Travel report: Kosovo
Country ranking by area: #162
Country ranking by population: #148
Date of visit: December 2017
Visiting Europe’s youngest state: Kosovo
Kosovo is Europe’s youngest country getting its independence in 2008. It is also one of the four countries on my 197-list that is not a member of the UN. Kosovo isn’t officially recognized by enough countries in order to be member of the United Nations. Russia also used its veto power and rejected Kosovo’s declaration of independence. Even some countries of the European Union don’t recognize Kosovo. Spain is one of these countries, and when you take a look at Catalonia’s independence movement you understand why.
After visiting Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, Kosovo was the next ex-Yugoslavian country on my list. Nadia – not only one of my best friends but also one of the most uncomplicated travel buddies – accompanied me to Kosovo’s capital Pristina. It was a very short trip. We just had a bit more than 24h in Kosovo, as flights from Saturday morning to Sunday noon very quite cheap. To be honest, I had very low expectations of Pristina, but in the end I wished I could have stayed longer.
Arrival in Kosovo
Sphresa, who owns the apartment we booked, picked us up at the airport. The ride from the airport to the city centre didn’t take more than 20 minutes. Her apartment was very centrally located, and after leaving our stuff at the apartment Sphresa showed us the city centre a bit. She even offered to join us in the evening just in case we needed a local to show us around. It was a very nice gesture. She was an amazing host and did all the efforts to make our stay as good as possible.
Generally, citizens of the Balkan countries are very kind and hospitable towards visitors. That’s no surprise though. As a rule of thumb, the less tourists the friendlier the people. And Kosovo doens’t have a lot of tourist except for the Albanians who live abroad and visit their families back home. Therefore, Pristina is probably one of the least visited European capitals. We have seen a Chinese family but except for those, we were possibly the only non-Albanians in the city.
Sightseeing in Pristina
Pristina doesn’t have the reputation of being a jewel. Infrastructure is weak and the awful architectural styles make the city unattractive. Moreover, the city looks like a huge construction site. The city has his own kind of charm and great vibe though. The heart of the city is Mother Teresa Street, a long boulevard with shops, cafes and restaurants. As it was raining that day, the street was almost empty, but I can imagine that this boulevard will be very crowded in summer.
The boulevard starts near Kosovo Museum and leads you to beautiful Mother Teresa Cathedral. The two most famous hotels of the city, Grand Hotel Prishtina and Swiss Diamond Hotel are also located in this street. Although Pristina is rather a small town than a big city (despite the 400’000 people living here), there are a few things to do. My favourite activity was seeing the city from above from the bell tower of Mother Teresa Cathedral. Admission was €1. By the way, Kosovo’s currency is the Euro, which I found out only a few days before the trip.
Other things worth seeing in the city centre are the statue of Bill Clinton or the New Born monument. Moreover, you can go to the National Library in order to see a building that was named as one of the ugliest buildings in the world. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so go yourself and make your own judgement.
Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe, the average salary is €150 and the unemployment rate is 50%! The country doesn’t really have an economy, its main income is basically the money the Kosovars from abroad send home to their relatives. Most people work for the government and corruption is also very high.
Kosovan night out
We met Ismajl in the evening for dinner. Ismajl is a friend of a friend, he lives in Switzerland as well and goes to Kosovo several times a year to visit his friends and family. He booked a table at Tiffany’s, the country’s most posh restaurant. Ismajl said that this restaurant is the place, in which the rich and ministers of the country meet for dinner. The food was amazing. We ordered a bit from everything and could taste a lot of different dishes. We also ordered two bottles of red wine. I usually don’t drink wine, but this Kosovan wine was really good. The price for three people was a bit more than 70 Euros…
Ismajl also told me that Kosovo has some real corruption issues. For example, if you get stopped by the police by driving too fast, you usually tell the officer you know person X or person Y from the neighbouring village and if the officer knows one of these people too, you can continue without getting a fine. If you don’t have mutual friends, a “gift” of 5€ settles the situation.
One of the best things in Pristina is the nighlife, as the city becomes very vibrant at night. You wouldn’t believe you’re in a poor country when you look at the people at night. They dress up very nicely, order bottles in the nightclubs and spend the money like there was no tomorrow. Booze prices are very low for European standards. In the first bar, I paid the bill of all the drinks we had: 9-10 Grey Goose vodkas, 3 Hendricks tonic and 2 bottles of water cost €40.
We finished the night in a nightclub called Duplex. Ismajl told me that I should come in the summer the next time, as the city is more crowded and even more is going on. However, I enjoy seeing a city outside of the peak season, as it provides a more authentic view on the city. From what I heard, Pristina must be amazing in summer though. That gives me a good reason to come back.
My travel experience in Kosovo
To summarize, Pristina (and probably whole Kosovo) is not a typical tourist destination for sightseeing, but rather an interesting place to see one of the post-communist and less developed cities of Europe. Even though the city isn’t the most beautiful, it offers a good vibe, very nice people and great food. And to be very honest, I enjoy cities like that more nowadays than the Paris, Romes, Barcelonas or Londons in the world.
Ismajl told me that I have to come back in summer, as the city will be more lively then. I actually don’t know if I will ever come back, but I wouldn’t rule it out. This first trip to Europe’s youngest nation was really cool although very short. So, why not visit the country a second time…?
Find the travel reports of the other countries I’ve visited here!
