PRISTINA, KOSOVO
2016-01-29, 22:00, THORIN
STAY: BUFFALO BACKPACKERS
After the adventure of bussing all over Montenegro, we took the early morning bus from Podgorica to Pristina. Actually, the bus stops at Peja and then you do a quick changeover in the dusty Peja station, before continuing onto Pristina. The bus journey over the Montenegrin border was stunning. There is about 6-7km of no man's land between the two border posts, which is over incredible rolling hills and sprawling countryside. So much beauty that is inaccesible due to all of the tragedy.
Kosovo is a very strange country. The culture is completely Albanian, from the strong linguistical identity to the tv screens in every bus blaring Albanian pop music videos that invariable involve fire and women and large cats, all set to Balkan-beat style Albanian lyrics. ALbanian flags all over the screen, with everything engulfed in fire. There is always a lot of fire.
Since Kosovo has a nonexistent political relationship with Serbia (Serbia considers it a renegade province) and that Albanians are extremely disliked by Montenegrins, get into the country is not super easy. At the time there were warnings about entering from the Serbian border due to occassional conflict in the north (now mostly subsided), as well as only a single bus each day from Montenegro, Pristina is only really connected to Skopje, Macedonia and Albania itself. Also, entering Kosovo, and then Serbia without a prior Serbian stamp reportedly gets you in trouble with the authorities when you leave Serbia, as they consider that you entered illegally (much like Transnistria-Moldova). Many Montenegrins and Serbians also believe this idea of the Albanian nationalist call for 'Greater Albania' which is an attempt by nationalistic Albanians to re-occupy lands of the past Albanian empires, which inlcudes chunks of all of its neighbours. Many Montenegrins believe that Kosovo was a thinly veiled attempt towards this colonialisation. Regardless, the poverty is rampant, and it seems unlikely that a collective political effort is underway when people can hardly afford to eat. Who knows.
Needless to say, we felt very much like we were back in Albania. It is incredible how different Albanian culture is from ex-Yugoslav culture - seemingly more similar to Turkic culture, but practically its own curious bubble. This is apparent immediately upon entering Pristina. Pristina is a city built by NATO and the USA for the Kosovan people after the war. Consequently, there are many tall buildings, al lquite grandiose and shiny. However, now that the West has left and Pristina has been left to its own devices, the incompatibility between Albanian culture and Anglophilic culture shows. Buildings are poorly maintained, or shoddily repaired, or simply built over. Half finished skyscrapers with walls missing have people just living in them, even though they could fall to their death at any moment because the wall is missing. The streets are not well maintained, and in general the city is in disarray from a western standard.
The city itself has a similar feel to Tirana, but these strangely alien imported buildings are jarring against Albanian cultural values, causing it to feel destitute and dishevelled. However, the city itself has a vibrant culture, with amazing street markets and people everywhere. Like ALbania, Kosovo has a low employment rate, so the streets are packed all day with people walking around and drinking coffee (many are muslim so alcohol is not as common). Pristina claims to have the best Espresso Machiatto in the world, and almost everywhere is a cafe specialising in it (they are very nice!). But because the population is quite poor, people just sit around chatting and drink tea and coffee.
We went sightseeing when we arrived, after walking along the motorway from the bus station (not uncommon in Eastern Europe!) and dumping our bags at the only hostel in the city. Pristina has some amazing sights. The Mother Teresa cathedral is worth a look, not least because there are no pews inside, but just plastic garden chairs. The national library is a a stunning abomination of spheres which looks incredible, and various mosques and churches are scattered around. There is a very cool street market behind one of the big buildings, that is like a typical Albanian street market, with food and clothes - amazing against the juxtaposition of slowly decaying American-built buildings. Walking along George Bush Ave (spelt Xhorxh Bush) and Bill Clinton Ave (with a statue) is strangely surreal, as the country credits the US with liberation from Serbia.
In the evening we had some delicious local food, and then went for an espresso at one fo the numerous cafes, before turning in to the mosquito farm that was our hsotel. You couldn't sleep for the buzzing noises all over the room - Jason was ravaged. The next morning we made the trek along the motorway to the bus station to catch a bus to Sofia via Skopje!