Pristina, Kosovo

Oct 26-28, 2018
Once I got home from school Mark and I ate a quick sandwich and then hopped in a taxi with Zude (Mark's fave taxi driver) to go to the bus station. We just missed the 5pm bus so we grabbed a "yay for the weekend" beer while we waited for the 530.

The bus was mostly empty which was nice. It took us 5 hours to get to Pristina (was supposed to be 3.5-4) but the bus had to cross the border which meant the agents boarded our bus twice to check each of our passports individually. On the flip side, we FINALLY have a European passport stamp. YaY!

We grabbed a taxi and were dropped off at what we thought was our accommodation around 10:45pm. Little did we know, we weren't at the right location. It was about 11 when the apartment owner came to collect us and drive us the rest of the way to his place. We pulled up and oh man... the apartment is 50 years old and it definitely looks its age. The building has a slew of exposed wires (oh hey Cuba) and an abandoned stairwell at the bottom. To reach the 6th floor we needed to push open the elevator doors manually and then step down into the stall ("don't worry that the floor drops when stepped on. it's perfectly safe" said no one ever).

Our unit has not one but two huge doors. They are super hard to open and Mark spent a good 7 minutes jiggling, wiggling and fadiddling to get us in.

Here's a fun fact as we continue on our Kosovo accommodation tour: the building is heated by steam radiators controlled by the city. Even though it is 45 degrees tonight, the city has opted not to turn the steam on (WTF?!) so our options are to: 1) burn matches all night long in hopes that they will provide enough warmth, 2) run as fast as we can back to the bus station and pray that there's another 5 hour bus heading back to Tirana tonight, OR 3) use a space heater that's competing against the building for the esteemed 'eldest' title. I was very aware of the potential hazards of choice 3- old wiring coupled with an even older space heater, so when Mark dozed off to sleep I was wide awake keeping an eye on the glowing orange monster next to our bed (I blame you for this, dad!). Rewinding to a bit earlier in the evening: we were given some good dinner recommendations but by the time we were able to get out and about it was already 1130 so we went to the route 66 diner right next door. It was packed. All the locals must know about the whole "no steam in the radiators" thing and are choosing to ride out their night at the diner and we figured, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. The burgers weren't great but the fries were pretty good and the heat was spot on.

Good news: our space heater didn't catch on fire. Bad news: someone across town wasn't so lucky. How do we know? Because this morning we were looking out our window at billowy smoke clouds rising up out of an old building. Seeing this made us want to get up and out quickly, but just the thought of showering turned my lips blue (escaping out of the bedroom and running to the toilet in the middle of the night only to be greeted by a seat that could've easily had icicles hanging from it was definitely not on my list of top 10 things to do at night) so I decided to be smelly sally for our Saturday excursions. In hindsight this was the right choice because Mark came out of the shower with too many stories to tell.

Today our plan is to explore the city-- Kosovo is celebrating 10 years of independence so there are some special exhibits to see. Right outside of our apartment is the famed "newborn" sign which is a staple in Pristina. The sign was erected when Kosovo first became independent. Because it is the 10 year anniversary, if you look closely, you'll see that the 'b' has actually been changed to a 10. We snapped a pic and then obviously, first things first, breakfast.

We headed to Tiffany, a traditional restaurant Mark's friend Lavdi recommended. We wandered around in the beautiful fall weather but couldn't find it and heaven forbid we ask for directions (such a guy thing!)

Anyone who knows me knows I can't go for very long without eating so between the casual wandering and Mark refusing to ask for directions before we knew it we were on a time crunch; if I didn't eat soon I was going to be the star of a snickers commercial  (you're not you when you're hungry!) Mark knows better than that (most of the time) so we ended up eating at Princesha Gresa because it was highly rated on trip advisor and damn was it good. We sat on the patio and were brought delicious warm bread with a white sauce for dipping. We didn't know we'd be getting this so we also ordered a traditional appetizer of peppers in cheese that ended up being too spicy for me. We tried Pristina beer (when in Pristina, right?!) and Mark had a Greek salad with amazing cheese and olives and I had a most wonderful pasta dish. Safe to say neither one of us would be starring in a snickers commercial anytime soon.

We walked down the street to a really full but beautiful outdoor coffee shop (it is the albanish way after all). I had a delicious mint tea and Mark had an espresso while we planned our day.

Our explorations started with the clock tower. It's one of the three oldest "buildings" in Pristina. Sadly, it's been given a graffiti makeover. Legend has it that many of the towns in the balkan region have clock towers because long ago the citizens were too poor to afford watches or clocks so they used the tower in the city centre to tell time. Many of the towers even had bells that chimed on the hour.

