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Here are the first set of pictures I posted, accompanying my first email journal. This first picture (below) is the scene looking out from the restaurant in Kucove that I had mentioned in my email. This second picture (below) is in the yard around the restaurant in Kucove where many chickens run free (thus my observation that my dinner had been running around the yard the other day). It doesn't get any more free-range than this! Below is the actual restaurant in Kucove. It is actually nice inside, which you may see hints of with the shiny wood on the door and window frames. Below is a castle in the city of Shkoder, a town in the north of Albania. To be honest I do not know much about it, as this picture was taken from a car and I was only in town for a period too brief to allow a visit to the castle. I am sure you can google it to learn more. I can tell you, however, that many of the people I met Shkoder proudly spoke of their family's long history in city. Indeed, my traveling partners acknowledged that Shkoder is a city with old traditions unique to it, that make it a special place for many Albanians. Another shot of the castle in Shkoder. One more picture from Shkoder, this is looking out of my hotel window at a Mosque. I arrived in Albania on Tuesday May 11th, and departed for Skhoder on Thursday morning. Since I had been working since I landed on the 11th, this hotel was the scene of a serious nap for me after our meetings. I was awoken, however, by the call to prayer at the Mosque. Not fancy, but it works - this is the front door to the Urban Insitute offices in Tirana, Albania's capital. Here is a miscellaneous shot outside of my hotel, looking east. This is a picture of Tirana I took on my walk to work Monday morning (May 17th). You'll see the bright colored buildings in the background - a whim of the Mayor, an artist and art lecturer. In Albania, many people own the inside of their buildings, but the government owns the outside. This allows the funky painting. More about building and construction issues in Albania in another email later.