Pristina
For budget tips & compact place-specific travel info... Download my FREE Budget Fact Sheets. You're welcome.

Download Steph's PRISTINA Quick Budget Fact Sheet | |
File Size: | 1083 kb |
File Type: |
I couldn’t resist.
I simply can’t be basically hugging the (not universally recognized) border of a country marked by such an intense and controversial history and not go. The fact that every Serb I met either went from zero to furious or fled into a state of absolute silence when dropping the word ‘Kosovo’ pushed me right over the edge, irreversibly: I was going, 100%. Even if I had only four days left in my itinerary, it had to be spent there and nowhere else. Whenever I get an opportunity to experience destinations like that without a distorting media filter, I grab it right by the balls. You can never fathom reality quite correctly from an alternative (biased) source, it’s always more reliable to go out there to see it with your own eyes, speak with the people who lived it.
I simply can’t be basically hugging the (not universally recognized) border of a country marked by such an intense and controversial history and not go. The fact that every Serb I met either went from zero to furious or fled into a state of absolute silence when dropping the word ‘Kosovo’ pushed me right over the edge, irreversibly: I was going, 100%. Even if I had only four days left in my itinerary, it had to be spent there and nowhere else. Whenever I get an opportunity to experience destinations like that without a distorting media filter, I grab it right by the balls. You can never fathom reality quite correctly from an alternative (biased) source, it’s always more reliable to go out there to see it with your own eyes, speak with the people who lived it.
Too busy to read now? No problem, save it for later!
Save on Get Pocket | Save in Browser Bookmarks| Save on Instapaper
Save on Get Pocket | Save in Browser Bookmarks| Save on Instapaper
However, considering the general Serbian attitude towards Kosovo (to them there’s no such a thing, it’s a part of Serbia so no need to separately name it) it didn’t seem like the brightest idea to hold up a carton sign at the roadside with this exact word written on it. So, instead of my ordinary hitchhike-approach, I decided to be a normal traveller for once and take a bus. But that bus never came (someone else did – read on). As a printed bus ticket apparently has no meaning in Serbia, I was kind of glad to accept the offer from a local couple, whom I met waiting, to join the journey to Pristina in their rental car. A happiness that lasted until that critical moment I woke up from a nap on the back seat, witnessing the woman treating her male companion on a slurping blow job at a 20-centimers-distance from my face.* Cheers!
BUT, in Pristina I was. Despite my obvious sacrifices.
* And if you wonder, how did I react? Ehm… I pretended to be in a sleeping coma until the moaning was over, as what the hell else are you supposed to do in such situations? I don’t think there’s a travel manual for that yet, it’s just my life.
BUT, in Pristina I was. Despite my obvious sacrifices.
* And if you wonder, how did I react? Ehm… I pretended to be in a sleeping coma until the moaning was over, as what the hell else are you supposed to do in such situations? I don’t think there’s a travel manual for that yet, it’s just my life.
Okay, I see. If I’m reading your mind correctly you want me to skip straight to the part where I write how I juuuuust dodged a bullet, or when I had to run for my life after rebellious terrorists just unpinned a hand grenade right next to my scared ass… but I have to disappoint you right there. Kosovo is safe… S-A-F-E! Safer than most countries I’ve travelled through the past 5 years, probably safer than your hometown. Like: me-walking-alone-in-backstreets-for-over-an-hour-at-2AM-safe. Wars happen, but wars end as well. And even though the Serbs and Albanians are far from brotherly draining their differences over a shared rakija, they stopped raping and strangling each other as well, which is nice.
No, no! I’m not going to choose a side here either. I am against wars in general (anti-guns-hippie for ya), as in wars brutal atrocities happen on both sides of the equation, commanded and manipulated by governments pulling the strings of their subordinates by misinformation and extensive power play, shat out to the outside world by a distorted media machine… and the Kosovo War is no exception. I understand both the Albanian and Serbian visions (I just don’t support the extreme violence it triggered and my heart goes out to all victims), but I also understand why both visions aren’t compatible, which sums up the problem we’re facing right here.
No, no! I’m not going to choose a side here either. I am against wars in general (anti-guns-hippie for ya), as in wars brutal atrocities happen on both sides of the equation, commanded and manipulated by governments pulling the strings of their subordinates by misinformation and extensive power play, shat out to the outside world by a distorted media machine… and the Kosovo War is no exception. I understand both the Albanian and Serbian visions (I just don’t support the extreme violence it triggered and my heart goes out to all victims), but I also understand why both visions aren’t compatible, which sums up the problem we’re facing right here.
