“Albania?!” That’s pretty much the response I got from my friends and family when I told them I’d be making my way through this Balkan nation. And I’ll admit, prior to my trip, I knew nothing about Albania; I had no preconceived notion about the country and had no idea what to expect.  Why Albania? Well, I was in North Macedonia on vacation and saw Albania was just a few hours drive from the city I was in, so I figured I’d make my way through. Not to mention, Albania, along with North Macedonia, were two of the few countries that accepted American tourists during the Covid pandemic.  After a…