I’ve been so excited about writing this post, because I was SO excited about Kosovo! I love when a new place totally blows me away, and Pristina Kosovo did just that.
As Dan said when we were leaving the capital, “Pristina is one of my favorite cities we’ve visited, which is quite remarkable considering how ugly it is.” Because oh yes, a lot of Pristina’s architecture is pretty baffling.
I have to admit, I didn’t have particularly high expectations for Kosovo. Last year while in Albania Danielle and I had considered making a quick trip up to Kosovo, but everyone told us the country was pretty boring, and we believed them.
But still, when Dan tried to convince me to skip Kosovo again and instead spend a few more days in our heavenly apartment on the Bay of Kotor, I put my foot down and insisted that this time I had to go. And luckily my birthday was coming up, so Dan had to listen to me.
I’m not exactly sure why I so wanted to see Kosovo – maybe it was all the stories I had heard about how odd and quirky its capital city Pristina is.
Or maybe I should just tell you guys the truth: having grown up in the 90s, despite everything I know about Kosovo now, the name “Kosovo” still holds an air of mystique and danger.
I was 9 years old when war broke out in Kosovo; too young to really grasp what was going on in the Balkans, but old enough for my brain to have permanently recorded a CNN reporter calling in “live from Kosovo,” which now plays in my head every time I think “Kosovo.” I knew enough to know that terrible things were happening there, though I have a sneaking suspicion that I also thought Kosovo was somewhere in the Middle East.
No, I don’t know why I just admitted that to the Internet either. I promise my geography skills have improved since then!
The bus from Podgorica, Montenegro to Peja (Peć) took about 6 hours and was one of the prettiest bus rides of our trip. Dan told me it was a shame I slept through most of it.
I was at least awake for the drive across the border, where we took a sharp turn over a mountain peak and descended into a fluffy white cloud, immediately confirming all of my suspicions that Kosovo was no ordinary country.
And then we arrived in Peja, a bustling city full of mountain views, though somehow the only photo I took was of the food. But oh, what food! Remember how I raved about pljeskavica, the impossibly delicious hamburger dish I became obsessed with in Belgrade? Well, Peja’s version was even better, and stuffed with cheese!
Dan and I had initially wanted to spend a night or two in Peja, but when we couldn’t find somewhere to stay we hopped on a bus to Pristina, Kosovo instead.
I had expected Pristina to be quirky and sort of interesting at best, so I was more than a little surprised to find myself falling head over heels for Kosovo’s capital.
First of all, what on earth is up with Pristina’s architecture? I’m asking that out of awe, and maybe slight confusion.
For one, what is the university’s library? I love it. Or hate it? It’s sort of hard to decide, but I definitely enjoyed puzzling over it.
And the confusion didn’t stop with the library.
And of course you’ve probably heard of the odes to America in Pristina – a statue of Bill Clinton, as well as boulevards named after Clinton and Bush. Thanks to American intervention in the Kosovo War, Kosovo is one country where American travelers are sure to be welcomed with open arms.
I’m sure the bird droppings and graffiti aren’t meant to be personal.
And then there’s the unfinished Serbian Orthodox Church next to the university library. Construction on the church had begun before the war, but Kosovo’s predominately Muslim population had little interest in finishing the church after the war ended. Now it’s yet another eerie abandoned building to explore.
But while I do always appreciate a dose of wacky architecture and delicious food, what really won me over in Pristina was the people.
Seriously, I know I’ve probably said this about a lot of places before, but Pristina must be home to some of the friendliest people in the world. From the waiters enthusiastically asking where we were from and offering us free coffee and/or rakia to the strangers turned Facebook friends striking up conversations with us on the street, I pretty much just wanted to be best friends with everyone I talked to in Kosovo.
I mean really, how can a capital city be this friendly? In the evenings most of the city’s population (over half of whom are under 25!) can be found walking along the main promenade, cheerfully greeting each other with seemingly little other objective than to see and be seen. I happily joined in because, well, does this sentence even need a because?
