An Awesome Second Thanksgiving in Kaçanik...

Last year, we had a really nice Thanksgiving with two events.  First was the Thanksgiving dinner at Bondsteel, the KFOR (Kosovo Force) army base, led by the U.S. and supported by NATO countries.  It felt like a real Thanksgiving, complete with Thanksgiving decorations and food (even if it was a bit cafeteria-style).   After lunch, we enjoyed a tour of the base on a nice November day.  On Saturday, we headed to Prishtina for a special Thanksgiving dinner hosted by our Peace Corps Country Director, Dr. Caroline.  

I had the day off from school, because last year Thanksgiving was on Albanian Independence Day (also known as Flag Day), which falls on November 28th.  This year, Albanian Independence Day was on the day after Thanksgiving, so I thought I would be going to school in the afternoon for classes.  However, there is a new museum in our town, and early classes were shortened, and ours were canceled so that students could go on a tour of the museum.  The morning classes were at 11:30 am, and so I decided to join them at the museum.  After that, I had the rest of the day off.  It was a damp, rainy day, so I was glad to go home and spend the day cooking.  At 6 pm, there was a school staff dinner at Guri i Zi, and that went for three hours.

But the highlight of the Thanksgiving weekend was on Saturday.  Several weeks ago, the Prizren group started sending out messages about having a Thanksgiving event in Prizren.  But it can be challenging to get to Prizren.  The buses don't run on holidays, and Friday was a holiday.  Danny and I started talking about hosting a Thanksgiving meal in Kaçanik.  With two events, our group would be split, and we would be able to manage the group in the apartment.  KOS 8, which is the group that arrived right before are group, is also starting to leave.

Last weekend, on our road trip, Danny and out a basic menu.  We put out the invite and hoped for about 15 to 16 volunteers to respond.  We ended up with twenty (including Danny, Thom, and me).  One did cancel out in the end, so we hosted 19 people in are little apartment.  But as Peace Corps volunteers, we are used to squishing into tight spots.  We figured we had comfortable seating for 17 and a couple of floor spots.  

Danny and I started cooking early in the week.  I roasted squash (pumpkins), made homemade sweet potato crackers, pickled carrots, and miso-marinated squash.  I found small turkeys that come to Kosovo from France at our local stores.  I made many shopping runs throughout the week.  I decided it would be a good idea to have a couple of substantial salads in the event the power went out.  I made a fall pasta salad with roasted squash, spinach, dried cranberries, and spiced walnuts.  I also made a Russian potato salad, which is popular throughout Europe.  It is a potato salad that includes peas, carrots, and sometimes ham or tuna.  Mine, however, was meatless.  The salads could be prepared the day before, which freed up the stove and the oven for turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and two kinds of gravy (mushroom and turkey).  

Danny and I were both off on Friday, so he came over, and we spent the day shopping and cooking.  Thom was our errand boy.  If needed, he would run to a store and get.  Danny is an amazing chef, and working together in the kitchen was great.  I love cooking for the holiday, and he does as well.  We both kept saying that it felt like a normal Thanksgiving, except we were hosting a group of Americans in Kosovo.

Dinner was planned for 3 pm, as most volunteers would have to catch buses back home, and some would need to leave as early as 5 pm.  We invited them to come as early as they wanted, knowing that with bus schedules, no one would arrive before 11 am.  

Danny arrived early Saturday so that we could get everything prepped before the first guest arrived.   We decided to set a substantial appetizer table for anyone arriving early.  Mostly, we all just enjoy hanging out with food.  Many of our volunteers are finding that the quantity and quality of food is lacking with host families.  Our guests started arriving around noon.  Thom took groups on tours of Kaçanik, and others were happy to snack and chat.  

Danny made some amazing mulled wine, as we are seeing our lowest temperatures of the season so far, it was perfect for the day.  The appetizers included baba ganosh (the eggplants are amazing here), hummus, pickled carrots, Turkish and Greek olives, marinated cheese, Bosnian veal sausage, spicy cheese, mandarin oranges, pomegranates, candied walnuts, carrot and celery sticks, and miso-glazed squash.

For the main meal, we had two small turkeys, and they finished cooking earlier than planned.  Danny brined the turkeys on Friday and made a rosemary butter for baking.  We had rustic mashed potatoes, amazing stuffing with fresh parsley, rosemary, and sage.  Danny made turkey gravy, while I made a mushroom gravy.  We had an arugula / lettuce salad with mandarins, pomegranates, and candied walnuts along with the pasta salad and potato salad.  All the food was a hit, and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Our desserts were traditional flavors with a Kosovo presentation, as Danny made apple pie burek and I made a pumpkin burek.  Burek is thin layers of flour pastry similar to filo dough.  You created rolls of pastry by brushing the layers with butter or oil and filling them with various fillings, and then rolling them up.  The rolls are often spiraled into a round pan before they are baked.  We left ours straight, as they are easier to cut into smaller pieces.   I also made pumpkin pie bars, as I don't have a pie pan, and the squares were easier to serve.  Danny had leftover apple pie filling from his burek, and he had some ladies' fingers.  He decided to make an Apple Pie Tiramisu.  That's how amazing he is a chef.  The desserts were top-notch.

