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 […]