Kosovo isn’t the country you visit if you want an easy, by-the-beach-like vacation. If you’re reading this article and thinking about travel to Kosovo and the capital Pristina, I assume that you know about the recent history and political situation in Kosovo. Don’t expect to see beautiful things in Pristina because cause you won’t. This is one ugly, messy city. Other solo-travelers might disagree with me, but you’d better travel here with a friend. It’s boring to be a solo traveler in Pristina. If you’re alone, hook up with local people Couchsurfing or Airbnb or hang out with travelers you meet at your hotels or hostels. I met my traveling companions from Slovenia in Pristina, and we traveled to another city. Slovenians can communicate with Kosovars who speak Serbo-Croat, a very similar language.
– The city is small and doesn’t have many touristic sights. You’ll spend the majority of the time in the city center on Mother Theresa Boulevard and a few surrounding streets where the main market, Kosovo museum, and a few mosques are located.
– Bill Clinton statue is further away on Bill Clinton Boulevard on the way to the bus station.
– Meet up with a UN personnel was one of my top things to in the country. My boyfriend, a former Czech soldier, had a few friends (Czech KFOR) stationing here in Kosovo, so I thought I could just show up in the capital and randomly ran into Czech soldiers walking on the streets. This mission totally flopped as Czechs don’t protect Pristina; they station further up north. However, I did meet Slovenian UN peace-keepers in Peja.
– Take a day trip to Peja to visit two most important Serbian monasteries.
Prizren is a complete opposite of Pristina. While Pristina is new and chaotic, Prizren is a charming city and worthwhile for a visit. Its Turkish-influenced Old Town situated next to a picturesque bridge crossing over the river which divides the city. Prizren reminds me of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Unlike the noisy and dusty Pristina, Prizren brings an immediate sense of serenity that makes you want to linger. If you have to choose only one city to be in Kosovo, pick Prizren.
– Check out the empty Serbian quarter that was destroyed during the war. This area is left in a horrible condition: broken doors, burned walls, roofless buildings. An Orthodox church here can be seen from far away. UN KFOR doesn’t guard this quarter anymore; the guard-post was empty and showed no sign of any human inhabitant. There is nothing left to defend anyway.
– From here, you can walk further uphill to the Prizren’s castle ruin. Again, there is nothing to see. The only remains are the foundation and stoned walls of the castles. This large open space is perfect to take a rest and have a panoramic view of the city. While I was here, I ran into a large group of high-school students who were on a school assignment to find plants, flowers, and leaves for their biological class.
– Have dinner at a restaurant at Shadervan, the main square. This square is much livelier during the night.
Peja is different from Pristina and Prizren. It’s a mix between a chaotic Pristina and old Prizren. Unlike Prizren and Pristina, the city has a very impressive mountain backdrop and fantastic nature of Patriarchate of Pec and Decani Visoki monasteries.
– If you’re in Peja, you want to visit Patriarchate of Pec and Decani Visoki monasteries. They are two most important Serbian churches in Kosovo.
– Visit the Turkish bazaar and shop for local crafts made in Kosovo. There a few shops selling beautiful clothes made in Turkey or by Turkish people living in Italy.
– Have lunch at one of many restaurants located in middle of the bazaar and listen (or endure) the blasting Albanian turbo-folk music.
– If you’re interested in current events and politics, find Tony Blair street. This street isn’t as big and obvious as Bill Clinton Boulevard in Pristina.
Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe, so food is cheap here. You can eat well and pay much less. Everything cost a fraction of the prices typically seen in Western and other Eastern European countries. During my time here in Kosovo, I eat mainly three things: Burek (Balkan pie), Cevapcici (Balkan kebab), and home-made salad. I was told that Albanians made the best burek. Burek has different variations: meat, cheese, spinach or potatoes. I ate these pies for the first time in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Bosnians told me that only the meat pies are called burek, all the others have their own names like potato pies or cheese pies. But burek is easier to pronounce than the other words, so I called all of them burek. In Kosovo, you will find mostly meat or cheese pies. These pies cost only €0.6, and they are perfect for breakfast, light lunch and light dinner. If you prefer meat, try cevapi (short for cevapcici) which is sold everywhere. When I became too full with burek and cevapi, I bought fresh vegetables from the market and prepared a mixed salad for dinner.
There are local buses, but you probably won’t use it given you can walk to most touristic sights in the center, and there aren’t many of them. The bus and train station is far from the center, but you can walk there. A taxi ride costs only €3. You definitely need to take a taxi to the airport.
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Hostel €10 per person (double occupancy) Food
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Transportation
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I met two Serbian Albanians at the train station in Serbia, near the border with Kosovo. The man on the left is a train conductor. From here I took a taxi and then a bus to Pristina.
In Kosovo, people gravitate toward anything American and Western Europe because these forces helped them gain independence from Serbia.
In Kosovo, people gravitate toward anything American and Western Europe because these forces helped them gain independence from Serbia.
When you are poor, you can be very inventive and creative.
You see this kind of “vehicle” or its variation a lot in Kosovo.
I met a group of high school students in Prizren on the way from the main square to the destroyed Serbian quarter.
Stopping at a UN KFOR station before heading to the Patriarchate of Pec, a Serbian monastery. The guards there are from the same country with my travel partners (seen on the right). They were very happy to chit chat in their language.
The Patriarchate of Peć.
Cevapcici (cevapi), a typical food from the Balkan.
A car junk yard in Kosovo. People say that most cars stolen in Europe are most likely to be found here in Kosovo and Albania. In a poorest country in Europe, you see a lot of people driving Mercedes.
All photos from Pristina
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All photos from Kosovo
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My name is Cindy, also rhymes with travel junkie. A friend said I was probably a gipsy in my previous life. One of my many secret missions in life is to convert you to run off every once in awhile.
