Albania
Albania lies on the edge of the European map, reserved yet profound. I traveled south from Tirana and quickly realized that the country cannot be easily described. It thrives on contrasts: the colorful chaos of Tirana, the Ottoman stone houses of Berat and Gjirokastër—both UNESCO World Heritage Sites—and the rugged mountains of an almost forgotten hinterland. Finally, the Ionian Riviera: where the mountains plunge into the Ionian Sea, the water takes on almost surreal colors. It is a coastline that still possesses the unspoiled charm that the rest of Europe has gradually lost.
