Day 4 Intrepid: Albania to Kosovo

 It rained heavily overnight and it is a beautiful crisp, clear morning: the mountain peaks bathed in early morning light and bright blue sky.

We say goodbye to our b&b and sweet Adem: the young man at reception who has been so kind and helpful. 

We leave Albania today. Definitely a country of great opportunity and hope.

The scenery out was the standard towering mountains with shrouds of mist, aquamarine blue river gushing through the steep-sided gorge, the odd cyclist, room only for one-way traffic on the winding, narrow road to the border.

There is a line-up but we move through reasonably smoothly. MF and I are the only ones to NOT to get our passports stamped (at our request) as we have to return to Serbia and a Kosovan stamp could be a problem:

“Border guards have denied foreign nationals entry to Serbia if they have Republic of Kosovo stamps in their passports”.

Our first stop is the amazing Visoki Dečani Monastery, built by the Serbian King - St. Stefan of Dečani - in 1335. 

It is the biggest medieval church in the Balkans and has the largest preserved collection of Byzantine fresco-painting. Its floor-to-ceiling biblical murals, narrative scenes and individual figures, the original 14th century icon screen, hegumen's throne and the carved sarcophagus of King Stefan have ensured its listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

Visoki Dečani also speaks of humanity at its worst. Due to attacks from ethnic Albanians who'd like to see the Serbs leave, the monastery and the 25 monks living here in total isolation from the local community, are guarded around the clock by KFOR military forces. The country road to the monastery has watchtowers and checkpoints all along it and there are even several tanks defensively positioned around the complex.

We duly leave our passports at the gate where there is a multi-national group of NATO guards.

  

It is very very beautiful.

We have a guided tour then depart for the next town of Peja (Pec in Serbian), Kosovo’s 3rd largest city. We will stay here 2 nights.

After a lovely lunch, we stroll the bazaar which dates back to Ottoman times. But it’s basically modern sh*t now. Electricals leave a bit to be desired. 

Enjoyed a Turkish coffee - very sweet. 

Walked outside bazaar area to explore further: went to buy fruit and the vendor insisted on gifting us the 2 apples!

They love Bill Clinton here. He is widely revered in Kosovo and Albania due to his part in ending the Kosovo-Serbia war and his stance of support towards Kosovar Albanians.

The rule of the Ottoman and Serbian empires and the historical influence of former Yugoslavia in the Communist era have shaped the architecture of the city. In the main square are examples of Stalinist Brutalism and Bauhaus architecture as well as Byzantine and Ottoman.

There is a street wall mural of Ibrahim Rugova, President of the Republic of Kosova 1992-2000 and President of Kosovo 2002-6. He oversaw a popular struggle for independence, advocating a peaceful resistance to Yugoslav rule and lobbying for U.S. and European support, especially during the Kosovo War.

After walking around the inner part of the city, we head back to our hotel which is near a nice park and call it quits with an early night.

Walked 8 kms.

Except we don’t so, after a bit of a break, we head out. It’s starting to get dark and things are livening up in town. 

We find a pharmacy that sells slings so already that’s a bonus to going out. We head to the restaurant where we had lunch - through town, past lots of cafes, other restaurants, fast food shops and bakeries. 

We enjoy a shared small pasta and a salad, a yummy red wine (G&T for MF - he can’t face another Peja beer - it’s made here!!).

Food is very cheap here; it was cheap in Albania but it’s even cheaper here! And the currency is the Euro. Why? Similar story to Montenegro: it was using German marks previously and when that was replaced by euros, this became the de facto currency for Kosovo.

And bless! It’s a full moon: as we cross the otherwise unremarkable river to make our way back to the hotel, there is the loveliest sight.

Put on new sling. Hoping it will make a difference. Even got a proper shower in the process! Yay!

Walked 11 kms total.