Allie. We went from one establishment to the next ordering affogato (my first!), beer, coke, bagel chips, pizza and wine.

The next day we chilled in a way that we hadn’t done on our entire trip. We stayed in our little studio for most of the day to avoid the heat and to get some downtime.

We also planned our escape away to the Albanian Alps sans bike. We'll take the bus there soon.

So many coffee shops but no food until we walked 20 minutes and stumbled upon this one for breakfast. Triple yum! David ordered Grandma’s codling.
During breakfast, a procession of decorated cars started honking. Someone is getting married today and the groom drives to the bride’s house to fetch her!
Creative way to create shade
More weddings
And again, more grooms fetching their brides!
Reminiscent of Italy? That’s what they say, but we wouldn’t know since we skipped Italy.
I’m concerned about all the wires on the pole and building.
Veggie delivery.
Traditional Albanian food is amazing and mostly vegetarian! I’m loving it here.
Moved into the cute studio apartment! Helios Apartments gets our vote.
When David entered the mosque, there was a guy who took David’s phone and told him to do these specific poses. You are not allowed to take pictures but for a small bribe and only posing as instructed, you can. Required pose 1.
Required pose 2.
Required pose 3.
City scenes so you can feel out the vibes.
There was an exceedingly tiny 3-on-3 basketball exhibition.
Mailed some post cards with actual stamps!
Shkodër is bike friendly with coned off bike lanes. Lots of old people bike here. It’s great.
Meat stand
How many hot dogs can fit in a bun?
Tree in the middle of the bike lane
Blueberry juice…we need to bring this to America.
Making dinner in our studio!