Kalena and Jacob, who are serving in Peja, spent the night.  Others spent the night with Noah in Ferizaj.  Sunday was the first day with sun in way too many days.  We enjoyed an early walk with Danny, Kalena, and Jacob before they took a taxi to Ferizaj to catch a bus home.  After they left, we cleaned up the apartment and took a second walk.  It was a nice, relaxing afternoon and an enjoyable kick-off to the holiday season with a fantastic group of people

This week's photos

At the museum with the teachers from our school

Paintings on the walls of the train underpass that was recently completed

Unfortunately there is a lot of water flowing through the underpass

The flags on the bridge for flag day

Fall Pasta Salad

Loaves of homemade Pan de Horno for Thanksgiving

Pumpkin pie bars

One of two turkeys we bought for Thanksgiving

Our Appetizer Table

Two roasted birds

Salad with lettuce, arugula, pomegranite, candied walnuts, and mandarins

Danny, Annie, and Jacob -- carving the turkey (with my really bad knife)

Stuffing, gravies, turkey, mashed potatoes (and Danny's cranberry and gin)

Annie and Alyanna -- salad time

Danny, Jacob, and Kalena are enjoying their meal

Jacob, Kalena, and me with Becca and Noah in the background

Michael (left) leaves next week as he finishes service

Sarah and Becca

Cody (thumbs up) is extending, Mae in front, Vincent, and Noah

Everyone seated on the floor and the couch is empty, except for David

Victoria, Vincent and Noah

Victoria L, Ben, Alex, Sarah, Victoria M, Becca, Mae, Kalena, and Cody

Thanksgiving's over and the tree is decorated

Dance and music event was cancelled on Thursday because of rain

The event was rescheduled for Sunday with a very small crowd in attendance

          

Weekend Roadtrip...

As Thom is not back in Kosovo as a Peace Corps volunteer, he can rent a car.  In early October, several volunteers hatched a plan to see some sights we wanted to see in Kosovo that can be harder to reach by bus.  Michael is a volunteer who lives near Ferizaj, and he will be ending his service in early December.  Our weekends have been busy, and the trip was postponed from an earlier date.  This past weekend, we were all free and we decided to make a weekend of it.  Originally, Thom, Michael, Cody, Danny, and I were planning to go, but Cody had other plans and is extending his stay in Kosovo.  So we invited Mae from Ferizaj to join our group. 

Saturday morning, we left Kaçanik shortly before 9 am and headed to Koveçec to pick up Danny.  We then drove to Ferizaj to pick up Mae and Michael.  Mae lives near the bus station, so it was easy to pick them up there.  As we drove to the bus station, we went by the Elita factory which, caught fire on Thursday and was still smoldering.  The air in Ferizaj was still really smoky, and we were to get Mae out of Ferizaj for the weekend. 

After picking up Michael and Mae, we headed to the ruins of the Artana Fortress in Novo Brdo.  This was high on Michael's list as he is a history buff who loves exploring ancient ruins.  The ruins are located in the general direction of Kamenice, where we did our pre-service training.  We remembered seeing the fortress sitting up on the hill on our journeys to and from Prishtina during training.  Danny and Mae had already been to see the ruins, as it was an excursion they took during their training.  

Danny was our navigator as we drove east to Novo Brdo.  Although it was chilly and windy, the sun was shining when we arrived at the cafe that sits at the base of the ruins.  We had hoped to grab a coffee before walking the rest of the way to the fifteenth century fortress which was recently restored. The area at the time, was a thriving silver and gold mining community and the fortress was built to protect the alloys.  The coffee shop had and open sign.  The door was unlocked and fire was going in the wood burning stove, but we did not see anyone around.  We used the bathrooms and then started our short walk to the ruins.  The ruins were interesting, but not as interesting as the fortress in Prizren.  Along with the ruins, there is a casket of 

Near the cafe was an Ottoman mosque (Osman Efendi Mosque) and we climb up the old stone minaret and then we walked to the ruins of the church just beyond the mosque.

