Day 7 – Tuesday, August 12, 2025

We were woken up at 5:15 am, and my caretaker told me to get in line, as it only get longer. At 6:00 am sharp, the Orthodox prayers began, and the huge line of pilgrims slowly started moving to get in touch with the body of the saint. I stood patiently at first – later less patiently – after all, I had visited the church the previous day. I joined the line around 5:15, having already stood for about 45 minutes. When I finally made it inside, I did a shortened visit: I decided not to go to the saint, but went to the top to see something the caretaker had mentioned. During WWII, a bomb had landed in the church but did not explode – an impressive story to witness (alas, no photo allowed). The huge queue of pilgrims waiting to see the body of the saint was remarkable, some must have waiited two hours. After this, I packed up and was ready to roll by 7:15.

Excuse me, please…

"Fotísón mou to skotadi tis kardías, Kyrie, kai odígisé me stin odo tis soterías Sou"

Please stand on the right…

The author, ready to roll – the friendly Serbian caretakers in the background

I was about 40 kilometers from the capital, Podgorica. As I got closer, I saw huge piles of smoke – wildfires had been reported across the Balkans and Greece (not to mention Spain and Portugal, it was the hottest August on record). The closer I got, the more fires appeared, I even spotted a solitary helicopter fighting the flames.

Nice view, a bit hazy on the horizon due to wildfires

The closer I got, the more visible it became

First, it was mostly downhill from the monastery, then a dull ride through some sleepy villages. Montenegro can be stunning (most of it) or very uninteresting (some parts). I finally reached Podgorica, crossed the River Morača via a modern bridge, and stopped at a pleasant bakery in the pedestrian zone for breakfast.

A modern bridge – I liked the river in town

Honestly, Podgorica is not particularly remarkable. I photographed the parliament, the presidential palace, and the national bank, then prepared to leave. By chance, I met the vice-mayor, who couldn’t list any other major sights to see there. I paid a short visit to the local tourist office, where I was treated like a trespasser – maybe it’s not just Austrians who are unfriendly.

Shopping mall in the center – not very memorable

I headed for Albania, last visited in 2012. On a broad road leading to the border crossing, next to the large Lake Shkodra, I met two Greek bikers and exchanged tips – I recommended Ostrog Monastery as a must-see.

Brothers in arms

After some riding with many ascents, I reached the border crossing, which was uneventful. Back on my ride in 2012, I had to abandon my Albanian ride due to poor roads (here is the link to that trip. In the last decade, the country had transformed – new roads, overhauled infrastructure, and a tourist magnet.

It was a very hot day, so I stopped at a bar after the border to freshen up a ibt. In the garden, a dog had dug a hole to cool down – its face covered in sand. Whistling to it, it barely moved.

Dog days, literally – it was very hot

The road from the border to Shkoder was like in Switzerland – perfect pavement and signage. I stopped at a supermarket, chatted with two girls who spoke excellent English, and went through smaller towns full of life and shops. A couple on bikes caught up with me; it was a couple form Italy, on their way to Nepal, or was it Mongolia? – and that by bike – impressive! You can follow Beatrix and Jacopo on Instagram under "east_bound25". They are near Istanbul as I am writing this.

Tourism had surged since 2012. Back then, a luxury hotel in Shkoder cost €25; now, the same would have been about €100. I opted for an Airbnb – close to the center, very comfortable with an attached bathroom - and the same low price of €25.

There was a funny scene when I arrived – the door was opened by an older, tiny lady and a gentleman roughly the same age and we started chatting. The lady definitely was more talkative, she started asking me a lot of questions where I was coming from, where I was headed to. I thought they both were the owners of the house. She told me she was from Spain and I asked her how she ended up in Albania. She told me, well, she travelled from Italy, then arrived to Dures by ferry. And how long she had been living there, I asked. For the last two days, was the reply. It was then when I finally understood she was a guest, just like me and it was the gentleman who was the owner.

I put down my stuff and found out they had a washing machine, so I started cleaning my stuff. While the machine was running, I went for a ride in the town, which was fun, if it was pretty busy a dozen or so years ago, it was now a lot more so. There were pubs and bars everywhere, full of people, I could not ride through some isections of downtown, there were so many folks loitering around.

Lots of bars filled with people

Earlier, on the way to the accommodation, I saw (better: smelt) some restaurants offering grilled meat; as I did not want to end up in some tourist trap place, I looked a bit off-center, where I had ridden from. I found those places, but to my surprise, some of them were already closed (it was just 8 pm), apparently the Albanians are not as vivid as the Bosnians. I started asking for around for some place that was open – and everyone I asked said “Titi’s”. Yes, but where it that place? After some back-and-forth, I found Titi’s.

It was at a busy intersection and did only take-away and only of köfte, a kind of kebab. There was a long line, some people ordered 40 of those, I wanted 10, but they convinced me five would be enough. It was one of the most delicious things I had eaten on my entire journey. As the restaurant was take away only, I rode back to the accommodation - plus to round off the salty stuff, I also bought some baklava, that was also very good. I think I paid less than €5 for the two items combined, but was too tired to return for me – I could have eaten five more of Titi's köfte. If you go to Shkoder, make sure to visit this place.

Most delicious köfte at Titi's

Cleaned, showered, and well-fed, I had a good night’s sleep.

I rode 100 kilometers, with just 380 meters of altitude gain.