The only teensy bit of unfriendliness I encountered was from other Americans, though I probably was just being ultra sensitive because it was my birthday (and you might remember that turning 27 filled me with lots of angst).
We stayed at Hostel Han, which is lovely and very central and I would highly recommend to anyone, but the weekend we were there it was the hangout for Kosovo’s American Peace Corps volunteers.
And what could be more annoying to volunteers living in a country than backpackers who pass through for just a few days and think they know something about the place? Especially the sort of backpackers who, God forbid, have the audacity to blog about it, ugh.
Check current prices for Hostel Han
I’ve been the expat rolling her eyes at tourists before, so when I walked into the hostel kitchen and all conversation came to an abrupt halt I took my fellow hostel-stayers stares as my cue to make a swift exit and go get some ice cream for breakfast instead. Because birthday!!
^^Now that I’m 27 and the aging process seems to be gaining momentum, I’ve instructed Dan to never focus the camera lens on my face anymore.
Okay that was actually just an accident, but after seeing the wonders a little bit of blurring did to my skin tone, I’m thinking of making it a rule.
“What about Pristina’s nightlife” you ask?
Well, considering the city’s lively young population and the fact that a banana split at a swanky café costs 2 euros, I’m going to go ahead and say that Pristina has a booming nightlife that even backpackers on a tiny budget can indulge in.
That’s just a guess, though, because while Dan and I did make it out to a pub, as soon as Dan saw that Eurovision was on TV he was dragging me outside to the central square, where a huge screen had been set up for all of Pristina to watch the song contest outside together.
Apparently this happens in cities all around Europe? You’ll have to forgive my ignorance, but I’m afraid my American upbringing lacked the cultural richness afforded to my European counterparts, which is to say that I never watched Eurovision.
But as soon as Dan had explained the rules (and that the contest only lasts one night, not several weeks as I had previously thought) I was totally on board.
And so I enthusiastically joined in the deafening cheers for Albania’s contestant, and the loud booing for Serbia’s.
No no, there wasn’t actually any booing – Eurovision is a place for positivity – but there might have been a bit less applause.
Did you know that foreigners can’t enter Serbia from Kosovo? Kosovo is the world’s second youngest country, gaining independence in 2008, and it still has only been recognized by 108 out of 193 UN member states. That means that as far as Serbia is concerned, Kosovo’s borders aren’t legitimate, and thus illegal entry points into what they consider to be Serbian territory. (I met several travelers who hadn’t known this and found themselves turned away when trying to enter Serbia from Kosovo, so watch out!)
This also means that Kosovo hasn’t been officially recognized by enough states to become a member of the UN, which means it can’t be a member of the International Telecommunications Union, which means it can’t be a member of the European Broadcasting Union, which means Kosovo can’t participate in Eurovision.
While watching an ultra-camp European song contest in a European country that isn’t allowed to participate (while Australia can?!) made me sad for Kosovo, everyone else still seemed in high spirits. Earlier in the day I had wondered at the abundance of Albanian flags in Pristina, but now it occurred to me that perhaps the city was just showing its support for Albania’s Eurovision contestant?
Probably the best part about watching Eurovision in Pristina, Kosovo was the very well-dressed and very tipsy interpreter translating what was going on for the audience.
Of course I couldn’t understand most of what she said, but when it was France’s turn to caste votes and instead of speaking in English the presenter insisted on using French I couldn’t blame our interpreter for mocking him. “Bonsoir, bon SOOOOIIIIR” she boomed into her mic, tripping over her towering clear plastic heels.
And when it was Belarus’ turn to caste their votes our interpreter beat the presenter to the punch “12 points to Russia!!!” For anyone who didn’t know how she could have guessed who Belarus would vote for she added, “Russia, BELARUSSIA.”
Needless to say, Eurovision is now my favorite thing ever, and I spent the rest of the night glued to Youtube reliving the contest through the decades.
And with that I’ll leave you with my current Eurovision favorite, and no I’m not biased because my name is in the title (okay maybe a little biased, but I don’t think anyone will argue that it’s not a genius performance):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE-bmpKA7RE
Has a new place ever hugely surpassed your expectations?
