In a place that has had its fair share of conflict in the last 20 years, we really didn’t know what to expect. For starters, depending on who you ask, Kosovo is either the youngest country in Europe or not a country at all. It declared independence from Serbia in just 2008 and has only received partial recognition from the UN (115 countries to date) of its sovereignty.

All that said, it really hasn’t won any accolades as being a must-see tourist destination, but it’s time people see past the media and recognize this gorgeous little gem as more than just headlines. We’re sure glad we got to do so.

We noticed a couple things before even arriving in Kosovo. First of all, when you type in Google Maps that you’d like to go from Nis to Prishtina, it will send you south through Skopje, North Macedonia and back north through Kosovo. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out this is not a very direct route, especially when you can very easily see the road going from Serbia direct into Kosovo.

However, when you zoom in to the border, this is what you will find. A functional road that seemingly falls into a ravine on either side. Perfect. (To simplify, due to the political situation, there’s basically no guarantee the border will be open.) Secondly, it was difficult to get much information online of HOW to get there from Nis. Fortunately, thanks to Facebook groups we were able to pin it down. (For the record there are two buses that go from Nis to Prishtina. One is at 7 am and the other at 6:30 pm.) 

We learned that it is advised that Serbia TO Kosovo crossings are usually no problem, but because Serbia doesn’t acknowledge their nation, they deter people from going into Serbia FROM Kosovo, particularly if they entered Kosovo from another country and have a stamp. Ugh. So complicated. 

All this said, for us the Serbia to Kosovo border crossing was pain-free and we got our exit Serbia stamp and no stamp for Kosovo. The only difference we noticed was an officer from Serbia passed around a clipboard that we had to sign. 

Another thing we noticed beforehand is how the weather app won’t even acknowledge Kosovo, or its cities. If you search Prishtina or Prizren, they don’t exist. And when you arrive and turn on the local weather, it simply states GPS coordinates.

Arriving to Prishtina, we got a welcoming we’ve never experienced before. Firstly, the locals are super friendly. This is not surprising because 90% of them are ethnic Albanians. Also, the Kosovars seem to like the USA. By that, I mean, REALLY like us. They like us so much that an eight-story building wished us Happy Independence Day and proclaimed that they’d always be grateful to us. Wow, it’s truly nice to know that we’ve made a positive impact somewhere. 

Continuing on, we were presented with dozens of slices of Americana. American flags were draped in perfect symmetry with Albanian and Kosovar flags and we saw a plaque to honor Madeline Albright’s commitment to the 1999 efforts to help the independence effort. 

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Of course, the real grand daddy of it all is when you stumble upon the renamed “Bill Clinton Boulevard” where a 12-foot statue and 12-story tall shrine is dedicated to our former president. You see, ethnic Albanians of Kosovo (and also Albania) often give Mr. Clinton credit for the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia which brought an end to the Kosovo conflict in 1999. This is part of the same NATO bombing campaign we discussed in our Serbia post. President Clinton’s Department of State also claimed Yugoslav troops had committed genocide and ethnic cleansing within Kosovo killing hundreds of thousands. 

Very near to the Bill Clinton shrine is a high fashion shop called “Hillary.” Not sure if they know their icon too well, however, because they sell evening gowns, not red, white and blue pantsuits.

In the world’s ugliest public library, there is even an American Reading Room packed to the gills with english books for adults and children, magazines, and more Clinton memorabilia. Guessed they missed the memo that Americans don’t often read (unless rewarded by a personal pan pizza!)

In case you missed it, yes, we just said the world’s ugliest library. The National Library of Kosovo is kind of one of those “love it or hate it” entities. This brutalist, yet futuristic building looks like its trapped in a web weaved by pulsating Gremlins just before they multiply. 

The inside of the library. We read the white domes supposedly resemble the white hats which are the men’s national outfit. Kinda interesting this blend of tradition with such a weirdly modern style. Strangely, we also couldn’t find any of the books. Other than the Ameri-reads room all seemed tucked back into inaccessible chambers. 

Nearby the library is a peculiar, ghostly, but beautiful Orthodox Church that is seemingly falling in ruins, but strangely still has a gleaming gold cross on top. We had to look into this. Apparently it’s not in ruins, it’s simply unfinished and is a perfect icon to demonstrate the problems of mixing of church and state. It was built by Serbian authorities in the late 1990’s and was then targeted by Albanian extremists in 1999 during the Kosovo War to be destroyed. It is still seen as a very controversial political church in Prishtina and has fallen into complete neglect. 

The Cathedral of Mother Theresa, which is currently under construction. Although she was born in Skopje, Macedonia, her parents were Albanian so everyone likes to claim a piece of her. Who wouldn’t? 

The dilapidated Prishtina train station. We tried to get information on taking a train to Prizren, but it didn’t seem possible. Unfortunately the ticket windows were all boarded up so there was no one to ask either. Ah, well. We’ll stick with the bus. 

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In Prishtina, we stayed at a new and completely empty hostel, Arberia, so we had the kitchen and living room area to ourselves, as well as a fantastic view of the city. ($23/night) While all this sounds dreamy, we wouldn’t recommend it. He put the completely wrong coordinates on Booking.com so we ended up 2 kilometers away, having to walk a total of 4K with our packs. Also, multiple things were broken and dirty, the WiFi didn’t often work, and we had an army of friends come out every night to join us. ? Alas, as always we made the best of it, but we were very glad to escape!

