Friday, July 12 -- A couple of weeks ago, I got a message from one of our former exchanges students, Mathias, that he was thinking of visiting us here in Kosovo as he had never been to the Balkans. We did a Whatsapp call and made the plans and on Wednesday around noon, we met him at the Prishtina airport.
We decided this would be a good opportunity to visit somewhere new and although we are still under Peace Corps travel restriction (3 months for new volunteers), we got the okay to go. From the airport, we took the bus back to the Prishtina bus station and then caught the next bus to Prizren.
We contacted Winston from KOS 9. He lives in Suva Reka or (Suharekë) which is a 30 minute bus ride to Prizren and he knows more about Prizren. Our bus actually went through Suva Reka. Once we arrived at the bus station, we found our way to the Ura Hostel (which has been recommended by other volunteers). After checking in and leaving behind our packs, we went across the street to meet Winston at Destill. Prizren already felt more artsy, historic, and touristy, than other place we have been. We enjoyed some lunch at Destill and I enjoyed the artsy feel of Destill and the fantastic grilled vegetables. Then we headed around for a tour with Winston.
We enjoyed the river area with its restaurants and eateries. Prizren sits on the west side of the foothills of the Sharr Mountains across the mountain from Kaçanik and the Lumbardhi of Prizren River runs through Prizren. Unfortunately, there was a lot of construction going on, but maintaining and upgrading cities is important. We walked by the Sinan Pasha Mosque (old mosque) and the guys went in, but I didn't have a head covering and it was too warm to worry about it. Then we went the 14th century Our Lady of Ljevis Serbian Orthodox Church, which although the gate was opened, we were not allowed to walk around it. Then we walked to the Church of St. Nicholas where we unlatched the gate and walked down the steps to the entrance of the church. It was a small church and it did not take much time to look around.
After a quick ice cream break (for the guys), we continue to walk along the river over the Old Stone Bridge which is a historic landmark of Prizren. It is believed to have been built at the end of the 15th century or at the beginning of the 16th century. The bridge was completely destroyed in 1979, but the bridge has since been restored and is now a pedestrian bridge that is the destination of many tourists. We continue to walk along the river, passing by the Albanian League which was the first Albanian nationalist group. It formed to keep Albanian territory from being partitioned off after the Russo-Turkish War 1877 - 1878, The building was closed by the time we walked by, but I would like to visit the next time we are in Prizren.
With temperatures in the 90s, we enjoyed the walked under the trees along the river as we headed away for the city center. Here we also found a sign that showed the amount of time it would take for various amounts of trash to break down. After walking for a bit we headed back into the city center where we stopped to relax and have a drink. Winston hung out for a bit and then headed off to catch his 7:30 pm bus which is the last evening bus to Suva Reka.
We walked around a bit and then ate dinner at a restaurant called Tiffanies, where I had more grilled vegetables. After dinner we walked a little more and then headed back to the hostel. Our goal was to wake up in the morning and walk to the fortress before it gets to hot.
Thursday morning, we got up and walked up to the fortress before breakfast. The "Kalaja e Prizrenit" was very interesting, parts of fortress date back to the bronze age. The fortress has a rich history as various groups who lived in the area used and added to the fortress throughout its history. There were very few people around and we enjoyed our view of the city of Prizren below. On our way up to the fortress, we walked by the Church of the Holy Savior, which was blocked off from visitors.
After our visit to the fortress, we headed to breakfast at Gazza where Mathias and Thom tried out some fancy waffles. After breakfast, we headed back to hostel to pack up and check out. We stopped at a big mall as I wanted some acryllic paints (which I did find). After that we caught the bus to Ferizaj.
We arrived in Ferizaj around 3 pm and met up with Noah. We walked around the main shopping street and found a place for a cold drink. Then we headed to the Villages for a bite to eat. After eating, we headed to Kaçanik. Our adventure as tourists was both entertaining and fun.
Our Photos from Prizren
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