Shop my look:
Camilla @ Summer Isn't Over says
This was really interesting! I know virtually nothing about this part of the world and would definitely like to get off the beaten track in the future and explore it 🙂
http://summerisntover.com
Silvia says
I didn’t know much about Kosovo either before going, but it’s so, so worth the trip!
Enisa says
I hope you will explore my country one day.It is worthing.
Silvia says
I want to go back to Kosovo again and again!
Laryssa says
Awesome summary of Kosovo. I’d love to visit sometime!
Silvia says
I’m sure you would love it 🙂
Kathi says
I’m also excited you have finally made it to Kosovo. And I am glad you had a great time! Pristina is so much about the atmosphere – and yes, those weird buildings. 🙂
I do think there are almost always lots of Albanian flags to be seen. A lot of people think it would be good to become part of Albania and/or feel otherwise connected to the country (for obvious reasons).
Silvia says
Haha I did think that the flags probably weren’t just about Eurovision – though that would have been an impressive display of support! I really loved Kosovo so much, and I was happy I got to see it in the summer when everyone was outside 🙂
Kia says
The majority of Kosovo is ethnically Albanian, that is why you see so many flags. Great blog, but I would put an asterisk to update this or change the Eurovision bit.
Vanessa @ The Travelling Colognian says
I bet that your geography skills have improved since your childhood, Silvia, after your travels to so many countries and with all these off the beaten path destinations you have been to. The architecture in Pristina looks indeed interesting, I especially like your photo of the university library. Great to hear you are now a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest. I don’t always watch the whole show on TV but I like the part when they announce how many points the contribution of each country received.
Silvia says
I am so hooked on Eurovision now! Though it sounds like the announcing of points was probably funnier before, when the connection was worse. Still, I enjoyed it a lot 🙂
Jenia says
I love quirky buildings too! The ones in Tirana made me smile so much — particularly the pyramid, which was originally built as a mausoleum to Hoxha, but now sits mostly empty. We were lucky enough that when we were there there was a temporary art exhibit, which allowed us to explore the building in full! Oh those Balkans – fascinating countries 🙂
Silvia says
Oh lucky you, I wish I could have explored the pyramid in Tirana!
Karisa @ Flirting with the Globe says
I’m loving following your trip through the Balkans! It’s the part of Europe I’m most memorized by and hoping to explore more of soon!
Silvia says
The Balkans is such a fascinating area – I think especially because we don’t hear so much about them!
Petra says
Happy Birthday! 🙂
We were in Prishtina two years ago, we stayed at Hostel Han, and I celebrated my name day having a delicious cheesecake at one of the cafés in the center.
Reading your article brought back a lot of memories. Thank you for that!
Silvia says
Oh wow, what a coincidence! Pristina is a good place for celebrations 🙂 Thanks for the birthday wishes!
becky hutner says
a) i love your outfit in the “exploring wacky kosovo architecture” section. i believe i’ve mentioned this before?
b) you are doing europe like nobody’s business. are there any countries in the continent you haven’t been to at this point? armenia?
Silvia says
a) is it weird that i think wearing a crop top makes me look super fancy?
b) you can read my posts about armenia here: http://www.heartmybackpack.com/category/armenia/
haha but seriously, europe is probably my most covered continent, but i’ve never been to monaco! or san marino! or PORTUGAL! (need to fix that last one asap)
Brooke says
Awesome summary! What an interesting part of the world that I know so very little about. I also didn’t really know anything about Eurovision, but now I want to spend some time on Youtube! Love your outfit and all of the architecture.
Silvia says
You definitely need to spend some time catching up on Eurovision. Like, go do that right now.
Tara says
What an inspirational post! It’s definitely on my list now! Fun to read about the unconventional 🙂
Xo, Tara
http://www.orinocoblue.com
Silvia says
Kosovo is definitely unconventional, but absolutely worth a spot on your list!