[Quick recap? You can scroll passed this section if you’re familiar with Kosovo’s history:
After being occupied by subsequently the Romans, Slavs, Serbs and the Ottoman Empire, in 1912 the piece of land which is now Kosovo was a part of Serbia again. And not ‘just’ a part, it was the ‘heart of Serbia’, containing the very core of Serbian culture, identity and faith as well as the majority of their ancient monasteries… After enduring a series of Balkan Wars and World Wars, during which a big chunk of the Kosovo area formed a part of an Italian-controlled (back-then-fascist) greater Albania (WWII), the area changed names at a rapid pace. From kingdom to republic, and from specifically Serbian/Albanian to eventually a part of greater Yugoslavia (1929), led by communist Tito.
In 1974 the area of Kosovo gained self-government and an autonomous status. However, there was one guy not quite okay with that… and his name was Slobodan Milošević. In the 80’s, when Milošević became president of Serbia, nationalism grew stronger on both sides and clashes between Albanian and Serbian Kosovars intensified. In July 1990, Albanians declared Kosovo independent from Serbia for the 1st time, resulting in a rapid dissolution of the Kosovo government, putting it back under Serbian control. But when Yugoslavia started to disintegrate and Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia and Bosnia left in 1991 (upon which the Slovenian, Croatian and Bosnian War followed), also Albanian Kosovars were strengthened in their need for independence. A need that was ignored and suppressed, as that was exactly the area Serbia refused to ever give up.
When Milošević eventually became the president of entire Yugoslavia in 1997, ethnic tension escalated and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) intensified their attacks, brutally cracked down by the opposition… who subsequently drove Albanian Kosovars out of their homes and ‘back’ to Albania (even though many of them never even lived there) and killed 45 Albanian Kosovar civilians. The NATO mingled into the matter in 1999, nominating Kosovo as a UN Protectorate and giving Serbia an ultimatum… their true motivation however being the proximity to Russia and the opportunity of capitalist influence. When Milošević turned it down, the NATO started bombing Serbia with airstrikes for 78 days, killing many innocent civilians in their turn… convincing Milošević to finally withdraw its troops.
Violence escalated again in 2004 in the town of Mitrovica. Irregardless of ongoing peace talks, Serbia launched a new constitution in 2006, specifically naming Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia. But in spite of that, Kosovo declared its independence in 2008 (without UN recognition), which was approved by the US and Europe’s major powers, but declared illegal by Serbia… until the day of today.]
In 1974 the area of Kosovo gained self-government and an autonomous status. However, there was one guy not quite okay with that… and his name was Slobodan Milošević. In the 80’s, when Milošević became president of Serbia, nationalism grew stronger on both sides and clashes between Albanian and Serbian Kosovars intensified. In July 1990, Albanians declared Kosovo independent from Serbia for the 1st time, resulting in a rapid dissolution of the Kosovo government, putting it back under Serbian control. But when Yugoslavia started to disintegrate and Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia and Bosnia left in 1991 (upon which the Slovenian, Croatian and Bosnian War followed), also Albanian Kosovars were strengthened in their need for independence. A need that was ignored and suppressed, as that was exactly the area Serbia refused to ever give up.
When Milošević eventually became the president of entire Yugoslavia in 1997, ethnic tension escalated and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) intensified their attacks, brutally cracked down by the opposition… who subsequently drove Albanian Kosovars out of their homes and ‘back’ to Albania (even though many of them never even lived there) and killed 45 Albanian Kosovar civilians. The NATO mingled into the matter in 1999, nominating Kosovo as a UN Protectorate and giving Serbia an ultimatum… their true motivation however being the proximity to Russia and the opportunity of capitalist influence. When Milošević turned it down, the NATO started bombing Serbia with airstrikes for 78 days, killing many innocent civilians in their turn… convincing Milošević to finally withdraw its troops.
Violence escalated again in 2004 in the town of Mitrovica. Irregardless of ongoing peace talks, Serbia launched a new constitution in 2006, specifically naming Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia. But in spite of that, Kosovo declared its independence in 2008 (without UN recognition), which was approved by the US and Europe’s major powers, but declared illegal by Serbia… until the day of today.]
