A female solo traveller who has travelled around Europe has spoken of the one country that left her feeling “like a target”.
American teenager Eve Kovac, 19, was left feeling unsafe when she visited Albania where the men left her “feeling like prey”.
Eve, from Connecticut, told MailOnline how she set off on her first solo adventure just a few months after she turned 18.
She said: “[While there] I had someone touch my hair in the supermarket, and a few people took my picture. I figure because I am blonde and short with blue eyes, I can be a target.
“The men! I felt like prey. Even the husbands sitting with their wives would break their necks to stare at you walking down the street.”
Despite Eve’s negative experience of Albania, the country is already seeing a record number of visitors this year.
Some 4.5 million foreign visitors reportedly visited Albania in the first six months of 2024, marking a 34 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023.
Norway was a contrast, as she felt safest there. Here, Eve even took the locks off her bag on the second day whilst Italy took the top spot as her favourite European country.
“My favourite place in Europe is the Amalfi coast in Italy! I have found great hospitality, surf, and agricultural work there”, said Eve.
However, Eve was left deeply concerned when she made the horror realisation that her Greek hostel was infested with bed bugs.
As a result, the 19-year-old resorted to sleeping in a hammock.
Eve, who is currently in Tromso, will return to Italy before backpacking around Europe for a month. Then, the keen adventurer will solo travel around Asia.
She said: “Living rent-free in my van helps. I still have bills, phone, insurance, gas… but I am very good at budgeting myself to afford being abroad for a few months.
“I definitely travel cheap. Cook a lot, buy what’s on sale, never buy clothes or makeup. I think I’ve had my nails done maybe twice in my life. Never had my eyelashes done and have been cutting my own hair for the past three years.”
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