Day 53 - Every city needs a rotating Sky Bar - Tiranë, Albania
August 8, 2026 - biked 0 km (0 mi) - biked 1866 km (1159 mi) total
Spent a rest day in Tiranë.
Breakfast byrek
The beloved Skanderbeg etched in a building
Skanderbeg on a horse
Mosque painted by an Italian
Clock tower that used to be the best view in town. Now it is surrounded by skyscrapers. But you can still pay to go up in it.
A topographical map of Albania
Mother Teresa is Albanian
Poor Gabs!
The pyramid of Tiranë that was previously built for the remains of communist dictator Hoxha. Now it has stairs for a view and the center is used for art and innovation. We didn’t climb the stairs as our muscles are still recovering from our hike.
Where prime minister Rama works
One of 170,000 useless bunkers that were built during the communist era
Orthodox church
More penguin art! Gabs is represented here.
Yum
Again yum
More yum
We visited House of Leaves which was a Sigurimi place of surveillance under Hoxha’s reign similar to Stalin and the KGB.
Another bunker underneath the House of Leaves
My second affogato affair!
We walked to a lake that had a sign: No Swimming and No Fishing. And there also appeared to be no boats. How do you like to experience a lake?
We ascend to the best viewing spot in town.
Enter the Sky Lounge
This cafe rotates slowly around as you sit and sip.
We circled around just in time to reach the sunset.
The 7:30pm daily protest from the Skanderbeg square to Rama’s office
Traffic because the protest is on the other street
Finishing the day with a donër at a Turkish restaurant