In 2017 Serbia launched a new train service between Belgrade and northern Kosovo with the slogan ‘Kosovo is Serbia’ painted on it in no less than 20 languages. In 2018, a Serb Kosavar politician was shot dead in Mitrovica… when will it end?
For the Albanian side of the story, check out the left video. For the Serbian side, watch the right one:
For the Albanian side of the story, check out the left video. For the Serbian side, watch the right one:
|
|
* The history of the Kosovo War is laid out visibly in the Museum of Kosovo [from the Albanian point of view] - free entry
What does such a place look like anno 2019, kinda-post-war? One word: American. I’ve never even been to the US of A, but this is how I imagine it… be it with a higher percentage of fat* people and more churches than mosques (luckily Trump is still 9000km down the road). In Pristina everything looks clean and new… because it is really, I mean, bombing does that to cities. Wide avenues, modern shopping streets, a clean slate of capitalism, man, there’s even a Bill Clinton statue! Without cigar. It felt surreal to walk on a former battle field, once stained with bloodshed, while seeing picture-perfect families buy iPhones for their toddlers. There’s almost no hint of what it once was… almost!
Slavs don’t forget. The capital is scattered with reminders of less fortunate times. Remembrances blending in with contemporary reality like a crucial building piece of current society. The Skanderbeg Statue (a medieval Albanian hero who resisted the Ottoman forces) presents Albanians’ strength and rebellion, in the context of Pristina surrounded with war memorials and photographs of victims of recent warfare. The Heroinat Memorial comes in quite hard, with a description stating that “it’s built by 20,145 medals, symbolically honouring the versatile contribution and sacrifice of every ethnic Albanian woman during the Kosovo War. At the same time, this memorial remembers the cruel crime of rape carried out by the Serbian forces against nearly 20,000 women.” On a more positive note, the Newborn Monument celebrates recent victories and its modern day results, repainted yearly with decorative political themes.
* Yes: FAT - I've had hatemail from uptight readers, so let me be really fucking clear regarding my statement thereof: it's a normal word in the dictionary, always has been. No, not 'plus-size' (more like plus-plus-plus-size then) and sure as hell I won't use the word 'healthy', like some poll under USA's obese population suggested. Healthy is quite the opposite of being obese. Don't get me wrong, I don't give two flying fucks about your looks, I don't bully, I don't think any less of you, everyone's different and that's awesome. But don't deny reality as it is, just grow a pair and stand behind your choices. If you think you look great, then no need to change the wording to alter reality. If you don't think you look great, change that, not the words to describe it. If you're a strong supporter of political correctness, please find another blog, we're not a match.
What does such a place look like anno 2019, kinda-post-war? One word: American. I’ve never even been to the US of A, but this is how I imagine it… be it with a higher percentage of fat* people and more churches than mosques (luckily Trump is still 9000km down the road). In Pristina everything looks clean and new… because it is really, I mean, bombing does that to cities. Wide avenues, modern shopping streets, a clean slate of capitalism, man, there’s even a Bill Clinton statue! Without cigar. It felt surreal to walk on a former battle field, once stained with bloodshed, while seeing picture-perfect families buy iPhones for their toddlers. There’s almost no hint of what it once was… almost!
Slavs don’t forget. The capital is scattered with reminders of less fortunate times. Remembrances blending in with contemporary reality like a crucial building piece of current society. The Skanderbeg Statue (a medieval Albanian hero who resisted the Ottoman forces) presents Albanians’ strength and rebellion, in the context of Pristina surrounded with war memorials and photographs of victims of recent warfare. The Heroinat Memorial comes in quite hard, with a description stating that “it’s built by 20,145 medals, symbolically honouring the versatile contribution and sacrifice of every ethnic Albanian woman during the Kosovo War. At the same time, this memorial remembers the cruel crime of rape carried out by the Serbian forces against nearly 20,000 women.” On a more positive note, the Newborn Monument celebrates recent victories and its modern day results, repainted yearly with decorative political themes.
* Yes: FAT - I've had hatemail from uptight readers, so let me be really fucking clear regarding my statement thereof: it's a normal word in the dictionary, always has been. No, not 'plus-size' (more like plus-plus-plus-size then) and sure as hell I won't use the word 'healthy', like some poll under USA's obese population suggested. Healthy is quite the opposite of being obese. Don't get me wrong, I don't give two flying fucks about your looks, I don't bully, I don't think any less of you, everyone's different and that's awesome. But don't deny reality as it is, just grow a pair and stand behind your choices. If you think you look great, then no need to change the wording to alter reality. If you don't think you look great, change that, not the words to describe it. If you're a strong supporter of political correctness, please find another blog, we're not a match.
