I’ve read many articles about the benefits of journaling but had never tried it.  The few times I considered it, I couldn’t find the correct notebook, a decent pen, or the motivation to scribble thoughts in my undecipherable handwriting. But when my husband, Henri, and I decided to take a family gap year in Europe with our eight-year-old twins, I vowed to document every detail. I knew it would likely be the most adventurous, best year of our lives and I wanted to remember ev

Theth’s story stretches far beyond its newly rising fame among hikers. Tucked deep within the Accursed Mountains of northern Albania, it was once isolated geographically and culturally. For centuries, life here revolved around shepherding and tight-knit extended families, governed by the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini, a unique medieval code of customary law. The best-known relic of this era is the Kulla e Ngujimit, or Lock-In Tower , a stone refuge where men sought shelter during b

The Serbian Orthodox Ostrog Monastery was not a place we stumbled upon by accident—although we could see it from miles away, suspended in a mountain as if gravity were optional. Built in the 17th century and carved directly into a sheer limestone cliff, it clung to the face of Mount Ostrog like a deliberate act of faith. Getting there on our way to Albania required effort, and the road did not ease us in. It coiled upward in tight switchbacks; a ribbon of asphalt pressed aga

We’ve gotten lax with planning. When we started this journey, we planned every detail from our accommodations and transportation to...