I find Kosovo the most challenging of the Balkan states.
It seems artificial, the playing out of its history held in abeyance by the United Nations. The Brussels Agreement and KFOR prevent continued ethnic violence between Christian Serbs and Muslim Albanians, and great power intrigue.
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It is not yet resolved. Bright red poppies grow everywhere, reminding the traveller of the 1998-1999 war. Fridge magnets including Kosovo as part of Greater Albania have the same effect.
Today it is about 92% ethnically Albanian and 94% of the population follow Islam, with a notably more conservative take than other Muslim communities in Europe. There is much Saudi and Gulf investment.
If that sort of thing floats your boat, archeological digs in Kosovo are proving very fruitful, particularly in relation to discovery of Neolithic and Bronze Age artefacts.
Apart from this, the Slavic migrations of the 6th and 7th centuries followed by Ottoman rule from the mid 1300s has erased most evidence of the Roman and Byzantine period.
Pristina, the capital and largest city, is a bit meh… to me. Sterile, uninteresting, an administrative centre.
Prizren has much more going for it. It lies at the foot of Šar Mountains, which are well worth a drive up into, and spans the delightful Prizren river. There is more history here, chiefly centred on the Prizren Fortress.
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And some good restaurants down by the river.