June 8, 2024

 Well, Pristine, Kosovo (pronounced Prishtina) has been a bit of a roller coaster.  LOL. Our arrival with the two young men coming to the rescue of our taxi driver in finding our accommodation was just the beginning.

On the upside, we have an elevator (thank god as we are on the sixth floor) so that is a treat but I neglected to notice that there is no air con in this unit when I booked it.  Aggggghhhhh….that is usually one of the first things I look for.  On the upside, it cools down pretty well at night so we haven’t really had too much time here when we would have put it on anyway.  Although I would have used it yesterday when we got back in from walking for about a hundred miles in a hundred degrees! (I may be exaggerating just a bit but honestly it was smoking hot and we really did walk for hours). In truth, we walked so far and it was so hot that when we stopped at a caffe where we’d normally have a coffee…..this time it was a coke as cold as they could get it please.

The highlight from yesterday came in the form of a young man named Leke who (with his fiancée) owns a small school here in the city.  They teach English but also math and making sure the kids have food and a place to be is also part of their mandate.  Leke grew up an international kid attending international schools and living in places like North Korea, South Africa, and Europe.  His dad worked on food distribution programs so Leke has impeccable English and a worldview that is quite unique given his childhood experiences.  He returned to Kosovo 4 years ago and plans to make this his home going forward.  They’re lucky to have him here!  The reason we met Leke is because we were looking for a museum that supposedly has examples of  traditional Albanian homes, clothes and life in general.  (In our defence, nothing is well marked here and the roads go in all directions at odd angles). I figured we were near what I’d seen on google maps when we started out (yes, we are still just going with wifi only and no I still cannot figure out how to use google maps without internet) and there on the corner was this school with the word “welcome” on the door in English so ……in I went and two minutes later Leke was outside with us and taking us around the corner and under an archway into a “yard” that had absolutely no signage at all!  LOL. In truth it wasn’t the place we were actually looking for but in fact it was kind of even better.  It is an historic home (200 years old) that has been protected and now accommodated the offices of the department responsible for historic preservation and data collection.  The director welcomed us and gave us a personal tour with Leke as our translator guide.  The floor of the building was solid!  It was concrete with rock and about a foot thick!  The wood was all gorgeous and in great shape.  Stepping over the threshold into the entry way you could see the sign of the thousands of feet that had stepped exactly there over the past 200 years in that it was worn down in that one spot.  The family that lived here was wealthy and not only did they own this property (that at that time was beside a small river that is no longer flowing) they also owned many acres of farmland outside the city where their tenants would farm the land and bring the produce to them here at this house.  The produce was stored in sheds at this location for ongoing sale throughout the year.  The family that lived in the house was quite large and included multi generations.  Most of the home was indoors (kitchen and bedrooms) but outside on the second floor there was a very large veranda that had three separate areas.  The furthest out and two steps higher was where the business of selling product of social of meeting with friends took place (coffee/tea would always be served for both business and social). That area had a low circular table in the middle with bench seating all the way round the outside.  The other two areas on the main floor of the veranda included a play area for children (they weren’t allowed to interfere in the adult conversations) and a sitting area for more socializing if there was business being done on the upper level.  Something that Leke didn’t even know was that whenever a home was constructed at that time a tree would always be planted at the same time beside the new homesite.  The belief was that the tree and the family would grow together and support one another in the process.  The tree that had been planted beside this home (so it too is 200 years old) is a type of berry tree.  We tasted the berries and while they look like an elongated raspberry/blackberry they don’t really taste like them.  This berry is not as sweet and in Turkish is called Det.  So….of course Mr Google helped me out and in fact in English we call it a Mulberry tree which makes a ton of sense to plant that beside a new home as it would be a source of many necessary vitamins and minerals and traditional medical ingredients for the family.  Leke told us that he was taught that this tree fruit was used for any kind of dental issues especially for children.  Mr Google tells me that its medicinal properties go far beyond that.

Once we’d seen and learned all we could from that fantastic stop we set out again in search of a restaurant Leke had recommended to us.  It serves up traditional fare, is fairly priced, and popular among locals.  We followed his directions and finally found it just the massive main walking area here that is comprised of many squares that run into one another.  That walking area has to be at least a kilometre long and is lined with shops and caffès and restaurants.  The one we were looking for was up a little side street and once we found it we felt like we’d discovered a little oasis.  Not that it was small inside because it was actually very large but it was as though you were in a garden.  The original building was still there (with tables in it too) and the entire “yard” had been walled in but there were still trees and grapes and flower gardens growing all around the tables.  It was beautiful and the food delicious and the bill was just 16 euros ($24) for the two of us! (And that includes the tip!)

Afterward we were off again…..we still hadn’t located that damn NEWBORN sign.  LOL. We’d been told it was at the start of the square so we went all the way to Klinton Blvd which is beyond the square and still no sign of it!  Yes, Klinton Blvd is named for Bill Clinton as he was the US President in office and the first major leader to come here in public support of Kosovo at the time of Kosovo’s independence.  On the upside, we did come across another beautiful church which was a welcome respite from the heat.  It turns out it was the Cathedral of Mother Theresa.  It is a beautiful big church with massive marble columns and carved pews and definitely worth the stop (even if there were a lot of stairs to get into it!). No need to climb the bell tower though as the view we get from our 6th floor apartment (that has an elevator) is higher than the bell tower.  :-)

Eventually we did locate the NEWBORN sign on a different street behind the Grand Hotel…..WTH….who planned where to put all these things?! LOL. On the downside….the sign that gets repainted annually to address the graffiti that finds its way to this piece of art….this year it seemed kind of dull to me.  I think it is just that the colours aren’t bright enough to make it stand out in its location.  And sadly there is already one graffiti painted on it.  UCK in graffiti is seen often around here and it is a symbol for the Kosovan Liberation Army which seems strange to me….to deface a symbol of the independence of Kosovo.  Oh well, I guess people who make graffiti and deface stuff don’t really think.  LOL

By the end of this long hot hike we were done and so it was time to find a taxi to take us back to the apartment.  The ride back took several minutes but the total bill was less than 4 euros ($6).  Taxis are super inexpensive here…not sure how that is possible as gas isn’t cheap so how they do it I don’t know.

One of the downturns today was that neither of us were able to have a shower this morning as there was no way we could lift the plunger on the tap!  Thankfully, the owner’s dad came to the rescue and with much brute force was able to lift it and that is where it will stay from this point forward!  So once back we were lined up for the shower only to discover that while water did come from the shower head now, it also came from the handle and the hose!  I’m guessing you get the picture…it’s not a great shower!  LOL. But it did do the job and we were both able to get refreshed and clean once again.  Another downside was that my bed is soooo hard I feel a bit like goldilocks trying to find the bed that is just right and not having much luck.  LOL. In an attempt to “fix” the problem we took the mattress off another bed (as there are three in this apartment) and put it on top of my mattress so now I’m like the princess and the pea.  LOL. I can still feel that “pea” but last night was a significant improvement.  :-)

The other high note last night was the call to prayer at sunset.  It was beautiful!  The sky was turning pink and purple and the call to prayer from our vantage in the apartment literally echoes between the buildings and because it is coming from more than 6 mosques we can see from the balcony it is like they’re all harmonizing and honestly it has for the first time in my experience really made me look forward to that call that happens 5 times each day.

So yes, Pristine has been a bit of a roller coaster but an enjoyable one nonetheless.  Till next time.

L & L