Museum-wise there’s not much to it (yet), as Kosovo’s history is pretty short and cruel (unless you wanna go into its role as ‘the heart of Serbia’, a chapter they frantically avoid for rather obvious reasons – in the Museum of Kosovo they skip right back to the Byzantines)… which is why you should point your eyes at the present. Present art, present culture. There’s not one place where this is done more captivating than in Termokiss, the squatted headquarters of the local anarchist movement. I’m not an anarchist. I’m not an anything, I’m me… but I do appreciate the parties they throw following their strict fuck-all-rules policies. Campfires, shit-tons of marijuana and brain-numbing techno music vibrating in between two raging lanes of highway… I approve! You should definitely check it out.
If you’re not a hippie unless it’s on Instagram, Pristina’s hipster-friendly bar scene will have you posting for months in a row. They know their coffee here. Your body can’t process the amount of caffeine a visit to every single (exquisite! stylish! alluring!) coffee bar would entail… there are simply too many. And you can hold your horses: Kosovo is cheap.* That’s the one thing the Western world didn’t touch yet: their price tags. And thank the lord (?) for that!
* However, you should cash out your Euros (yes they have Euros) elsewhere before entering Kosovo, if you can. Exchange rates suck and ATM fees are ridiculous: Fixed rate of €5 (that’ll buy you 2 dinners here), even if you want to cash out let’s say, 10 bucks… Shout-out to banks for letting us buy our own money!
* However, you should cash out your Euros (yes they have Euros) elsewhere before entering Kosovo, if you can. Exchange rates suck and ATM fees are ridiculous: Fixed rate of €5 (that’ll buy you 2 dinners here), even if you want to cash out let’s say, 10 bucks… Shout-out to banks for letting us buy our own money!
An interesting switch of perspectives can come on a side-trip to Gračanica (take bus 7 to the terminal, then the Gjilan-one: 90cents). One reason the Serbs refuse to let go of Kosovo is because the majority of their orthodox monasteries, defining the heart of their culture, is located right here. During anti-Serbian riots in 2004 (in which about 60,000 Albanians took part – actively helped by the Kosovo police), over 30 of them were entirely destroyed. The few that are left, one being the ‘Манастир Грачаница’ in the predominant Serbian enclave of Gračanica, were heavily guarded since. An ambiguous sight, especially because you have to enter the premises via a red carpet with giant two-headed eagles printed on it, the symbol on the Albanian flag.
I am wondering what’s happening on the right down there
And if you want a little break of all that political razzmatazz, Kosovo also pulls some nature out of its magical hat. Germia Natural Park: sounds gross, really isn’t. This 62 km² stretch of the Rhodope Mountain Range (spreading from Macedonian Skopje to Serbian Kopaonik) has no less than 63 animal species! Of which I saw none, but you can. And if you’re tired of hiking, mentally or physically, dive into the biggest swimming pool I have ever seen, which forms a part of Germia.
And if you want a little break of all that political razzmatazz, Kosovo also pulls some nature out of its magical hat. Germia Natural Park: sounds gross, really isn’t. This 62 km² stretch of the Rhodope Mountain Range (spreading from Macedonian Skopje to Serbian Kopaonik) has no less than 63 animal species! Of which I saw none, but you can. And if you’re tired of hiking, mentally or physically, dive into the biggest swimming pool I have ever seen, which forms a part of Germia.
It’s easy to underestimate the time you need in Kosovo, mine was definitely too short.
But I always enjoy having reasons to return.
But I always enjoy having reasons to return.
Accommodation: I stayed in the lovely Velania guest house for 12 bucks a night (big private room with my own shower and balcony). First-hand war stories included in the price!
In order to support the travelers’ community, I spend many hours per week to adequately document all information and advices for prospective visitors, accompanied by a (hopefully) entertaining insight into my personal observations and experiences. This service is and will remain free. However, if you voluntarily want to make a contribution and support my travels and thus the creation of new stories and information supply, here is the button you’re looking for:
Related:
- Continue your Kosovo-itinerary: Explore Prizren!
- Guest Blog 'Kosovo Girl Travels': Travel tips and stories from Kosovo's first and only travelblogger!
