Places Kris McCracken Wants to Go

A mysterious emblem tucked in an small alleyway is actually the coat of arms of a heroic medieval family.

This 700-year-old structure is one of the most unique architectural and historic monuments in Gdańsk.

The site of the first battle of World War II.

Climb into Albania's communist history while enjoying a spectacular ocean view.

This beautifully preserved Ottoman house is steeped in history.

This abandoned prison was so notorious that its name has become a metaphor throughout Albania.

A museum dedicated to secret surveillance.

The largest Roman amphitheater in the Balkans once held over 20,000 people, but managed to lay hidden for hundreds of years.

The elliptical citadel resisted the advance of the mighty Ottomans several times, thanks to the military prowess of the "Dragon of Albania."

What happens when you cross a mayor and a painter?

Once the fallout shelter of a dictator, this sprawling bunker is now a combined history museum and contemporary art gallery.

Bronzes and busts that once stood in the city's main squares are now relegated to a small hidden courtyard.

Hundreds of thousands of concrete bunkers crowd Albania long after the fall of Communism.

This ominous Albanian fortress houses tanks and downed planes as a reminder of their victories over Western imperialism.

A naturally beautiful, seemingly bottomless deep blue spring.

A medieval bridge stretches over a sulfur-rich river that leads to year-round natural hot springs.

Once the tallest building in Chisinau, this unique tower is a relic of Soviet architecture.

A unique collection of Soviet military artifacts lies hidden away in a disused train, in the unrecognized Eastern European republic of Transnistria.

This sign marks the entrance to a tiny proto-state within the small country of Moldova.

The largest wine cellar in the world is a 150-mile network of underground caves near the capital of Moldova.

Seventy-five miles of limestone caves host more than a million bottles of wine beneath a sleepy Moldovan town.

A forgotten remnant of the Soviet Union, Transnistria is an unrecognized country hidden behind a heavily militarized border between Moldova and Ukraine.

Depending on the region's rainfall, this church may be partially submerged.

A solar-powered primary school inspires hope and experimentation in a country ripe for energy innovation.