From Blue Sky Days to Blackbird Fields: 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.