- Get your Albania itinerary ready: Berat, Gjirokastër, Korcë / Ohrid Lake, Theth, Shkodër, Tirana, Mount Korab & the coast!
- Budget Bucket List on invitation in the DMZ Zone, North Korea
- Serbia uncovered: stories about Belgrade, Nis, Pirot and Stara Planina
- Europe's best skiing & hiking: Get your ass over to jaw-dropping Switzerland!
- Curious what I encountered during a 2-month hitchhiking trip through Romania?
- Be about Bulgaria: Check off Bansko, Belogradchik, Plovdiv, Sofia and of course Veliko Tarnovo!
- Experience the bright and dark side of Vienna [Austria]
- German gems: Aachen & Frankfurt am Main
- Citytripping in Copenhagen [Denmark]
- Modern ventures in Frankfurt am Main [Germany]
- Top-5 places to visit in South Limburg [The Netherlands]
- Read about Bosnia & Herzegovina: Mostar, Blagaj, Trebinje, Sarajevo, Jajce, Banja Luka and Sutjeska National Park (incl. Maglic Peak - the country's highest!)
- Discover more Belgium: Antwerp & the most kick-ass Flanders itinerary!
- Witness the many faces of Lithuania within the city of Vilnius
- Discover the splendours of Turkey: Istanbul on a Budget & Reasons to visit Edirne
- Visit Balkan's finest: Montenegro's National Parks Blog, Kotor Bay & Lovcen NP and Cetinje, Durmitor NP, Podgorica, Prokletije NP and Montenegro's Coastal Towns Blog
- Deeply shocking volunteering experiences in the slums of Honduras
- Getting hospitalized in a country without health care & gang violence: Dark times in El Salvador
- Jordan, a destination on the rise: Extensive guides to Petra, Amman and Wadi Rum
- Get deep into Greece: Athens, Delphi, Arachova, Mount Parnassos NP, Epirus, Meteora, Thessaloniki & Volos
- Archeological treasures, UNESCO sights and Greece's roughest nature: Explore the Peloponnese!
- 10 things you can't do in the non-touristy part of Morocco
- Continue your Kosovo-itinerary: Explore Prizren!
- Guest Blog 'Kosovo Girl Travels': Travel tips and stories from Kosovo's first and only travelblogger!
- Get your Albania itinerary ready: Berat, Gjirokastër, Korcë / Ohrid Lake, Theth, Shkodër, Tirana, Mount Korab & the coast!
- Budget Bucket List on invitation in the DMZ Zone, North Korea
- Serbia uncovered: stories about Belgrade, Nis, Pirot and Stara Planina
- Europe's best skiing & hiking: Get your ass over to jaw-dropping Switzerland!
- Curious what I encountered during a 2-month hitchhiking trip through Romania?
- Be about Bulgaria: Check off Bansko, Belogradchik, Plovdiv, Sofia and of course Veliko Tarnovo!
- Experience the bright and dark side of Vienna [Austria]
- German gems: Aachen & Frankfurt am Main
- Citytripping in Copenhagen [Denmark]
- Modern ventures in Frankfurt am Main [Germany]
- Top-5 places to visit in South Limburg [The Netherlands]
- Read about Bosnia & Herzegovina: Mostar, Blagaj, Trebinje, Sarajevo, Jajce, Banja Luka and Sutjeska National Park (incl. Maglic Peak - the country's highest!)
- Discover more Belgium: Antwerp & the most kick-ass Flanders itinerary!
- Witness the many faces of Lithuania within the city of Vilnius
- Discover the splendours of Turkey: Istanbul on a Budget & Reasons to visit Edirne
- Visit Balkan's finest: Montenegro's National Parks Blog, Kotor Bay & Lovcen NP and Cetinje, Durmitor NP, Podgorica, Prokletije NP and Montenegro's Coastal Towns Blog
- Deeply shocking volunteering experiences in the slums of Honduras
- Getting hospitalized in a country without health care & gang violence: Dark times in El Salvador
- Jordan, a destination on the rise: Extensive guides to Petra, Amman and Wadi Rum
- Get deep into Greece: Athens, Delphi, Arachova, Mount Parnassos NP, Epirus, Meteora, Thessaloniki & Volos
- Archeological treasures, UNESCO sights and Greece's roughest nature: Explore the Peloponnese!
- 10 things you can't do in the non-touristy part of Morocco