Everyone probably knows that feeling when you take a frozen pizza out of a hot oven and a wave of intense heat hits you in the face – that’s pretty much how it felt when I got off the plane in Tirana in mid-July 2026. Central Europe was already in the grip of a heat wave, but in Southeastern Europe it certainly surpassed anything we’re used to. Since I was wearing long pants (for the first and last time on this trip), the wall of heat felt to me like a Tiger Uppercut or a Hadouken – terms that anyone who’s ever played the classic Street Fighter should know. Well, it just knocked you off your feet, leaving you with no chance to fight back. Since I, as a good Souljah, was the lone vanguard of the TITUS Skateboards Albania Tour, it was up to me to organise a rental car and drive it into the hustle and bustle of the Albanian capital – at rush hour, mind you! The goal was to find the Airbnb, which turned out to be anything but easy… Welcome to Albania!

Gentsch, don’t act dumber than you are, seemed to echo in my ears after I had asked Ludi for directions to the apartment for the umpteenth time. Ludi never actually said those words, but somehow, after some self-reflection, I came to that conclusion on my own. I had found the street where our Airbnb was located relatively quickly, but it was blocked off due to a construction site. So driving in wasn’t an option. I parked the car and walked down the half-torn-up street with a 10-kg camera bag on my back as well as a 20-kg travel bag in on of my hands, constantly on the lookout for house number 121. There was 119, there was 125, but 121… nowhere to be found! In the end, the photos from the listing helped me find the apartment door, and without them, I probably would have spent another three days searching. You can also just keep it simple for someone like me, who’d rather do without Google Maps and prefers to rely on precise descriptions. At 10 past 12, across the streets from the Duff Bar, by a green fence tilted at a 45-degree angle next to five steps – I can work with THAT! It’s so much easier, too! Oh, and it turned out that the number on the front door was 9 after all…

Once all the team riders and Ludi had arrived later that evening, we headed straight to the bar I mentioned earlier, which was appealing not only because of its proximity but also because of its prices – a Krusty Burger and fries for the equivalent of six euros is definitely worth indulging in. We quickly realised that grocery shopping at the supermarket would cost almost as much as it did back home, whereas a meal at a restaurant was quite affordable. That was our first lesson in a country that was new to all of us – many more lessons would follow soon. The first thing we realised the next morning: It was even hotter than the day before! It was actually crazy to go skate in the midday sun, especially at the Pyramid of Tirana, but Gabi was working on a backside flip, and we had to get that first trick of the tour – as a good omen and all that, you know?! We had left the car parked on Day 1, but it quickly became clear that in the heat, it was simply impossible to push it more than 500 meters. The car has to roll became Ludi’s motto from then on, and we stuck to it like glue!

As for driving in Tirana, we quickly learned the following: 1) Your hazard lights are your parking ticket! This was especially helpful when looking for spots, since you can just pull over on the street and check out the spot. If you want to skate it, great – I think the longest we ever stayed at a spot with our hazard lights on was 3 hours. 2) When temperatures are over 40 degrees, a running car with air conditioning is the best possible cooling break. 3) Don’t drive too carefully – but do give way when appropriate. That’s how you earn important karma points when it comes time to weave your way through luxury cars at the next roundabout. It feels like 80% of the people in Tirana drive Audis, Porsches, or Mercedes – and are therefore probably more afraid of scratches than we were in our fully insured rental car. 

Three lessons regarding the driving in Tirana, three TITUS Skateboards team riders on tour. Jost Arens, Patrick Rogalski, and Gabi Kahl literally tore up the city as well as the coastal town of Durres. Few teams have ever made it out there, there may have been a waxed ledge here and there, but apart from that, skateboarding simply didn’t seem to exist in Tirana. There wasn’t a single skateshop, and in the entire 10 days that we’ve stayed, we met exactly one local skateboarder – who was wearing sandals.

Jost Arens, aka Mr. I like to do 10 kickflips in a row up a four stair almost became the tragic victim of the trip. After he had already filmed a nosebluntslide over the Pyra banks on the second day of the tour, I got the idea to shoot it as well. He landed it again first try, but the photo didn’t look great. The second try ended in a slam… foot wrecked! Not just a little, but for real. When Jost is lying on the ground for five minutes and can’t get up, you know it’s not good at all! But being the pro that he is, he did everything humanly possible to get back on his feet – or rather, back on his board. After three days, Jost was back in the game already, and got three tricks that day. Welcome back champ! Patrick Rogalski, aka Mr. Rocco, hadn’t filmed a single trick on the first day and was all the more determined to pull one off on the second. His choice: a switch manual switch flip out in the scorching midday heat! After a two hour struggle, it wasn’t just Ludi who was relieved – we were all glad that Rocco hadn’t simply collapsed. The battle – which had ended in a victory – provided the ultimate spark. In the following days, Rocco was absolutely on fire, and luckily, he didn’t have to spend nearly as much time working on a single trick again.

Gabi Kahl, aka Mr. Aren’t there any rails here?, went on his first real tour with the team (Barcelona just doesn’t count) and totally lived up to the expectations! Bluntslide battles until he dropped, and talking nonsense like a 14-year-old should. The realisation that there are other street spots besides rails had him complaining about the destination here and there, but on the last day, he finally got to skate two rails, and all of a sudden he was like: Wow, Tirana is so awesome!

Gabi’s comment pretty much summed it all up perfectly. But wait, there are still some of the most important things left to mention. Albania is a real gem – especially when it comes to new spots! There were no sketchy dudes hanging out on them spots, and the police didn’t kick us out – not even once! You’ll find absolutely no trash on the streets of Tirana – even though there are almost no trash cans. In the beach town of Durres, you’ll feel like you’re in Mallorca – even though the water is much warmer. And when, on the last night of the tour, we asked our waiter at Duff Bar – who had by then become like family – whether they’d actually licensed the bar’s name, he replied with a smile: We’re in Albania, bro, what do you think?!