How about a trip to Albania

A very hilly, often mountainous country, with a large number of lakes and rivers, all dotted with dozens of small to medium-sized villages with an old school eastern-European feel.  To an extent this includes Tirana, Albania’s capital, where large Eastern-Bloc architecture is increasingly juxtaposed against newer, modern, glass-facaded offices, museums and coffee shops, with a good percentage allocated to green spaces and parkland.  While not a city quite yet ready for a city break, the prospects are there for such in the coming years.  The west coast of this largely rugged country is fast becoming a genuine beach resort, with numerous clean, gently shelving large beaches that are increasingly well provisioned, often only a stones throw from small, quaint fishing towns and ports.  Albania is an old country with an extensive history dating back many hundreds of years and is often rooted in Christianity and faith.  As such churches and cathedrals are plentiful, as are castles and forts, from a bygone era of battles and wars, all of which are thankfully, at present, behind this fascinating eastern European nation.