June 6, 2024

 Holy!  Where did that week go?!  The last time I wrote anything in here we were still in Montenegro and I totally missed our entire time in Shkodër, Albania and Prizren, Kosovo.  We are currently booked into our two bedroom apartment in Pristina, Kosovo for the next three nights.  So, I guess I’m going to have to do some backtracking!

First of all, it has surprised us that few haven’t gotten stamps in our passports the past couple of borders we’ve crossed.  Neither Albania nor Kosovo have been putting stamps in.  Might have something to do with the ongoing dispute with Serbia about Kosovo being recognized as an independent country???  Not sure…..

We LOVED Shkodër where we also had a two bedroom apartment that was massive (for $25 CAD each/night).  It might have seemed so massive in part because at some of our previous places there was actually no room to even walk between our beds let alone turn around in the room.  LOL. But we loved Shkodër for other reasons too.  The culture of the people is one of hospitality for sure.  In fact they even have a word in their vocabulary that speaks to the need for them to be good hosts and they are!  That’s actually the way it is all through the Balkans but maybe Albania is a little less touristy that some other places we’ve been and so those old cultural traditions are still alive and well.  For example, when a man greets you he puts his hand over his heart….just a random man on the street who you share a nodded greeting with….he puts his hand over his heart as a gesture of sincerity and honour.  The first time it happened it felt a little odd…good but odd…but in short order it just felt really really nice to be on the receiving end of that gesture.

Shkodër, like other places here in the Balkans also has a lively coffee culture.  People seemingly sit for hours over coffee and of course once again….the cigarettes that go with that coffee.  We’re kind of getting used to it but honestly are starting to feel like we’re going to have to detox when we get home.  I’m sure we’re smoking a pack a day in second hand smoke and then there’s all that bread and cheese we’ve been eating and the beer we’ve been drinking and oh ya….the endless cups of coffee!  I’m sure I’ve had more caffeine in the past month than I’ve had in all my years combined!

Shkodër is known as the “land of bikes and rain” because it is flat and everyone rides bikes (the old fashioned kind) and because it rains often but the kind of rain that doesn’t really get you wet.  There were tiny little sun showers and cloudbursts that only lasted for a few minute so it was easy to duck under cover to avoid it.  It was really cool though to see all the bikes still riding along holding their umbrellas up over the heads while they rode.  Honestly, Shkodër (our introduction to Albania) was excellent all the way around.

We also met Sarah and Eric here.  They’re from Montreal and midway on a six month trip in Europe.  In fact, much like happened with our friends Biz and Travis (from Oz) we bumped into Sarah and Eric so many times that we decided we’d better make it more official and exchanged contact info!  When they come to BC they’ll have a bed to crash in for a couple nights and when we go to Montreal we’ll be welcome with them also.  

The first night we arrived in Shkodër we literally couldn’t find a place to eat.  There are caffès everywhere but all they serve is drinks and that doesn’t work when all you want is dinner.  In the end we located a grocery store where we bought some food but strangely enough there was nothing fresh in the grocery store….no fruit or veg and no bread….wth?!  We were starting to wonder what people in Shkodër eat….no restaurants and no real food in sight!  The next day it became much clearer for us as during our wanderings we found fruit and veg shops everywhere lining the streets and then there were bakeries everywhere too….just for bread.  And there were meat shops just for meat and all of them were mixed in with the shop to repair your bike and the shop to buy your wedding dress or bathing suit at and of course there was always a shoe store next door too as there are shoe stores everywhere here!!!  It is an organized kind of hodge podge that it is easy to enjoy.  Another thing we learned in Shkodër is that the people here pride themselves on being very tolerant when it comes to religion.  All faiths live in harmony next to each other and that is evidenced by the fact that there is a mosque a couple doors down from an orthodox Christian church and just around the corner from that there is a Catholic Church.  Yep, its a lesson some other parts of the world could learn from.  The other thing that we’ve really noticed here in the Balkans is that everyone seems to head home in the afternoons for a siesta and then back out at night.  Even little kids are out quite late into the night as their parents sip coffee or a cocktail at one of the too many to count caffès. 

