Anyone been to Kosovo lately?

by **Son of Loki** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:17 am

Really nice place. Wish I could have stayed there a bit longer, but was pressed for time. Lots of hugs, handshakes free beer and food. They really love Americans there. Not a terrible amount to do in Prishtina, but it was really great meeting all the people and seeing all the pro-America sentiment (it was almost like walking into the Twilight Zone).

by **captain_stu** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:54 am

so what were you doing, handing out free medical???

by **Son of Loki** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:59 am

Naaa... Just curious. Had a friend who served there. I was listening to the BBC the day they declared their independence, knew I would be in the area soon and knew I had to go. It was definitely an interesting experience. It sure beat dealing with those fucking Turkish rug dealers!

by **redharen** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:39 pm

SOL, you're one of the guys on here who goes out and does stuff -- tell us more and post some pics, man.

by **marie-angelique** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:08 pm

agreed, i wanna see your pix :)

by **Son of Loki** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:28 pm

by **Thomas..** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:20 pm

Nice pics, thanks for sharing!

by **redharen** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:36 pm

What about the bodybuilding pose? Did you get a shot of that in an absurd location?

by **Son of Loki** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:55 pm

by **marie-angelique** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:04 pm

very nice, do you mind if i move them to the photos section?

by **Son of Loki** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:10 pm

go ahead.

by **Son of Loki** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:40 pm

Everything I heard or read about Kosovo was either wrong or outdated. Fucking Lonely Planet assholes, they will release an Afghanistan guidebook the same year (Late 2007) they release a Balkans guidebook, only they say the situation in Kosovo is too intense to send a reporter there, so they say all the information was obtained with a phone call. Little pricks. The Lonely Planet that my Slovenian friend had said the Valania Guesthouse was 500 meters from the bus station, when in reality, it was about one mile downhill, then two miles up. The Wall Street Journal had an article "Kosovo- Expensive, But Worth It". Half wrong. It wasn't expensive. I could go on and on, but that would be boring. It's worth the trip if you're in the area.

by **redharen** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:21 pm

Son of Loki wrote:<a href="http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg316/thetriumphofsteel/?action=view&current=Turkey-Balkans539.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg316/thetriumphofsteel/Turkey-Balkans539.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Good on ya, bro -- that's the money shot

by **vagabond** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:36 pm

Glad you had a good time there Son of Loki. You're right about the LP. I actually had a Blue Guide (from 99 or 2000 I believe) that provided a lot more useful information (culture-wise at least).

I went pre-independence (around Oct 05 I guess it was) and really enjoyed it. The Professor was a real nice guy (even ran into him a week or two later in Tirana) and thought it was a very unique place to be at that time. Did you stay inside his place or across the street? There were some derelict looking buildings right across from him that he was renovating I guess and I got to stay there one night too. Most places may look like crap from the outside there but they really give it the works on interior decoration. Kinda like in Russia.

Not sure what else you got up to there but I also enjoyed going to a movie there (I've only been in one nicer theatre, the AFI in DC) and dinner at the Chinese restaurant they have.

Are there still daily brownouts? That was always a cool moment. Walking down the hill from the guesthouse to downtown, all the lights go out then across the whole city the whirr of generators starting up.

Did you go anywhere outside of Pristina?

Thanks for the pics!

V

by **Son of Loki** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:03 am

I stayed across the street. Derelict buildings? Not in that neighborhood! That part of town was a really wealthy area. We stayed in a 4 bed room for 10 Euros a piece. Unfortunately, I was only there for a day, I had planned to stay a few days longer, but I had some real trouble readjusting my plane ticket. I saw a good chunk of the city, but I REALLY wanted to go to Prizren and hitchhike to Brod. This was my main regret. I heard about the brownouts, and some of the guys I talked to said they still happen every now and then, but not while I was there. Things are looking good there, it is a boom town of construction. At one time, Kosovo was the least developed part of Yugoslavia, but now, thinks looked better there than in Skopje. Too bad my city is not motivated like that.

Anyone been to Kosovo lately?

Anyone been to Kosovo lately?

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