Victoria@ The British Berliner says
Such a funny post Silvia! I like the way that your enthusiasm shines for every new country that you land in. Also, you’re now a Eurovision addict like the rest of us. Hurrah!
Enter. And may the Force Be With You!
Silvia says
Already super excited for next year’s contest… lol
Camille says
Aaah, you’ve been introduced to Eurovision! It’s the best thing to watch “ironically”. And oh, I actually love the university library building!
Silvia says
The university was secretly my favorite as well!
Renate @ Renate's Travels says
So cool that you loved Kosovo too! I just wrote a similar post myself 😉 I absolutely fell for the country, and Prizren won my heart. Pristina was so quirky, but awesome! Wish I had more time there. My visit got cut short because of a thunderstorm of all things… Watching the Eurovision finals in Kosovo sounded like a lot of fun, haha!
Silvia says
I really need to visit Prizren – it looked so pretty from the bus!
Shaun says
Thanks for this! I heading that way in the fall and am even more excited about it now.
Cheers
Shaun
http://www.thislifeintrips.com
Silvia says
Lucky you – I’m sure you’ll love it!
Guy says
Interesting that you went to Kosovo. I ave friends who fled it during the war and haven’t really thought much about it until now. Should be worth a visit. Thanks.
Silvia says
Before going I mostly associated Kosovo with “war” but there are so many great things to see there now!
Kirsten | Travelaar.nl/en says
Great post! We went to Macedonia and Albania last May and decided to go to Kosovo as well. We only went to Prizren and I totally loved it! Would love to go back to Kosovo some time soon and discover more!
Silvia says
That’s great – I definitely want to explore more of Kosovo as well!
Gasper says
Not only because Prishtina is my hometown, but also because I had to leave a comment applauding to your writing style. It’s such a cute story.
PETRIT RIZA says
BEST MACCHIATO IN THE WORLD…………IS IN KOSOVO.
READ YAHOO TRAVEL ARTICLE:
https://www.yahoo.com/travel/wheres-the-best-macchiato-in-the-world-hint-its-99063462232.html
Uran says
Odd buildings explained 🙂
Most of odd buildings you can encounter in such places are remnants of soc-realistic architecture. Sometimes I question if communists took a page from Nazi architecture? Oh and the church, it was more of a political project then a religious one, simply an attempt by Belgrade to claim Prishtina as a Serbian city (not sure that Pristina can be classified as a city to begin with).
Silvia says
Wow, that’s so interesting, thanks for explaining!
Jamie says
Absolutely agree that Pristina is a great city despite its visual shortcomings. I had the opportunity to visit earlier this summer. The people I met are some of the most friendly, open, and socially engaged individuals I know. I wish them best of luck in their endeavors for progress.
Mary says
Wow! It looks like you had a lot of fun! Love the photos you took. I like the one of you in the abandoned church!
Silvia says
Right? That church was crazy!
Brittany Elizabeth says
As one of the Peace Corps Volunteers in Kosovo, I’m sorry that the ones you encountered were so unfriendly! Let us know if you visit Kosovo again!
Silvia says
Haha thanks, Brittany! I mean, I probably would have bee fairly uninterested in befriending backpackers if I were hanging out with all my expat friends too, so I couldn’t really blame them.
Bernett says
Fantastic article on a fantastic city. My wife and I travelled through there last July.
Very friendly people.
We stayed in an apartment overlooking Mother Theresa boulevard and it was amazing watching everybody coming out for a walk in the evenings and just to meet with friends or family.
Silvia says
So happy to hear that you enjoyed it as well!
Tringa says
I am originally from Kosovo but I grew up and currently live in Canada. I loved your blog post on Kosovo, I am glad you enjoyed it. The Albanian flags that’s you saw everywhere is because Kosovo’s population consists of 95% if not more of Albanian people. Thus all Albanians in Kosovo associate themselves with the original black and red 2 headed eagle flag that was in place before the war. The new Kosovo Flag is just to represent Kosovo as a separate and independent Kosovo in the eyes of the international community.
I was born in the city of Peja you have visited and yes its surrounding mountains terrain known as the (Rugova Canyon) is breathtaking and perhaps makes it the most beautiful city in Kosova.