As we were leaving Shkodër we were reminded of the unbelievable level of hospitality that is practiced here.  Our accommodation host, Mino, had come to pick us up where the bus dropped us off as there is no bus station in Shkodër so getting a taxi is a little more complicated.  It was such a nice thing for him to do and he was in a rush as he had to also go to the airport to pick up his cousin…and anyway it was nice until we arrived at our apartment building only to discover that the elevator was broken and our room was on the third floor!  Holy crap!  I’ve never hauled my butt up so many stairs but Mino took our bags and sprinted up those seemingly endless flights of stairs.  We had to climb the stairs for the first two days and then the elevator was repaired - wahoo!  I’ve never appreciated an elevator so much!  But I digress….back to my story about the hospitality here.  When it was time for us to leave, Mino once again said he would drop us and our bags back to the spot where we could catch the bus to Tirana….but that isn’t where we are going.  We told him we are headed into Kosovo to Prizren so we needed that bus departure location (they’re all different and it is impossible to find where they are!). Mino to the rescue, he phoned the company that was running the bus we wanted and found out where their pick up was and then proceeded to drive us all the way there (at least 5 km) and then he refused to take anything for it.  Yep, nice people!  Interestingly, where he dropped us what out at an intersection of the highway and he said the guard at the restaurant parking lot near there would make sure we got on the bus.  In the end, we did get on the right bus and were able to pay the driver on board and we did get to Prizren but holy cow…there were a few minutes there where I couldn’t believe it all worked out!  This was a literal miracle!

Prizren Kosovo might be our new favourite place in some ways.  It definitely has the best shower of the trip so far but once again….we are climbing stairs!  And this time we are on the third floor!  Aggggghhhh!  On the upside at least these stairs have a railing.  LOL

Food prices in Kosovo are the best yet - and the rooms are some of the most reasonable too.  Dinner for two of us is about 12 euros ($18) and that is including drinks.  And the food is delicious too.  In fact at one restaurant they bring out a complimentary plate of wonderfully sweet fresh orange slices at the end of your meal….what a nice touch!  And the breakfast that was included at our accommodation (the Tiffany Hotel) was out of this world.  Pita bread fresh and hot from the oven, fresh squeezed orange juice, a bottle of water, olives, sun dried tomato sauce, cheese, jam, and a massive omelette with coffee of your choice as well.  Yep, we’re not going hungry here!

Prizren is also home to the best gelato I’ve had since Italy!  It was so delicious we actually went there twice in our three days.  LOL. Another special feature in Prizren is the historic water fountain that is in the middle of the old square (which is called the Shadervani) where water comes straight from the mountains and is freezing cold even on the hottest of days.  This fountain, like the one in Mostar (in Bosnia & Herzegovina) has a legend that says if you drink from the fountain you will return some day.  Some also believe that this fountain carries extra powers and that if you drink from it you will marry and have a good marriage…maybe that’s why there were so many people drinking from it every day.  LOL

Across the river (over another ancient stone bridge that was a miniature of the Stari Most in Mostar) was the newer part of the city where we hired an entire tourist train all for ourselves as we were tired of waiting for more people and because they’d not had a single ride the day before, and because the total cost was just 15 euro for the whole train.  The train tour was great and we got to see lots more of the city than we’d ever have seen on foot.  There were streets that were all lined with stores filled with gold jewellery and other streets where the focus of the shops was wedding dresses and ball gowns and still another one that was just clothes for men - everything from name brands to black tie.  And speaking of name brands…we also stopped into a very fancy shopping area where you could smell the name brands it was so fancy!  I don’t know where all the money is coming from in Prizren but there seems to be no shortage of it in some areas.  My guess is that there is quite a large gap between the classes in Kosovo.  We learned later from one man we spoke with that after the war (25 years ago) many young men and women went to Europe and America and then came home with a lot of money and since things here are so affordable…they could live like kings.  Some of them bought property and invested and many of them continue to work abroad where they can earn so much more money.  

Canada and the US are held in high regard in Kosovo as both sent troops here during and post war to support and maintain peace.  At least once so far we’ve been told that our benefactor(s) are very happy to help us since Canada helped them in the recent past.

Driving from Prizren to Pristina today we were able to see how beautiful the country is.  In spite of the calm beauty of the countryside….. There continues to be unrest as Kosovo is not recognized by all as a sovereign nation.  Specifically Serbia says Kosovo is still a part of Serbia and so there continue to be flare ups along the northern Kosovo/Serbia border and if you try to enter Serbia from Kosovo you will be denied entry.  This is maybe why they don’t stamp your passport when you arrive in the country.

Funny story at our arrival into Pristina this afternoon.  Our taxi driver from Prizren (50 euros for the 1 hour trip) couldn’t find the address for our accommodation here and so he asked a couple of young men who were sitting in a caffe having coffee (what else?!).  Before we knew what was happening those two young men had climbed into the back of the cab on either side of Lynda and off we went with them telling our driver where to turn.  Thankfully they were just glad they could help and not some kind of crazy kidnapping scheme.  LOL. All is well that ends well and we are settled into our two bedroom place here on what is the oldest street in Pristina.  The area we are in is surrounded by mosques and so when they do the call to prayer there are at least 6 of them that echo off one another and it actually makes the call sound really beautiful and super unique.  I think we are in for another couple of interesting days.  

Till next time…..

L & L