WELCOME TO WARM SNOWY KOSOVO

Trip Start Feb 16, 2009

Trip End Apr 16, 2009

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Where I stayed

Guest House Bujtine Pristina

(Pristina hotels)

Flag of Serbia Pristina, Serbia
Friday, March 13, 2009

A long lonely road leads from Beograd to Kosovo, like some silly clich� being spoken for the umpteenth million time, but lending some credence to its claims of independence, regardless of the ethnicities involved. But first we go more than half way back to Nis before turning west, aggravating my 'no backtrack' sensibilities a bit. It seems like somebody in Sofia, Bulgaria, could organize a connection to Pristina at least as good as what I had to Beograd. I guess they did; it's called Macedonia. At the de facto border Serbia checks me out, but I don't think I ever got checked in, just glanced at. I guess the UN doesn't do that; only real countries do. Kosovo has still got a ways to go. Immediately the scenery changes, though. Instead of the well-defined countryside of Serbia, with its tilled soils and trash-strewn roads and streams, we're back into the mixed town/country hazh-pazh like Albania. I guess it's part of the ethnic character of these ethnic Albanians. Is city planning hard-wired into the DNA?

So I get into town after dark and get a taxi up into the hills overlooking town where 'the professor' runs his guesthouse/hostel

long way from home

. He's a nice old man who studied engineering in the UK, doing graduate work some time back in the 70's. Hey, wait a minute... I graduated college in the 70's. Do I look that old? Anyway, he's got a nice enough place with real radiated heat in the rooms. We need it; the next day the first thing I see is snow coming down. The problem with hostels is that they're frequently far removed from the center of town, necessitating bus rides or long walks. Fortunately I like to walk. That doesn't help much late at night of course, but I don't do late nights much any more any way. The good thing, in addition to their reasonable cost, is the chance to meet other travelers and/or to more or less have an apartment in a foreign country on a temporary basis. They come in all flavors, from sub-leased flats to extra rooms in somebody's house. The 'profesor's place is more like the latter, complete with instructions to remove shoes. I tell him that's no problem after living in Thailand for ten years. I think some of these people get a kick out of seeing an old geezer like me still trucking.

Kosovo is not exactly a hot spot for travelers these days, not yet at least. Right now it's more of a joint project between the UN and EU, keeping the Serbians at bay, the EU presence in evidence everywhere. As such it's the largest preserve of second-language English speakers between Athens and Dubrovnik

things looking up

. If this improves its possibilities for tourism, that hasn't happened yet, though the possibilities are there. Transportation agents just assumed I would be returning, as if I were another UN operative, as if they'd never seen a tourist buy a one-way ticket. The food here is good, thanks to the historic association with Islam and Ottoman Turkey. In addition to the ubiquitous kebaptores and their meaty grill smells wafting over the streets, there are gulashes and musakas and other saucier dishes that are all quite good and reasonably priced. I had one of the best hamburgers in years here, one of the first in years, too, for that matter. There are also local versions of Italian dishes such as lasagna. So the question still remains of the Italian connection with Albanian culture. Is that a product of colonialism or long-standing relations or did I perceive that because they took me for an Italian in Albania?

Certain the Albanian/Illyrian culture is as ancient as the Italian and has long been in contact. They too were around long before the Germans began pouring in from the north and the Slavs from the East. They even kiss and hug all the time just like Italians. They hang out in cafes all day just like Italians would do if the cafes would let them. Though the language contains many superficial resemblances to Italian, though, most of that are the buzz words of trade, not core vocabulary

smoke 'em if you got 'em

. And while Albania itself may have a greater Italian influence than Kosovo, I think that Albania DID take me for an Italian, especially after I started speaking it in the market, for lack of options. The Kosovans take me for a German. Is Albanian culture the missing link between northern and southern Europe? I've always wondered where the French negative pas comes from. Well, there it is, right there on the Nescafe machine in Kosovo- pa/me = with/without (sugar). At least they ended up with a country of their own, maybe two. The Celts were the big losers, despite Irish claims to their heritage.

Mother Teresa is the Albanian region's main claim to fame and statues of her abound. We certainly needed some divine intervention on the bus trip out of the country. Usually when you cross a border you pass one country's gate and the other is a few minutes away- not here. Not only did we climb the narrowest steepest mountain pass that I've EVER been on, it just happened to be at the border between two countries, and it just happened to be snowing at the time. Oh shit! This is nothing like the little dusting Mladen and I got back in Macedonia. This is real! Snow banks are piled up on the side of the road, plows are operating steadily, and many passages are one-lane-only. Most of the other traffic was eighteen-wheelers! Okay God, here's the deal: just one more favor and we're even, okay? I promise! When we finally get to the other border gate I'm wide awake from anxiety and fear. But mostly I just want some warmer weather- sunny beach or bust! I'm swearing off long johns forever! As if the weather weren't bad enough, the drivers have got some screeching local music DVD on 'replay' to well past midnight and the seats are cramped enough to give a dwarf thrombo-phlebitis. Stay tuned.