Pristina, Kosovo

I think Pristina and Kosovo really showed us what travelling is all about, but let me try to explain it… 

There is a fairly active online community that offers free or cheap accommodation for travellers and in return, the travellers are supposed to help out with various tasks. A good while ago, way before we started travelling, Sarah saw a post from Viktor, offering to stay at his house in Prapashticë in the countryside close to Pristina, looking predominantly for some help with his garden and on his plot of land. While we didn’t have a precise route in mind at the time, we wanted to visit the Kosovo so Sarah got in touch with Viktor and a very friendly online exchange started. When we were in Nis and knew a more precise date for us to hit Kosovo, Viktor once again generously offered us to visit his house close to Pristina. As this was a new form of travelling for us, as well, we were a little hesitant in the beginning, but eventually agreed, as visiting a country is one thing, but actually meeting the people that live there makes travelling what it’s supposed to be: An exchange. Learning, and a deep dive into other people’s way of living. On our last morning in Nis, when we were visting the “3 Fists” memorial site for the fallen citzens of Nis during World War II, we exchanged arrival times, but the plan changed a little, as Viktor invited us to his and his family’s place in Pristina. We bought into it and simply said: Let’s do it! A few hours and a few nerve wrecking kilometres later, we were welcomed by Viktor, his wife Linda and their kids Eron, Laura and Jara. And honestly, I think agreeing to the unexpected was probably the best decision we had made on our journey thus far. Vickor’s family really made us feel at home, despite the fact that we had only exchanged a few online messages, and so we found ourselves at a dinner table in the heart of Pristina. As Viktor had worked in Switzerland for more than two decades, there was no language barrier which of course helped the relationship to grow. We were more than generously allowed to stay in one of his apartments in a house he and his family built some years ago, a perfect homebase for us to explore yet another capital.

Pristina is the largest city of Kosovo and the economic and administrative center of the country. It is located a little east of the very center of Kosovo and it has been inhabited since the Neolithic Era since around 7,000 BCE so deep-diving into the history of this country would result in more than an essay. After the Roman Empire was divided into a western and an eastern empire, the area remained with the Byzantine Empire. Before it entered the Ottoman era as other regions in the area, it was annexed by the growing Kingdom of Serbia in the 13th century. During the following centuries under Ottoman rule, Pristina developed from a village with some hundred households to a major center for the region. Ottoman rule ended with the first Balkan War in 1912, where Pristina and its inhabitants suffered many atrocities from the Serbian army. A conflict that left many scars with the people of Kosovo and climaxed once more less than a century later with the Kosovo War in 1999. Similar to the conflict around Sarajevo, the war in the Kosovo feels present in that way as we, born in the mid 80’s, heard about it in the news and discussed it in school. Yet again, we obviously felt far away from it and visiting the country and talking to people who experienced it first hand, was deeply moving. The conflict lasted from February 1998 to June 1999, and it originated from a long lasting ethnic and political tension between Kosovo's Albanian majority and the Serbian/ Yugoslav authorities. As Kosovo’s autonomy was revoked by the Serbian authorities in 1989, the Albanian language, institutions and rights were continuously repressed. Already in the mid-90s, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)began armed attacks, fighting for an independent state. In 1999, when violence escalated, NATO intervened with a 78 day air campaign against Yugoslav targets, after peace talks had failed. Kosovo was then placed under UN administration with NATO-led peacekeepers (KFOR). The KFOR is still present in today’s Kosovo.

All that however, only played a minor role during our days in Pristina. After we were shown our place to stay, we wandered through a very lively city of Pristina, went up the Mother Theresa Cathedral (until my vertigo kicked in…), looked at the impressive “Biblioteka Kombëtare e Kosovës” (National Library of Kosovo), and grabbed a small bite to eat at one of the many packed restaurants in the city center. Since Kosovo started using the Euro the same year as Germany there wasn’t even any conversion needed. When we came back to the apartment, Viktor and his family already expected us with a bucket of ice cold beers and local delicacies. The kids played on their lovely roof terrasse, overlooking the city of Pristina and many beers later, we went to bed after a fantastic first day in the capital of Kosovo.

On our second day, after a generous breakfast prepared by Viktor’s wife, we visited a bear sanctuary just outside of the city, joined by Viktor’s daughter, who already formed a bond with our daughter. After weeks with “only” her parents, a very welcomed change for Leni.  A very new and spacious area, dedicated to the rescue and wellbeing of bears, that had previously been abused as restaurant attractions or even as pets. As these impressive animals never learned to life in nature, this place takes care of the animals and makes sure they get to spend their remaining years in species-appropriate conditions. On our way back to the city, we made another stop at the Gračanica Monastery, a Serbian Orthodox Monastery that was built in 1312 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gra%C4%8Danica_Monastery). This beautiful monastery was placed under the UNESCO’s World Heritage List and was definitely worth a visit.

The generosity of Viktor and his family wouldn’t end here, though, as later that day, we continued our journey to their house in the countryside, where we, once again, were allowed to stay for some more nights. More on that in our next update! But already at this point, we can’t thank Viktor’s family enough for their incredible hospitality. While the previous weeks have already been an absolute joy, the last couple of days in Pristina and now in Prapashticë really showed us that beautiful things can happen, if you allow it…