Day 1, arrived in Tiranė, Albania in late afternoon after a stopover in Wien (Vienna), Austria. Tiranė is the capital of Albania, with a population around 600,000, in a country of
2.4 million. About 15 years ago, Albania's population was 3.0 million. Our guide Florent says the main reason for the decline is that young people have left the country for Greece,
Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia and other countries for jobs and for a better standard of living. On the positive side, Albania welcomed 12 million tourists in 2025, primarily those
seeking sun on the Albanian Riviera, and those seeking reasonable prices that are not found in other parts of Europe.
Took a walk near the Metro Hotel, located by central Tiranė, first going through Ismail Qemali Park. Qemali played a major role in the Albanian revolt of 1912, wrote the 1912
Declaration of Independence, and was independent Albania's first prime minister. In the park is a piece of the Berlin Wall, a couple of Cold-War era concrete bunkers and a generally
calm oasis in the busy city. Next it was the Pyramid of Tiranė, originally Enver Hoxha Museum, which opened in 1988 to celebrate the awesomeness of Communist dictator Enver Hoxha,
Albanian Stalinist communist leader 1945-1985. Spoiler alert ... he wasn't awesome, he was a tyrant that Albanian citizens loathed. When communism fell in 1991, the pyramid was
turned into a conference centre, but the outside is now a tourist magnet for good views of the city and exercise walking up the stairs. Dinner was a delicious and totally healthy
apple pie waffle, with icing and ice cream.
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Above: Our Austrian Airlines plane taxis at the Wien (Vienna) Airport.
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