Gëzuar Pavarësin Kosovë.

It's been five years since Kosovo declared independence. Happy Birthday! 

Kosovo: The Passport Entry Stamp Error

I was in Kosovo this past weekend for a quick visit. I didn't realize until I was getting ready to leave, though, that when my passport was stamped upon entry at the Pristina airport, the date on the stamp was wrong. Luckily, this didn't cause me any problems, but I've never had my passport stamped with the wrong date before.

100 Vjet Pavaresi

Did you know that the Albanian nation turns 100 tomorrow?

Driving in Kosovo

Man, the new highway is n-i-c-e!

Avalanche: Restelica, Kosovo

From today's news:

At least 7 dead in Kosovo avalanche 


Child found alive in house flattened by massive avalanche that killed 7 in southern Kosovo


Kosovo: avalanche mortelle dans les montagnes de la Gora

Restelica is a village to the south west of Prizren on a tongue of land that is nestled right in between Albania and Macedonia. It's a beautiful area just ripe for hiking (as long as the landmines have been cleared....haven't checked into that lately). Like much of the rest of the Balkans, Kosovo is having an unusually high snowfall this year.

Now Reading Travels in Blood and Honey: becoming a beekeeper in Kosovo

I just started reading Elizabeth Gowing's Travels in Blood and Honey: becoming a beekeeper in Kosovo. In the first chapter, she writes about driving into Pristina from the airport so now I'm thinking of my own entry four years ago. It was late afternoon. I'd been travelling for 24 hours, and I'd had a hard time making sense of the questions being asked by the customs officer. I'd needed to use the bathroom and the toilet had a wet floor, a door that didn't lock, and no toilet paper.  All of the luggage going around the carousel seemed to belong to everybody else but me. Finally, my bags came through and I walked outside and into a circle of people standing around smoking and waiting for arriving passengers. The US Office had sent a driver to pick me up and take me to my hotel. He must have been able to tell I was his because he came up to me and asked if I was Ms. Mashinter. As we walked out towards the car, we shared normal small talk, but then I started asking him about license plates: I saw white ones and blue ones and black ones and yellow ones. There were ones on military jeeps and ones on cars and ones on tanks. There were Serbian ones and German ones and Macedonian ones and Albanian ones and Kosovar ones and American ones. And it seemed like there was so much to say about these license plates that I don't remember the ride in. I only remember asking him about each variation of license plate that was on the road.

I don't think I ever saw that driver again.

Passport Stamps of Kosovo

As Kosovo attempts to take control over its northern borders with Serbia, I thought I'd post photos of Kosovo passport stamps. The first is an old UNMIK passport stamp (from when the United Nations Mission in Kosovo controlled border entries and exits), and the second is the stamp that is in use in Kosovo currently.

From the news outlets...

Kosovo tense after deadly clash on Serbian border

Pleas for calm after Kosovo border raids

Kosovo PM Defends Police Attempt to Sieze Border Posts

Deal struck to defuse tension in north Kosovo

Prizren, Kosovo via My Diana F+

My camera is not light tight, but I don't mind.

Gjurakoc Village

This is the view of the village of Gjurakoc, Kosovo from the Catholic church, which sits on a slight hill overlooking the town.

Catholic Church in Gjurakoc

Gjurakoc is a Catholic village I just happened to drive through in April. The cemetery is right behind the building.

A Grave in Gjurakoc, Kosovo

Happy Memorial Day. This photo was taken at the Catholic cemetery in Gjurakoc, Kosovo during my trip in April. As at many of the martyr graves in Kosovo, both the Albanian and US flags are being flown.

Kisha e Shën Shpëtimtarit

It's so disappointing that someone stole the cross from the dome of this church. Kosovo is so rich in neglected heritage sites.

I love this apartment building in the winter when the power is out and the stars are bright. (My photographed love affair with Kosovo is continuing as I work my way through the black & white photos I picked up on Sunday. I love film.)

Magic Windows

I love the shape of these windows. This building has been empty since I-don't-know-when, but I would love to be in the position to renovate it and use it as some sort of space for artists. That is how these windows speak to me.

Laundry Drying

Somewhere in Kosovo

Prizren After Sunset

Newly "Renovated" Grave

The Jewish Cemetery in Pristina had been cleaned up since my last visit. One of the other things I noticed was that some of the graves have been marked with a star of David (at least I don't remember these markings from before...perhaps I had just not noticed).

Crazy, Crazy Driving

To be fair, for how erratic drivers can be, I haven't seen very many accidents. On this trip, however, I encountered three.

Prizren, I Miss You

When I shot this footage, I was sitting at Cafe Arasta enjoying a very fine macchiato. The weather later turned to rain. I met two former students for coffee in the afternoon and one said to me, "See, Kirsten...Kosovo is crying that you are leaving again." What a sweetheart she is.