Having eternal backpack shoulders, a cheap massage seemed like it was in order. We were in luck because in Prishtina, we noticed a couple massage parlors near our place on one particular street. Then, we saw three, four, five, six, seven…whoa…an exorbitant amount of massage places on one street. Wait, what?! Indeed, upon closer inspection almost all of them were locked and closed. Google told us that a large number of them had been closed recently due to their involvement in dubious activities including possible human trafficking and prostitution. It’s so sad how prevalent this is around the world.

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In a land where the Albanian language dominates, the powerful and revealing English word “Newborn,” represents the birth of a new country and the potential for a modern, democratic Kosovo. It was unveiled on February 17, 2008 when Kosovo received long awaited independence from Serbia. The letters are repainted annually and each design usually makes a political or social statement.

As you may have noticed, Prishtina isn’t exactly an architectural or eye-catching gem. The Palace (ha!) of Youth & Sports looks like a giant communist zipper. 

Moving on, we took the bus to Prizren, which took about 2.5 hours. With a rich cultural heritage, dynamic history, spellbinding architecture, and views like these, it’s easy to understand why Prizren is the jewel in Kosovo’s crown. Tourists are definitely discovering it, and with good reason.

We stayed at Driza’s House Hostel in Prizren and had a far difference experience than staying with the army of creepy crawlers in Prishtina. Driza’s House ($20/night for a private) was centrally located and was owned by the nicest couple who spoke excellent English and showered us with great information and local tips. Highly recommend this place…it felt like staying with family. 

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One place our host recommended was the nearby historic cinema, which has been saved by locals in recent years. This was a true local grassroots experience that definitely reminded us of things we’d seen in Portland. We went for a visit during the day and were immediately welcomed in for a tour by a super friendly guy whose seemed more than eager to befriend two Americans. He showed us the equipment room which looked like it rolled out of the 1940’s, although he mentioned today they used a new projector, and the outdoor/indoor cinema and concert venues. He also invited us to return the next day for a (free!!) concert. 

When we returned for the concert, we found out it wasn’t the only free thing. They were also handing out free pours of champagne and wine! Whoohoo! 

The Croation band was excellent and had a Pink Martini vibe singing in Serbo-Croat, English and French. It was so nice to have a date night and listen to some live music for a change.

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Tourists are welcome to visit the most notable mosque in Prizren, Sinan Pasha. Don’t forget to slip off your shoes before checking out this masterpiece from 1615. Three religions – Islam, Orthodoxy, and Catholicism, have long coexisted in Kosovo. A large majority of Kosovo Albanians consider themselves, to be Muslim. 

The historic foot bath near the entrance to the mosque.

As with everywhere in the Balkans, bring your water bottle as fountains are plentiful!

In case you need some comic relief…there’s gotta be some clever crude little programmer at Google Translate that just likes screwing with people. Oh my goodness, we couldn’t believe this one ??? 

Byzantine and Ottoman vibes are plopped everywhere throughout the cultural crossroads city of Prizren. Packed with gastronomic delights, cultural festivals, and cafes you could sit for hours in. It’s just a lovely town to get lost for hours within.

The Hamman (Turkish bathhouse) is a beautiful building but unfortunately under renovation so we didn’t get to enter.

And an essential thing to do in Prizren is walking up to the fortress on the mountain for this view at sunset. There are two ways to go. The short steep way directly from old town or the longer gradual way down the river. At the recommendation of our host, we chose the long gradual way through the forest and it was just perfect. 

The medieval fortress from the 11th Century has been controlled by the Byzantines, Ottomans and Serbians.

Love love this picture of the back of Sinan Pasha at night, but even more the street art on the left, which is perfectly symbolic of the state of Kosovo. You can see a little girl putting together colorful puzzle pieces representing the future over a gray and depressing past. So poetic, and so lovely.

A cafe in front of a quaint little Orthodox Church.

Outside of the Old Town, Prizren is packed to the brim with fancy dress stores. Most of them are western style, but they also have traditional dresses as well. The question is, where do they wear all these dresses?! 

Another Orthodox Church surrounded by barbed wire. The peaceful relations between religions that existed for centuries sadly seems to have shifted in recent years. 

Kosovo Wrap-up

Time Spent: 4 nights (not enough)

Money Spent: $166.49 or ~$41.62/day

Budget Travel Meter*: $$

What we loved about Kosovo:

• The overall vibe of the country. It seems optimistic and hopeful
• It’s very inexpensive
• The welcoming smiles of the people
• Experiencing life as a local at the concert in Prizen
• The overzealous displays of American appreciation

What could have been better:

1. Getting around was definitely not cut and dry. There was no signage at any stations, or any indication online when buses departed.
2. Like other Balkan countries, it lacked many cheap vegetarian options
3. Obviously, our hostel experience in Prishtina

Would we go back? Probably, if we were in Albania. 

Budget Travel Meter* The Budget Meter gauges how hard it was for us to stick to our $50/day budget. We’re factoring our Budget Meter by our daily food consumption options.

• $ – Eating-out up to twice a day and ordering whatever the hell we want, with dessert!
• $$—Eating-out once a day in a restaurant of our choice
• $$$—Eating-out once a day, on cheap pizza or local street food meals, usually involving copious amounts of filling bread
• $$$$—Eating-in every meal, healthy/fresh & in-season produce options
• $$$$$—Eating powdered soup & potatoes for every meal.