Kosovo
The only thing that comes to mind when I think of Kosovo is war. And it's debatable if it's even a country since its independence is agreed by only a bit more than half of the nations in the UN. Serbia still sees Kosovo as it's territory and right before me and my friend Michael went there for a road trip Serbia sent a train to Kosovo with a loud message about this on the outside of the train. "Kosovo Is Serbia" was written in 21 languages on the train and I was afraid that this was a start of a new war between the countries.
Me and Michael came from Macedonia by car and already in the customs to Kosovo I was both excited and scared of what was waiting for us. The roads were very poor and since they were falling apart on the sides you had to drive close to the oncoming traffic to still stay on the road. It's not often that you get happy that you survived every encounter with a car heading in the different direction. One time we went the wrong way and drove on a dirt road with gigantic holes in it that was leading to some mines but it took a while before we even understood that this was not the road we were supposed to be on, since you almost can't tell the different from these roads and normal roads in Kosovo.
We went up a mountain and the feeling of early spring that we had felt in Macedonia suddenly turned into a snowy winter feeling in Kosovo. The fog was so heavy that we could barely see what was down in the valley below and we couldn't understand that we were close to Prizren where we would be staying. It's the second biggest city in the country and it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.
A stray dog suddenly turned up from nowhere when we were going down the mountain again by car, and I was just about to say to Michael that I always read warnings about wild dogs in countries like these and that I never had understood why. The dog was going up the mountain on the opposite side and suddenly he got a crazy rabies look in his eyes and he started to attack the car while barking. The only thing I can say is that I was happy being protected by a car or else it felt like he would have eaten us alive. Right after we had calmed down a bit from the shock of the attack we saw a family walking up the mountain in the same direction as the dog, and I wonder if they are still alive or the dog had a feast coming for him. Maybe we should have warned them?
Suddenly Prizren was there out of nowhere down in the valley and it looked amazing. It looked as something from the middle ages and when we tried to look for the hotel I thought we would never get out of there with the car again. The streets are so narrow and with holes in them that could make a whole wheel disappear, and they are so steep that you think you won't get up or down on them. We looked for the hotel but we couldn't find it, and when we thought we had found the right address there was just an empty shell of a building that was being built. We thought we had been screwed but thanks to some friendly locals we finally located the hidden hotel. The parking lot next to it was nothing else but a small empty space next to a dumpster with dirty mattresses lying around. It was supposed to be a fancy hotel compared to the standard in Kosovo and I had no complains except for the door handle on the toilet to fall off every time you used it. And since me and Michael are friends but not friends with benefits we didn't enjoy the open shower in the room next to the beds. If I was there with a girlfriend I would have no complain though! The view from the room was amazing even though it's always a warning sign flashing when you're at a hotel next to a mosque since the early prayers wake you up.
We walked around the city and even though it's a small city I enjoyed the atmosphere and I was surprised how much I liked it. It was a hidden gem that most people will never go to and I felt that this is the reason why I should try and see every country in the world, because I could never had imagined I would love being in Kosovo. Sometimes I didn't know if we were in Kosovo or Albania though, since I saw more Albanian flags and maps than their own. In this southwest part of Kosovo they seem to worship Albania as the best country in the world, and at this moment I didn't know it was the worst yet.
We continued our road trip to Albania and Montenegro before we got back to Kosovo again to go back to Macedonia. This time we would take another road that seemed like a longer way but at the same time we thought we would save time by going on the main road instead of up the mountains again. What we didn't know was that they rebuild almost every road in Kosovo, and we almost had to drive to the capital of Pristina before we could start to go down south again to head to Macedonia, so it was a time consuming way we chose but at the same time it was fun to see more of Kosovo. Outside of Prizren we could tell that the country is one of the most poor in Europe. A third of the population are considered to live in poverty and half of the population are unemployed.
Considering this, it was strange to see a limousine business blooming in one of the most industrial parts of Kosovo. I couldn't help but to think who would use their service since it was in a remote area, I don't think the industrial workers use them to go get food on their lunch break. And it seemed even more bizarre since there are still road signs for tanks, to remind you that it's still a war zone even though it's quite peaceful right now.
Another thing that reminded me of the war was when we had a stop right before the Macedonian border to take a leak in the wilderness and when I was going back to the car again I got reminded of the warnings of land mines that are still out there. That's when I saw some weird and quite big animal lying on the ground as a skeleton with every teeth intact, and next to it was a small area inside barricade tape that was as big as a land mine. My mind got racing and I was happy to go inside the car again and out on the safe road. The last thing we saw of Kosovo before we went over the border to Macedonia were groups of up to 6 kids hitchhiking. I just had two questions, how would anyone fit 6 extra people in their car and how would we get them over the border without passports? Because if they had any they could just walk across the border themselves.