We continued along to the ethnographic museum which was by far my favorite part. We stumbled upon it accidentally (it feels like you're walking into someone's backyard) but lucked out because the curator was there so he offered to give us a tour. He was a wealth of knowledge. We learned about the prominent neighborhood family who lived in the house but eventually ended up moving to Turkey. During the time the house was occupied it was customary to have chairs that were incredibly low to the ground. There were only 9 chairs around the low table and the rest of the people were expected to sit on the floor. There were big chimneys because fires were the only source of heat. The most impressive part to me however was the large guest house. The sitting room in this house was massive because the family accommodated many travelers, making sure they always had a place to sit, eat and rest their head. The curator also shared stories about his time as a refugee in Albania while the war in Kosovo was taking place. These are the stories we don't read in books or learn about in school but we should. These are the stories of families being separated, being forced to flee their homes, being unsure of if or when they will be able to return to their country. These are the stories that are impactful, thought provoking and sobering, and these are the stories that should be told.

After leaving the museum we wandered through a local bazaar that had a bit of everything from fruits and veggies to home goods to beautiful traditional clothing. By far the best find were the wooden, handmade cradles that are traditional for Kosovar babies to sleep in.

I noticed a shop on the outskirts of the market called Republic of Tea so I hurried Mark inside. I've been searching for quality tea since arriving in Albania but had yet to be successful (I missed the memo that Albania's a coffee country, not a tea one) To my surprise, Republic of Tea was really a gentleman's club with one standard black tea and communal sugar bowls. We looked around to see that all of the other men were taking the spoons out of their hot tea, dipping them into the sugar bowls and then putting them back into their teacups. We looked at one another and figured, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

After our sub par tea experience we needed a little excitement in our lives. What's more exciting than going to a mosque? How about going inside of a mosque you're not supposed to enter. Womp. Womp. Would've been exciting, had this been the case, but it wasn't. Prior to our trip Mark sent me a Kosovo blog to read. I read on the blog that the mosque was one of the most beautiful buildings to see in Pristina and that it was fine for people of other faiths to enter. Mark doesn't trust the internet so he insisted on texting his friend Egzon (a Pristina local) to settle the matter. Egzon verified my info so we entered the mosque and were struck by it's beauty. We don't have any photos to share out of respect for those who worship in the mosque, but I do urge you to enter a visitor friendly mosque if you ever have the chance because the experience is worth it.

Want to know the best part? Later that evening we met up with Mark's friends, Lavdi and Egzon for dinner. It came out during dinner that the Kosovo blog I happened to be reading was Lavdi's (a local Kosovar) AND that Egzon had no idea whether Mark and I could enter the mosque when he received our text, but figured we should try so texted us that it was ok. That'll teach my husband to trust the internet, but more importantly his wife. It also came out during dinner that the city has turned on the steam to heat the radiators (WTF?!) so the system in our building must be broken. hmm... makes sense why the diner was so warm and cozy. We had a lovely dinner catching up with Mark's friends (they studied in Chicago at IIT together).

After dinner we went to a lively bar that looked like it was built inside a renovated house. We tried more local beer and then moved on to one of Lavdi's favorite coffee shop by day/bar by night hangouts. There were tons of books in ENGLISH lining the walls. I was so excited that I made Mark promise we could come back the next day to buy a few.

We parted ways with Mark's friends but decided that the night was cold and young and so were we and that we wouldn't be getting any younger by going home and that we wouldn't be getting any warmer by going home either. We decided to check out a bar called 9 that was closer to our apartment. The bar was hosting a private party but because we were Americans the bartender let us right in. We chose a table in the back because we didn't want any basic bitches busting our butts for breaking into their birthday blowout. The bartender started chatting with us and told us about a club nearby that we should check out. Before leaving for Kosovo my coworkers told me I had to do two things: try the shopping and try the nightlife. We hit up a ton of the discount shops earlier in the day so now was our chance to experience the clubs. When in Pristina, right? The club was on top of a hotel and looked out over the city. The DJ was driving my nuts because he'd play 1/4 of a song and then instead of remixing it into the next song for a smooth transition he would stop the music for a few seconds, find his next song and then pump it through the speakers, only to repeat the process all over again. Mark and I danced for awhile but before long I couldn't handle being thrust into silence mid dance move every 64 counts. We stopped by Route 66 for a bedtime snack before heading back to our frigid apartment. Luckily for us however, we may not have gotten younger as the night went on, but we definitely got warmer :)
We were 2/2 in space heater safety and damn were we glad. We got up Sunday morning and took a few photos of our view (without smoke clouds this time)

Did I forget to mention that in order to get this view we had to exit our bedroom, complete with an AM/FM radio bed and wander through our 1950s kitchen and living room out into a tiny enclosed hallway?

After spending as much time as our cramped legs could handle admiring the city from the inside we headed outside to a cafe with amazing fresh squeezed juices (Mark ordered lemon juice thinking it would be lemonade... nope. it was literally fresh squeezed lemons in a cup!) We both had a hearty breakfast and then sat around for over an hour waiting for our breakfast dessert (the crepes looked decadent!) but because we had to catch a bus back to Tirana we ended up leaving without getting to taste one. Mark and I thoroughly enjoyed Pristina, not only for it's delicious dishes, quaint atmosphere and amazing shopping, but also for the people we met and the stories we heard. It's a small country with a lot of history that's definitely worth visiting.

