Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The city center of Kassel, Germany was largely destroyed during World War II (80 %). Before 1943 it must have been a wonderful place with many half-timbered houses. Today it feels like there is not much to show on a guided tour; tourists normally book art tours during documenta times or visit the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe with guides. But yet there are some hidden gems and fortunately a club of history enthusiasts offers special tours.
Continue reading “Up and down”
Kosovo is a stabilized de-facto regime accepted by 114 of the 193 member states of the United Nations – in addition to Serbia (which claims this country to be part of Serbia as the region ‘KosMet’, Kosovo i Metohija) and its close friends many states with regions that want to be independent don’t support Kosovo. It is an incredibly young country with young citizens and old ethnic conflicts. It isn’t really prepared for tourism, but it is a good place for travelers. Many of them seem to come from the United States of America; a country that is still beloved by the locals because the 42nd president (Bill Clinton) took side for the country and forced NATO to attack the Serbian army on Kosovan grounds until they left. Kosovo declared independence on February 17th, 2008.
Continue reading “Partially accepted”
Kosovo is a young state which is split up into two areas: north of Mitrovicë the majority of people are Serbs, south of it Albanians. The flag used most widely in the North is the flag of Serbia: red, blue and white with a white double-headed eagle and a crown. In the rest of the country the flag of Albania is shown most: red with a black double-headed eagle. But Kosovo has for sure an own flag which I could only find in the center of Prishtinë. It hasn’t a long tradition and was introduced only in 2008 after a competition.
Continue reading “Flag and hymn”
It’s an observation I made on the Balkans and also in the Baltic states, but nowhere else – maybe it is a tradition coming from the Eastern bloc or it’s only seen there because the regulations aren’t as strict as in western European countries: miniature electric cars for kids. On major public spaces you can find them for rental and kids cruise around having a lot of fun.
Continue reading “Driving school”
Mitrovicë isn’t the most beautiful city of Kosovo. It has mountains behind like Prizren, but these are the mountains used to mine for ore. Yet it is sensible to get here because it is a place where the ethnic conflicts of the country get very visible. Kosovo (or ‘KosMet’, Kosovo i Metohija) wanted to become independent from Serbia because of its Albanian majority – but that doesn’t account for the whole area. There are cities with Turkish or Serbian majority and a lots of minorities like Roma, Ashkali, Gorani or Egyptians. Especially the north of Kosovo with the green border to Serbia has a Serbian majority.
Continue reading “Mitrovicë”
I came into contact with the Albanian language three times – in Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo (it is also official language in North Macedonia). Every time I had the same feeling like with Dutch: I can read it and understand quite a lot, but listening to somebody speaking it I can’t even separate the words in my head. It is an Indo-European language with 7.6 million speakers around the world.
Continue reading “Albanian”
The name Prizren still triggers memories of the Kosovo war in my head. If you get close to it you immediatly see its beauty: with the high mountains in the background carrying the Kalaja fortress that protected the city located at an important trade route from Albania to the Kosovo Polje. In the center there is the fantastic mosque Xhamia e Sinan Pashës located at the river Lumbardhi. An ancient bridge made of rock – the Ura e Gurit – spans the river and minded my much of Sarajevo.
Continue reading “Prizren”
If you get to Kosovo you will definitely get to know something about the Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës, the Kosovan liberation army. Throughout the country you can find big memorials for their fallen soldiers. The UÇK was formed in 1994 to achieve independence of Kosovo from Serbia and to fight what was seen as Serbian occupation. What started with acts of terror ended with the UÇK being an accepted ally of NATO during Kosovo war.
Continue reading “UÇK”
The Kosovo is in a special geographic situation – a large valley with different mountains at its borders and no access to the sea. There are some rivers like the Drin and the Ibër and only few lakes, most of them glacial lakes. That is why there are also some artificial lakes created especially for ensuring drinking water supply. If you’re at Prishtinë two lakes are not too far away: the Liqeni e Battlavës and the Liqeni e Badovcit.
Continue reading “Artificial lakes”
Prishtinë is the capital city of Kosovo, the biggest city in the country and located in the heart of the Kosovo Polje. Its origins date back to the first century CE as you can see at the archaeological site Ulpiana. Prishtinë is a nice place to visit with surprisingly shaped buildings, small museums and many nice restaurants and bars. For someone used to old cities with clearly visible structures the city feels a bit unplanned and scattered.
Continue reading “Prishtinë”