* Best things about Kosovo – The city of Prizren, it's a small hidden gem in a country that is one of the most poor in Europe
* Most mediocre thing about Kosovo – it's nice to see all the new roads being built and it actually feels like the country is moving in the right direction, but at the same time it's impossible to get around the country if every old road is closed
* Worst things about Kosovo – for us as tourists it's probably poor roads, attacking wild dogs and toilet handles falling off, but for people of Kosovo it's poverty and the memories of the war and the threat of a new war coming
Best countries in the world according to the nerd (will be updated with every post):
1. Andorra
2. Cyprus
3. Greece
4. Italy
5. Iceland
6. Denmark
7. Ireland
8. Belgium
9. Estonia
10. Kosovo
11. Finland
12. France
13. Bulgaria
14. China
15. Bosnia And Herzegovina
16. Albania
Me and Michael came from Macedonia by car and already in the customs to Kosovo I was both excited and scared of what was waiting for us. The roads were very poor and since they were falling apart on the sides you had to drive close to the oncoming traffic to still stay on the road. It's not often that you get happy that you survived every encounter with a car heading in the different direction. One time we went the wrong way and drove on a dirt road with gigantic holes in it that was leading to some mines but it took a while before we even understood that this was not the road we were supposed to be on, since you almost can't tell the different from these roads and normal roads in Kosovo.
We went up a mountain and the feeling of early spring that we had felt in Macedonia suddenly turned into a snowy winter feeling in Kosovo. The fog was so heavy that we could barely see what was down in the valley below and we couldn't understand that we were close to Prizren where we would be staying. It's the second biggest city in the country and it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.
A stray dog suddenly turned up from nowhere when we were going down the mountain again by car, and I was just about to say to Michael that I always read warnings about wild dogs in countries like these and that I never had understood why. The dog was going up the mountain on the opposite side and suddenly he got a crazy rabies look in his eyes and he started to attack the car while barking. The only thing I can say is that I was happy being protected by a car or else it felt like he would have eaten us alive. Right after we had calmed down a bit from the shock of the attack we saw a family walking up the mountain in the same direction as the dog, and I wonder if they are still alive or the dog had a feast coming for him. Maybe we should have warned them?
Suddenly Prizren was there out of nowhere down in the valley and it looked amazing. It looked as something from the middle ages and when we tried to look for the hotel I thought we would never get out of there with the car again. The streets are so narrow and with holes in them that could make a whole wheel disappear, and they are so steep that you think you won't get up or down on them. We looked for the hotel but we couldn't find it, and when we thought we had found the right address there was just an empty shell of a building that was being built. We thought we had been screwed but thanks to some friendly locals we finally located the hidden hotel. The parking lot next to it was nothing else but a small empty space next to a dumpster with dirty mattresses lying around. It was supposed to be a fancy hotel compared to the standard in Kosovo and I had no complains except for the door handle on the toilet to fall off every time you used it. And since me and Michael are friends but not friends with benefits we didn't enjoy the open shower in the room next to the beds. If I was there with a girlfriend I would have no complain though! The view from the room was amazing even though it's always a warning sign flashing when you're at a hotel next to a mosque since the early prayers wake you up.
A beautiful view from the hotel
We walked around the city and even though it's a small city I enjoyed the atmosphere and I was surprised how much I liked it. It was a hidden gem that most people will never go to and I felt that this is the reason why I should try and see every country in the world, because I could never had imagined I would love being in Kosovo. Sometimes I didn't know if we were in Kosovo or Albania though, since I saw more Albanian flags and maps than their own. In this southwest part of Kosovo they seem to worship Albania as the best country in the world, and at this moment I didn't know it was the worst yet.
We continued our road trip to Albania and Montenegro before we got back to Kosovo again to go back to Macedonia. This time we would take another road that seemed like a longer way but at the same time we thought we would save time by going on the main road instead of up the mountains again. What we didn't know was that they rebuild almost every road in Kosovo, and we almost had to drive to the capital of Pristina before we could start to go down south again to head to Macedonia, so it was a time consuming way we chose but at the same time it was fun to see more of Kosovo. Outside of Prizren we could tell that the country is one of the most poor in Europe. A third of the population are considered to live in poverty and half of the population are unemployed.
Considering this, it was strange to see a limousine business blooming in one of the most industrial parts of Kosovo. I couldn't help but to think who would use their service since it was in a remote area, I don't think the industrial workers use them to go get food on their lunch break. And it seemed even more bizarre since there are still road signs for tanks, to remind you that it's still a war zone even though it's quite peaceful right now.
Another thing that reminded me of the war was when we had a stop right before the Macedonian border to take a leak in the wilderness and when I was going back to the car again I got reminded of the warnings of land mines that are still out there. That's when I saw some weird and quite big animal lying on the ground as a skeleton with every teeth intact, and next to it was a small area inside barricade tape that was as big as a land mine. My mind got racing and I was happy to go inside the car again and out on the safe road. The last thing we saw of Kosovo before we went over the border to Macedonia were groups of up to 6 kids hitchhiking. I just had two questions, how would anyone fit 6 extra people in their car and how would we get them over the border without passports? Because if they had any they could just walk across the border themselves.
* Best things about Kosovo – The city of Prizren, it's a small hidden gem in a country that is one of the most poor in Europe
* Most mediocre thing about Kosovo – it's nice to see all the new roads being built and it actually feels like the country is moving in the right direction, but at the same time it's impossible to get around the country if every old road is closed
* Worst things about Kosovo – for us as tourists it's probably poor roads, attacking wild dogs and toilet handles falling off, but for people of Kosovo it's poverty and the memories of the war and the threat of a new war coming
Best countries in the world according to the nerd (will be updated with every post):
1. Andorra
2. Cyprus
3. Greece
4. Italy
5. Iceland
6. Denmark
7. Ireland
8. Belgium
9. Estonia
10. Kosovo
11. Finland
12. France
13. Bulgaria
14. China
15. Bosnia And Herzegovina
16. Albania
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