Gjirokastër and Corfu

Two of the most interesting destinations on this two-week trip were definitely Gjirokastër, in Albania, and Corfu, in Greece. I loved it in Gjirokastër, and wish I had stayed for a night or two, instead of just visiting for a few hours. It has tons of good ingredients, like a giant castle, an old Ottoman […]

Two Lands, One Lens

Today’s focus is on photos captured in Albania and Kosovo. I took a day trip from Tirana to Kosovo (to its two largest cities of Prizren and Pristina), Europe’s youngest country, but one currently recognized by only about half of the United Nations members. Many nations such as Russia and Spain can’t stomach acknowledging a […]

King Zog’s Villa and Skanderbeg’s Bust

The most unique (and somewhat frightening) place I’ve explored in Albania so far was King Zog’s former villa in Durrës. It was worth visiting Durrës for this attraction alone, despite it not even being on my original list of places to see while there. The archaeological museum in Durrës was closed for renovations (as was […]

Albanian Bunkers and North Macedonian Lake

Albanian Bunkers: Paranoid former Albanian leader Hoxha, whom you learned about in the previous post, ordered the construction of 750,000 defensive bunkers to be scattered across the country, particularly in the low-lying areas, of which over 170,000 were built by the time of his death. “Starting in 1967 and continuing until 1986, the Albanian government […]

Shqipëria (Albania) Intro

I’m celebrating the conclusion of the Czech language course with a vacation to the southern Balkans, visiting three countries new to me: Albania, North Macedonia, and Kosovo. First up: the land of the eagles, as the Albanians themselves call it, Shqipëria! Albania is admittedly a country I formerly knew very little about, and I still […]

Revealing Further Japanese Surprises

Japan is a wonderfully unique place, and I very much hope to return one day to explore more. But I’m already technically continuing to explore, albeit from afar, as I watch countless YouTube videos (especially from Abroad in Japan and Paolo from TOKYO) about Japanese culture and days in the lives of Japanese workers of […]

Seoul Searching

Because Ben and I traveled all the way to Japan, quite a far distance from NC, we had decided to also fit in a side trip to South Korea. After visiting Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, we flew to Seoul for a four-night visit before returning to Tokyo to finish up our unforgettable multi-week East Asia […]

Bosnian Excursions

Due to circumstances of my current situation as of this writing, I need to be able to spend additional time in Prague, therefore to not overstay my 90-day tourist entry into the European common visa zone (the Schengen Area), I stayed longer in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is not a member state of the Schengen […]

Sarajevo (part 2)

The previous post on Sarajevo described some of the highlights from a visit to Sarajevo, and this current post provides additional insights into this great city, with focus on the Ottoman side and on the annual Sarajevo film festival, which was coincidentally finishing up during my visit. If you plan to visit Sarajevo one day, […]

Sarajevo (part 1)

Of all the new cities I’ve visited in 2024, Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, so far has been my favorite (though that very well may change once I visit Japan and South Korea in the autumn). Sarajevo has a rich history and an amalgam of Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian influences, making it an engaging and impactful […]