A Weekend in Pristina

I have to say, Pristina is looking up these days. Every time I go, I like it just a little bit better. I went on Friday, spent two nights, and returned to Prizren on Sunday. It felt like a mini-holiday.

Things I enjoyed:

Rings: Food, Whine & cafe (that's according to the receipt, anyways!). Rings looks to be a fairly new establishment next to Ipko on Nena Tereza (the main pedestrian drag). Twice, I went in for drinks only (port, macchiato, and a freshly squeezed orange juice), and it was good. The bathrooms are clean, the service is okay, the decor is masculine green & burgundy striped wallpaper with a wall of glassed-in bamboo. The prices were reasonable. The only downfall, and it is the same downfall of most Kosovar eating establishments, was the cigarette smoke. Blech. Kosovars smoke like chimneys. Gross.

The Ninety One. This place is located down by the main police station, across from UNMIK headquarters. I'd walked by it several times before, but went in for the first time on Friday night. They have Guinness on tap for 4 Euros a pint. Cheaper than Japan, but definitely expensive for Kosovo. The bathrooms here were decent, too. Again, the main downfall was the cigarette smoke.

Home. A restaurant near OSCE that's tucked in behind some foliage. They serve 'international' food. My lunch was a three-course affair with salad, Morrocan chicken & couscous, and a fruit salad. Unexpectedly excellent. The bathroom here is small and cramped and there wasn't any toilet paper (which is totally normal for Kosovo).

Vogue Hair. The main reason for my visit to Pristina was to get my hair cut. As usual, Armend did a fabulous job. It was a little bit cheaper this time. It only set me back 10 Euros.

The Jewish Cemetery. It was worth finding. Many of the graves are overgrown and scattered all around what amounts to a small park. But it was culturally interesting. I don't think there are many Jews here.

ABC Cinema. I went and saw The International. It was my first movie in Kosovo. Cost: 3 Euros.

Dit e Nat. This is a new bookstore/cafe. It's expensive, and they didn't have any of the lemon tart advertised on the specials board, but I did browse the fairly impressive English section and I walked out with a Murakami book that was a mere 7 Euros.

The things I didn't like.

Tiffany's Restaurant. It was supposed to be good, homestyle, Balkan-Albanian-Kosovar food. What it was was outrageously overpriced (even for me, a woman with American spending ability). The food was salty, oily, and highly disappointing. They did do a good mixed salad (with lettuce, carrots, beans, beets, cucumbers, and tomatoes), and their bread was hot and fresh. Note to self: never order at a place with neither a menu nor printed prices.

XIX. I went here Sunday morning to try out their "full British breakfast." Unfamiliar with a British breakfast? Basically it's fried eggs, beans, cooked tomatoes, and sausage. At XIX it wasn't very good. Greasy and the beans were funky. I've had good pizza here in the past which is why I went in to try out the breakfast.

The things that were on the fence.

Furra Lumi. I've had really good baked goods from Furra Lumi and I've had really bad baked goods from Furra Lumi. The trick is to buy something that was made that day. Items that have been left in the case overnight are stale, chewy, and just not very good and it's tough tell what's fresh and what's not just by sight. Furra Lumi customer beware.

Obviously, I spend a lot of time eating, walking, and thinking about food. I like to travel by the seat of my stomach. :)