I could go on and on but I’ll leave it at that. Glad you enjoyed your visit to the youngest country in Europe.
Ana says
Hi Silvia,
Make sure to come back again – and visiting Prizren is a must especially during the Documentary film festival DOKUFEST – a whole week of films being shown on open air cinemas, partying afterwards. It is held in August (each year) so if in the region do not miss out! Glad you appreciated the quirky architecture. It is weird definitely – it makes people in comparison less quirky ), just joking actually I lived abroad for a long period and then the love for the people made me come back.
– here is the link to the documentary film festival I mentioned in case you might want to check it out http://dokufest.com/
Regards,
Ana
The Barefoot Backpacker says
Ah, the Orthodox Cathedral! I did wonder what that was; there we no signs there saying what it was (or used to be), or why it was derelict; I assumed it was an Orthodox Church but wasn’t sure. Lucky you got to go in (I love abandoned places) – on my visit (October 2016) it was all securely locked up, boo!
I never made it to Peja (I was told they have the best pizza in Kosovo, btw); I did however go to Prizren (I came in from Northern Albania on a local bus; we pretty much had no border formalities at all!), which is a lovely, pretty little town – very similar to some in Albania, with a nice river, stone-clad old town, and fortress-on-a-hill.
Yep, Kosovan architecture is weird – much of it is from Yugoslavian days. That library was (and still is) very controversial; people have read so much symbolism into it (including the “does it really represent the meeting of Serbian and Ottoman culture, OMG, that makes it evil” concept). The weirdest of all monuments I came across in Kosovo though was the Pi-shaped mining monument on the Serbian side of Mitrovica. It’s just … there, on top of a hill. no rhyme nor reason, no explanation, like some kind of ancient dolmen.
I’ve got some pics of Prizren & Mitrovica on my Instagram if you’re interested to see more 🙂
Silvia says
Oooh I missed that monument! Definitely bookmarking your Instagram to remember it for my next trip there. Thanks!
vlatche says
I thing you watching ESC in Kosovo, when Albania have the best song. Elhaida Dani – IM Alive,she was 9 place from televoting, but from jury 20-21 place and in the end she was in 17 place . Nice blog and posto for Kosovo. Greetings from MACEDONIA
joão diniz says
I was in kosovo for three times: the first one (2013), was randomly: i was living in macedonia, wanted a small trip and pristina was handy and cheap to go there (my travel mate already been in prizren so we went to pristina). when i went off the cab, near the grand hotel pristina.. the city won me in five seconds. i was amazed by the amount of people in the streets on a beautiful saturday afternoon.
at the third i was three months in pristina. only left because…no visa. in all the cities that i know, pristina is my favourite. and right now i live in lisbon portugal (don’t know if you’ve been here already, but read the comments).
i love it for the reasons you said: really nice people, everybody always at the streets, you have things going on every weekend, you have a growing cultural and nightlife, you can see the rich guy, the poor ashkali playing in the streets, the small lgbt group, the teenagers being teenagers…at the same time. i love it.
they broadcast a whole bunch of stuff, even at the bars in the city. mostly football, but when you have international events, you can count they will put one or two major screens in nene tereze boulevard. when any event happens, it looks like the city lives for it. and best machiatos in the world! i miss them so much!
one of my dreams now is trying to open a business in pristina. maybe something related with tourism, because i’m more familiar to it. but i do want to go back there sooner or later.
and by the way: those albanians you met that told you about kosovo…maybe they were never there. people in the balkans tend to find everywhere in the balkans boring. go to skopje in macedonia, and besides ohird, see if they recommend anywhere else to go in the country.
they have a lot of albanian flags, true: but my feeling is that albanians see more kosovo part of them, than albanians from kosovo. they are different in my eye. kosovo albanians have a bigger outside influence (due to the us presence also can’t deny that), so i see them as more open minded for example. more open to foreigners. but, it’s not the same if you’re a kosovo albanian, a macedonian albanian, or an albanian from albania. even if they all believe in the same flag.
