To Pristina and Back

I went to Pristina yesterday. I don't much like going there. It takes two hours to go the 50 miles to the capital on busses that are squeaky and herky-jerky. At least passengers aren't allowed to smoke, but I never sit by the driver because he usually does.

The view from my seat

About half-way through the ride, we were stopped. Three KFOR soldiers boarded and checked everybody's ID. Not everyone had ID, though, and the soldiers didn't seem able to speak Albanian (they were Swiss). However, they did their best to impress upon the non-ID'd passengers that it really does need to be carried at all times. I was watching a young man near me try to slip his identification out of his wallet and his hands were shanking so badly he took several tries to remove it.

Going through such checkpoints doesn't bother me. It's a lot like going through the border with Macedonia. The main difference being that the border guards wear pistols on their hips whereas KFOR has these huge sternum-to-knee length numbers. I was watching one soldier who was standing next to my seat. His finger wasn't on the trigger, but he was ready to put that thing into action. It's unnerving. I'm lucky to be a woman and an American. It give me a buffer that a young man (be he Albanian, Serb, Bosniak, Roma, et cetera) doesn't have.

I got off the bus at the Victory Hotel in Pristina (if you stay on the bus all the way to the station, it's a bit longer and more tricky to walk into town). I passed several billboards celebrating Kosovo's independence:

This says "For Kosovo" in different languages

From the National Albanian American Council

A billboard from Peja beer

The time is now to drink tea

In downtown Pristina, there's a metal sign that says "Newborn." Aside from that, Pristina looks much like it did before independence.

I walked up to the US Embassy to sign some paperwork. There was increased security and a lot of people on the compound, but nothing terribly unusual was afoot.

Pristina

I had to stand on a pile of trash to get the picture above this one. There is trash everywhere.

After leaving the US compound, I met up with a colleague and we went to Odyssa (or is it Odeyssa or Odessa...I can't remember). It's a wonderful little bakery not far from the UN compound in downtown Pristina. I had a sandwich with feta, tomato, walnuts, and pesto on a whole wheat roll. Whole wheat! Finding anything other than white bread is notable. I bought a small apple tart to take home with me. It was delicious. Just like home.

On the bus ride back to Prizren, we were again stopped at the same checkpoint. Three soldiers hopped on, checked everyone's ID's, and were off the bus in no time. Before we knew it, we were back on the road hurtling back towards Prizren.