Kosovo

After our time in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we decided to add a visit to Kosovo to our trip to learn more about the war leading to the country's somewhat recognised independence, and the challenges they still face today. After a great night's sleep at our guesthouse in Albania we had a filling breakfast, conversation with the owners son (engineering masters student in Tirana) and played with their two energetic cats. We took a tourist minibus to Bajram Curri, our first hop on the way to Prizren, Kosovo. From there we tracked down another local minibus that was possibly heading towards Prizren. After some uncertainty, attempts to talk through the language barrier, and being ignored by the drivers, we were finally invited onto the minibus. Jem got a seat, Sam was given a plastic chair for the aisle (at least it wasn't standing only). Our bus driver was very relaxed, so didn't bother to collect everyone's ID (including our passports), so we accidentally entered Kosovo illegally (this didn't cause any problems on exit, where the border officials were equally as relaxed). We were ejected from our minibus at a fuel station about 10km outside Prizren and directed to flag down a coach; luckily one arrived within 10 minutes and were soon in the city. 

Prizren is a lovely city with a quaint old town, historic Ottoman architecture, and surrounded by the Sharr mountains, which we enjoyed the views of from our apartment. We explored the rows upon rows of cafes with excellent coffee and a similar cafe-culture to the rest of the Balkans (relaxed coffee with friends that lasts for hours), read about the city and country, sampled local craft beers whilst the Islamic prayer call sounded across the town, and enjoyed some local cuisine (still heavily meat focused). Locals were friendly and welcoming, offering help when we looked lost. 

The next day, after a morning of further sailing course study, we enjoyed some more cafe culture before hiking up to the fort overlooking the city for sunset. On the way down we met a friendly Albanian-American couple who were visiting family in Kosovo and holidaying in Albania. We received some recommendations for places to visit in Albania, and they treated us to a local drink called Boza (sweet malted corn - quite nice!) We also tried some baklava, and had mixed success with dinner. 

As we were enjoying Kosovo so much and wished to learn more about the history and culture we decided to take the bus to the capital, Pristina, to spend a third night there. After an easy and comfortable 2 hours journey we arrived in the capital. As we alighted from the bus we encountered the local ‘walking backwards man’ (there is a similar character in Derby, UK) on his way around the bus station - constantly walking backwards. We walked the 30 minutes route into town with our backpacks in the heat and sought out another cafe. 

In both Prizren and Pristina we encountered many beggars, many of whom were young children, approaching customers at cafes. Whilst having coffee and cake in Pristina city centre one charming little girl (around six years old) approached us excitedly pointing at one of the pens Jem was using to write our journal, before stealing it and running away with a massive smile on her face. Jem did manage to recover the pen after a short chase and exchange of a euro and a hug. The girl shortly returned with her brother. 

Following some challenges with accommodation in Pristina we managed to rent an apartment, and were given an upgrade! We don't know what condition the original apartment we booked was in, but the 'upgrade' was reasonably dire… although sufficient. During an evening stroll around the town we encountered a traditional Albanian musical band at a street-side bookstore - and finally manage to buy some travel guides! (Bookstores are often hard to find in the Balkans, but Pristina has plenty). We discovered a vegan Middle-Eastern restaurant with great food and terrible wine. Strolling back home we crossed paths with ‘walking backwards man’ again. 

On the final morning of our short time in Kosovo we joined a free walking tour across Pristina. Our guide, Astrit, took us along with 20 other tourists around the city and taught us a little about the local history as we went. We also discussed his own experiences during the Kosovo war and the subsequent years. When he was 10, the Serbian military airport located a mile from his family home was bombed by NATO forces as part of a 77 day campaign that ultimately resulted in the end of the war. After the war many Kosovo Serbs relocated, some leaving the region and others relocating within Kosovo, resulting in a series of Serb majority enclaves across the country, with few remaining in the larger cities. 

Whilst we have only just scratched the surface of this complex country, and are far from experts, it is clear that Kosovo continues to have many challenges with integration between the majority Albanian (~92%) and minority Serb (~4%) populations, as can be seen by recent flare-ups since local elections in May 2023 (with the most recent BBC news article published on the day of writing this blog post). Kosovo is also only recognised as independent by approximately half of the countries that make up the UN. However, it is a country that we both very much enjoyed visiting, with welcoming people, engaging culture, and much more to be explored and learnt about. This is another country we are glad to have visited, and very much plan to return to in the future.