Cafe near the fortress

The fortress in the distance

Artwork of the fortress done in nail and string in the cafe

Heading up to the fortress

An archway leading through the fortress wall

A view of the inner courtyard.  The doorway in was locked

Michael peaking into the courtyard and Danny and Mae look on

Restoration work is ongoing on the stonework

A dog poses on the fortress wall

A view of the rolling hillside and the mountains in the background

A tomb of a leader

The mother and her puppies outside the cafe

Climbing the minaret at the old mosque

Columns from the church that once stood here

Walls going around the church area

After seeing the sites in Novo Brdo, we hopped into the car for drive back toward Prishtina.  As we neared the outskirts of Prishtina, we finally stopped for our cups of coffee.  After a short coffee break, we started off to our next location of Skenderej.  This stop was to the Adem Jashari Memorial Complex in the village of Prekaz near Skenderej.  

We also plan to meet up with three volunteers from the area for lunch.  Andrew lives in Skenderaj and has only a couple of weeks before his service ends and heads back to the USA.  He met us at the parking lot of the ETC Store.  Becca and Victoria (from KOS 10) arrived by bus from nearby villages and met us at the ETC parking lot.  We then went to one of Andrew's favorite restaurants for lunch.  Skenderaj seemed very nice.

After lunch, we all walked to the Adem Jashari Memorial in the drizzle that had started since we arrived.  This was on my must-see list ever since I saw a painting of it on a wall in Drenas the first summer I was here in Kosovo.  This memorial honors the Jashari family, who gave their lives during the war with Serbia in 1998.  Fifty-six members of the family were killed, including many children.  The houses of Adem Jashari and his parents are left in the bombed-out state to show the atrocities of the war and what the family gave to the resistance.  The museum and memorial are beautifully designed, well-maintained, and a must-see for anyone visiting Kosovo.

Clock tower in Skenderaj

The river running through Skenderaj

Adem Jashari Museum

Memorial park

Memorials to each Jashari member who lost their life

A roof and scaffolding protect the bombed out remains of the Adem Jashari house

Sculpture of Adem Jashari

In the museum, ordinary household items riddled with bullet holes on display

A four year girl in the Jashiri family is a lone survivor after hiding under this cabinet

After touring the complex, we walk back to our car and say our goodbyes.  We then head to our rental apartment in Peja to drop our packs and confirm our plans to meet with the four volunteers assigned to Peja and Sarah from Gjilan.  Sarah and Vincent from KOS 9 (our group) are dating, and she often spends her weekends in Peja.  David (KOS 9), Jacob (KOS 10), and Kalina (KOS 10) join us for dinner.  Some of us are meeting for the first time, and it is an enjoyable evening.  After dinner, we stop at Viva Fresh for some snacks, and we head to our apartment to hang.  

Kalena and Jacob are partners and joined the Peace Corps together.  They are both having a wonderful experience in Peja with their organizations.  Kalena is originally from Ohio, and she is assigned to work at a shelter for abused women.  Jacob works with eco-tourism.  Danny, Mae, Kalena, and Jacob are all from KOS 10 and they bonded during their training.

Sunday morning, we woke up and got ready for day 2.  After packing up and showers, we hopped in the car for the 3o-minute ride to, the Deçan Monastery (Visoki Deçan).  It was drizzling and a little chilly, but the visit to the monastery was worth it.  The monastery was built in the 14th century by Stefan Deçanski, King of Serbia.  This is the best-preserved monastery in Kosovo.  The painted walls inside the church were well-preserved and very beautiful.  The monastery sits beside the Bistrica River and is nestled among pine-studded hills.

Photos from the Monastary

The monastery is guarded by KFOR soldiers in order to keep this treasure from being vandalized.  At the entrance, you must leave your ID with one of the guards.  By the time we finished at the monastery, we were hungry.  We headed to Gjakova to find a restaurant that was still serving omelets.

Mae had never been to Gjakova before, so we ate breakfast and then to a walk through the city center.  As we were leaving, we stopped at the gin shop where you can get locally made gin.  We sample several, including a violet gin.  It had an amazing purple color.  It smelled and tasted of violets.

Our last planned stop for the day was Mirusha Falls.  The falls are not far from Gjakova and once we drove the windy gravel road, it was only a short walk to the two-tiered falls.  With the rain we have been having, there was plenty of water pouring over the falls.  We climb a trail up the cliff beside the falls for a better view, but soon turn back as the trail was slippery.  After some photos, we headed back towards Ferizaj.  

Michael, Danny, Mae, Me, and Thom

Climbing down the cliff trail

Climbing down the trail

Painting of SKenderbeu on the rock face above the falls

Two-tiered falls in a beautiful rocky gorge

We dropped Michael off at his host family's house in Koshari.  As we drove to Ferizaj, we decided to make one more stop.  With the recent rains, we were certain that bifurcation of the Nerodimi River would have water,, and the bifurcation is not far from Mae's home.  The water was indeed running and we were actually able to see the start of the Nerodimi River and the division of the river that leads one branch of the river to the Black Sea and the other to the Aegean.

It was a great road trip, with many sites of Kosovo checked off our lists and time spent with other relaxing with our PCV friends.

Map of our Travels

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