Kosovo and Macedonia

 Five years later, here is a new blog post! I am currently in Prishtina, Kosovo. This trip has been really awesome thus far, minus the saga it took to get here (canceled flight from Phoenix to Chicago, no flights available for 5 days, canceled initial ticket and rebooked entire itinerary, flight to Germany super delayed, canceled flight to Vienna meaning an unexpected night in Frankfurt, delay to Stuttgart, and finally a single on time flight to Prishtina). The only upside to the unexpected re-route was that I got to hang out with Jette in Frankfurt, and I got to see Jutta in the Stuttgart airport. I will sadly miss my day in Switzerland with Pirrko though.

Hanging out with Jette in Frankfurt

I was meant to arrive on Saturday evening, but I didnt arrive until around noon on Monday instead, meaning I lost two full days here. Luckily I have been able to squeeze many of the things I wanted to do into my new itinerary, though a few things like Lake Ohrid had to be saved for another time. On arrival to Prishtina I took taxi to the hostel, check in, and pretty immediately took a four hour nap since I had woken up at 3am due to time zone confusion. It was much needed. After my nap I walked around and explored a bit. I got to see the National Library, which has been called the ugliest building in the world, but I think is quite cool brutalist architecture. Definitely the most unique building I have come across! I tried to find a spot for dinner, but ended up just having a tornado potato and an ice cream cone (only 50 euro cents!). 

Arrived at the Prishtina Center Hostel

National Library of Kosovo

Unfinished (and somewhat problematic) Serbian Orthodox Church

Fanta Exotic (!!)

On Tuesday I started the day with the city walking tour. It was quite a nice walking tour of Prishtina and hit all the main sites, like the mosques, churches, market, Newborn statue (for Kosovo's independence in 2008 as the newest country, now Europe's youngest country and the world's second youngest after South Sudan), the library again, and lots of other cool stuff. After a girl from England and I had a drink with our guide, stopped for some meatballs and bread that were very tasty, and then rested a bit. After the guide took me to Gracanica Monastery and the Prishtina Bear Sanctuary. Kosovo used to have restaurants that would have caged bears to attract customers, but luckily this has been outlawed and the bears were rescued in 2013-2014. After I went bowling and got a 99 (so damn close to 100). 

The oldest mosque in Prishtina (under renovation currently)

King's Mosque

Traditional house

Cathedral of Mother Teresa

Gracinica

Fanta Tropical Exotic (too sweet)

Top of the Bear Sanctuary, quite a climb up

On Wednesday I took the bus to Prizren and explored the city there. On the way to the bus station I finally saw the Bill Clinton statue. There are statues here of Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright, as well as streets named for Bill Clinton, George Bush, Bob Dole, and Bo Biden. Apparently there is also a street for Tony Blair of Britain here too. Anyways, Prizren is quite beautiful and I enjoyed walking around, but oh boy this was my peak of tiredness. I had a delicious food of pastry filled with meat and cheese (forgot the name), and got a mango ice cream. I mostly just walked around and enjoyed myself before taking the bus back. When I got back to the hostel I fell asleep at 6pm and when I woke up at 8pm bascially decided just to shower and go back to bed!

Bill Clinton Statue

Stone Bridge in Prizren

Yet another new Fanta, flavor literally translates to "Funk"

On Thursday I woke up quite bright and early to catch the 7:25am bus to Skopje in Macedonia. The bus ride was uneventful again, but this time included a border crossing and passport control, which was fine. Skopje is a really interesting city. The main square is impressive and quite beautiful. I saw the site where the home of Mother Teresa was born and raised, learned some history, saw the bazaar, and evetually had lunch with the group. Our guide was super awesome and we all had a great time. I even ended up staying for 3 hours longer than I thought I would because I really did enjoy the city!