The Mash Pad

Gori has castle ruins a short walk from the city center (you can check the Wikitravel page for a smidge of info). I took a quick walk up there this afternoon (and petted a dog and had snowballs thrown at me by preteen boys along the way). It was a pretty grey day but it was clear enough to make out the rolling hills in the background looking towards Tbilisi. The large black arrow points to where my apartment building is situated. I'm just kitty-corner to the Stalin Museum, which I haven't been into yet although I've peeked in at the building where Stalin was born. I'm also within spitting distance of a bakery that sells flat bread for 40 tetri (25 cents) a pop.

The latitude of Gori is 41° 58' N which is roughly similar to Skopje/Rome/Chicago (Prizren is at 42° 13' N; Reno is 39° 30' N; Hyder is 55° 55' N; and Tokyo is 35° 40' N). Today we had scattered snow showers. There was a bit of snow sticking to the ground when I arrived home from dinner last night and there was about a centimeter of snow on my balcony this morning. By this afternoon, the roads had returned to mud and I don't think it's snowing at all right now. It is a bit windy, though, and I can feel a bit of a draught coming in through my balcony doors.

I'm sure looking forward to the warmth and green of spring.

Prizren, Kosovo via My Diana F+

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

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

Prizren After Sunset

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.

Welcome to Prizren

Kisha e Shën Shpëtimtarit

The entire time I lived in Prizren, the Cathedral Church of Christ the Saviour (aka Kisha e Shën Shpëtimtarit, aka Crkva Svetog Spasa) was forbidden to visit. Now that the KFOR guards are gone and the gates are open, it's a beautiful 14th century church to go and take a look at. However, one still can't get inside the actual building (although it is possible to peek through the windows like I did). I imagine that, in time, the building will be vandalized and the doors broken down. Already, the cross that once adorned the top of the church is no longer there. Kosovo is full of Catholic, muslim, and orthodox religious treasures, but I don’t get the feeling that the average person really appreciates the value of these sites. I find this apathy shameful.

Prizren's Church of Saint Nicholas

I've never been inside this church. However, I think it dates from the 14th century. When I left in 2009 the church was still behind a tall wooden fence. On my visit in February, it was nice to see it showing itself.

Kukli Bej Mosque, Maybe

As I prepare for my upcoming trip to Kosovo, I'm still working on the post production of photos from my last trip. I believe this is the Kukli Mosque, but don't quote me on that because I'm not entirely sure. When I lived in Prizren, I walked by it often.

Kujdes! (Caution!)

I love the rounded corners of the windows in the building on the right of the photo.

Headless Mannequins

Zake Prelvukaj #2

Another face shot from the mural along the River Bistrica in Prizren...

Zake Prelvukaj #1

From the mural along the River Bistrica in Prizren...

Death Notice

When someone dies in Kosovo, usually a notice is posted. These have been staple-gunned to a telephone pole in Prizren.

Abandoned Building in the Serbian Quarter of Prizren

I just picked up the negatives & CD for the black & white photos I took in Kosovo. This photo is of an abandoned building in the lower part of the old Serb quarter of Prizren right behind the Orthodox Church (off of Shatervan Square in the center of town). When I lived in Prizren, I would often walk here just to look at the building on the right in this photo.

From Prizren, Kosovo: A Random Sampling of Photos

The Orthodox Church of Hrista Spasitelja (Shpëtimari i Shenjtë)

The Bajrakli Mosque behind the League of Prizren.

My very favorite street in Prizren.

Garbage cans for household waste.

Good-bye to Kosovo: 3/2/11

I can't believe that my time in Kosovo passed so quickly. It was good to see so many friends and former students. I leave Kosovo looking for pathways that will take me back because I do not believe I am finished with Kosovo yet.

I left Kosovo via the southern border on the Pristina-Skopje road at Hani i Elezit (where the Kosovar border guard made sure to give my passport and extra clear exit stamp). As the crow flies, the distance between Prizren and Skopje is 40-ish miles. However, the drive Skopje from Prizren is circuitous and takes around three hours (and that's going through Ferizaj and not through Sterpce which may cut about an hour off the drive, but the road goes through the Sharri Mountains and was snowy).

The Restaurant & Pizzeria Park-U, which is a few minutes outside of Ferizaj on the main Pristina-Skopje road, made a really good farewell macchiato. Plus, the bathrooms were very clean and well-stocked.

Next destination: A night in Skopje then of to Copenhagen!