and a lot of kosovo albanians are fully aware that somehow they are a chess piece in between russia and usa. even if in some protests you see kosovo albanians with american flags, along with the albanian one. there’s a place called gracanica, 10 km away from pristina (it has a beautiful ortodhox church, unesco protected) and well..you’re like in serbia. serbian flags, serbian money, they vote for serbian elections. they’re also from kosovo, just another ethnicity. but kosovars too. the capital of kosovo serbia is kosovska mitrovica (mitrovice for albanians): a city divided by a river that separates both ethnicities. one part is albanian kosovars, the other kosovo serbians. i went there too times and i love that city too. and that’s were i got my favourite machiato, for 50 cents.
even in peja you have a beautiful orthodox monastery where you need to show your passport to enter.
i’m basically saying all of this, because all of this complicated things make kosovo beautiful. not only the beautiful mountains they have, the waterfalls, or the food. It’s on how they can be so nice without even realizing it, and on how being in a complex situation all of them try to manage their lives as best as they can. and a lot are doing good things.
i’m sorry to all people from kosovo if i did a somehow ignorant remark, or if you feel i’m like someone from outside giving 2 cents about something i know zero about. i hope not. cheers to you all.
Nida says
Hey!
Im a 14 year old girl from Kosovo, and I really got curious about people’s blogs about Kosovo and I ran into your blog THANKFULYY!!
Your blog just made me love my country even more and be proud of it, I would really love being your friend but Im not sure if you could visit Kosovo again because you probably have a busy schedule, but Im really glad you enjoyed Kosovo.
I hope youll make it to come here again, and hey, maybe even meet, I could show you around other interesting places…I know Im only 14, and u are probably wondering, WOW You are too young!! but no honestly I think it would be great… weird, but fun!
Have a great day!
Take care!
Silvia says
Oooh I would love to go back to Kosovo! I’m not sure when, but hopefully someday soon 🙂
Alex says
Hi Silvia.
I am glad that someone wrote such a interesting article about the capital of our country. Yes, indeed, Priština (written in Serbian, or Prishtine written in Albanian) is a preety ugly with its architecture but what makes it special are its people. By the waz, you missed to mention that population of Kosovo is the youngest in Europe, average age is around 26. But the problem is that there are many fake things surrounding Kosovo. First of all, as someone already mentioned, its flag, it really does not represent anything. It was just sort of copy-paste of Bosnia&Herzegovina flag. The country is very ethnically divided between Albanians and Serbs, and hoepfully that problem is to be solved in the future if we want to live together and in peace with oneaeach other. Also, big problem in Kosovo is international community with its members, who are highly corrupted. You wouldn’t beleive, but organisations such are European Union Office in Kosovo, European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), UNMIK, OSCE nad partially even KFOR, they are highly corrupted. But still, this is an pearl of the Balkans Peninsula. A must visit place and to discover a all of it. Very interesting part of Kosovo to visit is its northern part, populated with Serbian ethnic minority. It’s a bit different, especially if you like mountains, lakes, rivers, etc.
Papi says
You sound, look and behave so ignorant, spoilt and stupid. Fuck off.
Andristour says
is expencive price to get there for now 2019 ?
Jon says
Nice post Silvia. Pristina is how to say more like industrial/business city. Not much interesting there. As other has mentioned city of Prizren ir really worth visit. A city at least 2400 years old, with buildings from different eras, all next (or on top) of each other.
Also better than visiting cities is to visit the nature. I would recommend to go to Rugova zone in Peje. There you can go the source of the White Drin River which is actually a waterfall and some other springs. Also, there you can try the villages of Boge and Kucishte, where you can hike to Kucishte lakes.
Btw have you ever got back in Kosovo/Albania/Montenegro/Macedonia since then?
@Andristour
There are a lot of cheap flight from Pristina to Germany and some other European countries. Also you can consider to take low cost fly from Skopje or Tirana, or even Podgorica. Idk where are you from, but if you are coming form Europe you can come with small expenses.