Living in Prishtina
It’s seven am and I am sitting at Prishtina International Airport (a name slightly, and unjustly, raising expectations of this facility) after missing my 5.30 flight to Zagreb. I wish I could blame someone other than myself for this matter, but unfortunately it was plain stupidity. This doesn’t change the fact that within minutes upon my arrival here, one man is trying to get me on a different flight, while another offers me his computer to search the web and yet another seems to be worried about me starving to death while waiting and offers me some bread. (“I’m sure you would do the same for me in your country”)
This kind of obligingness is merely one of the reasons that appeals to me and makes me want to return to Kosovo every time I leave. Upon my first visit in February 2009, my excitement and sheer nervousness on what to expect were soon replaced by what is jestingly called ‘the Kosovo flu’. Unlike what the name leads one to suspect, this is not an unpleasant development at all. With its major symptom being to get hooked on the region, I dare to say it is even the contrary. And indeed, it got to me and I fell in love. With Kosovo, that is.
And so it went that, since early May 2009, I have been living in Prishtina, a city unfamiliar to many. Kosovo often does ring a bell, albeit one very far away. The most common connotations include ‘former Yugoslavia’ and ‘violent conflict’. Although this does indeed apply to Kosovo, these characteristics belong to its past. However, although not pleading to ignore Kosovo’s past, I wish to paint a more accurate picture of contemporary Kosovo. A picture which looks different and not as black and white. With over nine billion dollars of financial support, a large international presence (including NATO, UN, OSCE, ICO, EULEX and ECLO), but above all the will and determination of Kosovar people, many things have changed since 1998-1999.
Admittedly, and not unimportant, as the 2009 Progress Report of the European Commission indicates, Kosovo continues to face myriad challenges in a variety of areas (including in the political and economic sphere). Frequent electricity and water cuts, high unemployment figures (estimated approximately 40 per cent) and troubled relationships with neighbouring countries constitute just few examples.
However, Kosovars are named the most optimistic Europeans; the Kosovo, the Young Europeans (roughly two-thirds of Kosovo’s population is under the age of 25) campaign recently kicked off illustrates that although these challenges are acknowledged, a brighter future is foreseen. A future in Europe.
Taking a step back from future to present, for me Kosovo is a great place to stay.
In all honesty, Prishtina, harbouring approximately half a million people (the last census stems from 1981), is not and will never be the prettiest city you can imagine. It is one of the places that makes me feel most like home. After being asked many, many times, why this is, I still cannot quite put my finger on it. I guess it’s a combination of atmosphere, people, work, and surroundings. And people again.
Prishtina is a very lively city; (coffee) bars and friends are never far away. After work, I love to go out for dinner in one of the many restaurants offering local, Indian or Italian food, followed by some rakija (traditional alcoholic beverage) in one of the countless cafés. Prices are relatively low, the average salary in Kosovo varying between €200,- and €250,-, and every time I am back home in the Netherlands or in any other Western European country for that matter, I have to drastically adjust this lifestyle.
Apart from the many bars and restaurants, one can find a supermarket on every street corner with large assortments. For those who find it difficult to make choices, such as myself, smaller kiosks can be found everywhere, open seven days a week.
When you have had enough of ‘city life’, several places in Kosovo are worth visiting: the Rugova hills offer a challenging hiking route, in the winter Brezovica is a popular ski resort with great small restaurants serving traditional food, or one can opt for a tour around the old city centre of Prizren. Furthermore, a visit to Mitrovica, my favourite town, cannot be lacking.
In case you have a bit more time to travel around, Skopje is just 1,5 hours away. When in need of a truly relaxing weekend, Ohrid lake in Macedonia is a good option. Belgrade, Serbia, is a place definitely worth seeing (here you can find great rakija), and Montenegro and Albania are the places to go for beautiful nature and shores.
After visiting different countries in the Balkans, I can honestly say Kosovo feels different, unique, fascinating, never boring, inspiring and above all, it feels like home. Why? Come and see for yourself. With or without participating in the programme, it is a place more than worth of visiting.
Inge Baanders