Tour Guiding in Tirana

Weekend of September 14th-16th 2018

Friday night we went to the mall to eat dinner at Veranda, a patio restaurant that looks out over the city. The food is really delicious and different from most Albanian restaurants (like skewers with cantaloupe, mozzarella and prosciutto) . The beers are good and the margaritas are not so good. The view of the city as the sun sets is incredible.

We enjoyed our evening until the mosquitoes and gnats showed up in swarms; then we knew it was time to leave. On our way out I stopped in the bathroom and much to my surprise it was communal (I've come to learn that these are quite common in Albania) It consists of one male stall and one female stall both in the same room. It definitely threw me for a minute but hey it's nothing I can't get used to. The one thing that I am having a hard time getting used to though is the automatic bathroom lights. They're controlled by sensors and apparently just doing your business isn't enough "sense" for them, so needless to say I've had the lights shut off on me more than my fair share of times. The first time it happened I was really alarmed and worried that the power in the whole restaurant had gone out. I got up off the toilet to grab my phone so I could see and ironically enough the lights turned back on. Now, after some extensive trial and error research, here are a few things I've learned:
1. some bathroom sensors have a larger scope than others, so when in a stall with this type you can wave your hands above your head like a mad woman and the lights will turn back on
2. some sensors are overly sensitive and require you to get up and wander around the dark stall with your pants around your ankles for 20-30 seconds before the lights will go back on
3. and some sensors (the best ones of all) have just stopped working altogether and therefore leave you in the dark no matter how many mad woman waves and Beyonce dance moves you try to seduce them with
Because of this, I am now fairly confident in my abilities to use the bathroom in the dark and will start advertising this as a fun fact about myself when I return home to the states. Until then, here's what we did with the rest of our weekend-
Because Mark is a wonderful husband he agreed to come into school with me on Saturday to help me finish setting up my classroom. Little did he know that because of my broken wrist "helping me set up" quickly turned into "Mark setting up". All things considered, I think it turned out pretty damn great (if I do say so myself).

As a reward for all of Mark's hard work, I treated him to dinner at a local castle. Yes, you heard correctly: a local castle. That's a thing around here. And Mark happens to be obsessed with them so I figured he deserved a little indulgence after all of his hard work. Anyway, this particular castle was unique because it had these big circular balconies jutting out of it. In each balcony was a private table and in order to reach it the waiter had to walk down a long private wooded walkway. It was incredibly delicious and there was more food than we ever could have hoped for. It was definitely a Saturday evening done right.

Sunday's weather was gorgeous so we decided to do some sight seeing around Tirana. As we wandered we came across our first (of many) soviet bunker. I had never been inside a bunker before, and while this one was quite small, I found the idea of entering quite intriguing. After climbing in we found that the gun mounts were still attached (apparently this is something I'm supposed to be excited about).

During our self guided walking tour we also stumbled upon 'the pyramid', a historical landmark here in Tirana. While there's a lot of debate surrounding whether or not it should be demolished, the pyramid does tell an interesting story. It's symbolic of communism because it was built in honor of Enver Hoxha, an Albanian leader who believed wholeheartedly in extending the values and ideologies of Stalinism. It remained a museum for many years, but in 1991 was converted into a convention center because Albanian ideologies and beliefs began to shift away from communism. The pyramid has changed hands several times since which has caused it to come into a state of disrepair, including broken windows and graffiti covered walls. The pyramid is representative of the many times Albania's leadership has changed hands and of the conflicts that has brought the country. However, Albania has withstood the test of time and while some of the old policies aren't beautiful to look at, they have helped shape Albania into the country it is today. I vote for the pyramid to stay, if for no other reason than the fact that it has been turned into the biggest, steepest, most slippery slide in Tirana. I'm so coming back once my wrist isn't broken!

As we continued our journey we came across the famed "I <3 Tirana" sign which even shows up as a pin on google maps (so it must be important, right?).

Scoping out all of these "local hot spots" made our walk to lunch enjoyable, however, a girl's gotta eat at some point, so I stopped our terrifically Tirana tour guide from taking any more detours and instead insisted that he take us directly to lunch. We had a lovely meal with octopus, traditional albanian stuffed peppers, breadsticks in olive dip and albanian meatballs, at SkyHotel, which has a restaurant multiple stories up that provides a gorgeous, sweeping view of the city. On our way home we decided to walk along the river that cuts through the center of the city; it's barely wider than ten feet across in some places, yet there are bridges that span it.

The man made lake with the fountain is much, much larger and always a sight for sore eyes (and sore feet!) after a long walk because it means we are getting very close to home.