Day 10: Prishtina on 10 Euros A Day

Today was our day off, so I decided to do a walking tour of Prishtina from my guesthouse down to the city center, through the park and back to the guesthouse.

Like so many other cities in this area, Prishtina can trace it´s roots back about 2000 years.  This area has a rich but complicated history.

A memorial park is not too far from my guesthouse.  This is where former President Ibrahim Rugova is buried, perhaps the most revered President of Kosova.

A short distance away is the Russian WWII Memorial (I don´t recall the significance of this).

Directly behind this, one gets a good panoramic view of Prishtina.

Near this spot is one of the mass graves, a constant reminder of the tragedy of war.  There are many of these all around the country.

My next stop was to find the statue of Bill Clinton that was dedicated in his honor last year.  He is also considered a hero here in Kosova, since he authorized the NATO bombing that stopped the Serbian army and essentially ended the war.  But all this walking and sight-seeing made me hungry, so I stopped in a little shop and had spinach burek for breakfast.  Burek is phillo dough filled with feta cheese and spinach, rolled up, and baked.  Coupled with yogurt (the unflavored, drinkable variety), you have a breakfast that will stick to your ribs.

To walk off the burek, I keep moving. . .

Although some people own single family homes, the majority of the people live in apartment complexes, especially near the city center.

Finally, I find Bill Clinton´s statue along Bill Clinton Boulevard, one of the main roadways in Prishtina.

While Bill gets an entire boulevard named after him, Hillary gets a dress shop (with a good sale to boot!)

Bill Clinton Boulevard intersects with Mother Teresa Boulevard, the other main roadway in Prishtina.  Kosova was Mother Teresa´s home country.

I started to make my way down to Mother Teresa Plaza, and saw some interesting storefronts along the way.  You can try your luck at the Free Shop (the prices are right), and yes, they are open (not sure for how long)...

You´ll always look great after shopping in the Lovely Store...

Then there´s the mini drag store (for those so inclined); and yes, they are open 24 hours for one´s shopping convenience...

Now, I´m no businessman, but I think Business Basics 101 must have included the importance of naming your business so that you draw patrons into your store, not drive them away, such as Keep Out Boutique...

It was a really nice and sunny morning for a walk, and so far my little tour proved quite interesting.  Prishtina is really going through a big renovation with all the new building projects, yet keeping those of national significance intact.  

As I continued near the university, I finally saw it in a shop window--flija!  You can´t visit Kosova and not try flija at least once (and that will be enough).  This is basically noodle dough, cheese, eggs and oil baked in 8 layers.  Not low-calorie by any means.  The traditional way is to bake it on hot coals in the ground.  

But consider yourself warned...one piece will leave you feeling stuffed for quite some time!

Making my way back to the guesthouse, I decide to pass through the university campus grounds, where I recall:

A piece of the Berlin Wall, a reminder of things past...

An unused,unfinished Serbian Orthodox Church, a reminder of things past...

The National TV and Radio Tower, which is monitoring my every move (just kidding!!)

The National Library

Looping through the park and up a couple hills to the guesthouse, I finally made it back. Whew! Nap time! But first, a Schweppe´s, which really tasted good after all that walking.  All in all it was a fun and enjoyable day (just ask Estera, after our visit to Kosova´s newest fast food chain later this afternoon).  

And the final tally of my walking tour of Prishtina: 7 euros for the day.

I hope you enjoyed the tour...

Les