Dreams of Kosovo: April 2017

C'kemi (What's up) All? Been a couple of months since I have updated and informed you all of the ins-and-outs of Kosovo life. In all honesty you aren't missing much, things tend to be the same from day-to-day: School and teaching, home for lunch, do some work or visit a host family member, snack time then lay it down for the night repeated over, and over again. There have been some fun bursts of energy though so lets get detailed!

So in Mid February I, along with another volunteer, took a much needed mid-winter break to visit Berlin, Germany for a weekend. Trying to do a capital city in less than 48 hours can seem daunting as well as exciting. I do know that Berlin is definitely a city to see, and my almost 36 hours there offered something intriguing. Its not a quick dive into like many other cities can be, but moreso like an onion city - you have to pull it back layer by layer (hope you liked that Shrek reference 😃) Being in Berlin offered a little taste of something culturally similar to America at a time when being in Kosovo, and in all that cold 💨, was becoming increasingly hard. So thanks Berlin and hopefully until next time!

Berlin Victory Column

Inside the Bundestag roof overlooking Parliament rooms

German Flag from atop the Bundestag

War in central Berlin which survived WW2 attacks

Memorial near a church for recent attacks in Berlin

Bradenburg Gate in Berlin

Open air Holocaust Memorial

Flying back into Kosovo

After that wonderful weekend in Berlin, a few weeks later I was invited to Vushtrri, a large town about 30 mins. from Pristina to visit and learn some cool cultural facts. With the help of a local friend our Host volunteer (who lives in the town) showed us around with some nice spots to eat, as well as historical sites. Later that night we ended up at the Mitrovice School of Rock's Concert where students perform original sets and the event is attended by both Serbian and Albanian communities which indirectly promotes positive coexisting and social interactions and bonding over a common interest - Music. The students who performed were AWESOME and it is definitely an experience I won't forget.

100 year old house in the center of town

Austro-Hungarian architecture in Vushtrri

Civilian war memorial near the center of town

Old Hamam which was recently renovated

Ready for the Concert!

Student Performance

Another Group rocking the mic

The first week of April, with our 3-month, no foreign travel date approaching, two of my close friends and I went on a 2 day, 1 night bus tour of Macedonia and Albania. We visited towns and villages around Lake Ohrid which included - Ohrid, St. Naum, Struga, and we stayed in a village outside of Pogradec. In Kosovo there are bus tour groups which offer weekend getaway packages to Kosovars to neighboring countries that don't have visa requirements (Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro). So we packed our bags and headed out early Saturday morning for Pristina to begin our weekend of hop-on hop-off'ing. Struga, Macedonia offered a different view, and being the Peace Corps Volunteers we are, we were concerned about who had the pleasure of calling that beautiful lakeside town with so much potential their home (Albania and Macedonia also host Peace Corps Volunteers 😁), After walking around, making silly videos, taking pictures in front of an emoji wall and having the obligatory coffee, we hopped back onto our bus and onto our hotel in Tushemisht. The second day was jam packed where we went to Drilon Park, St. Naum, and finally Ohrid, before going on to Pristina. I'm so appreciative that we were able to do this trip as it provided views and locations I didnt think I would be able to see before my (upcoming) departure from Kosovo.

Emoji a friend

The Beautiful Lake Ohrid as my background

Inspiring Graffiti Art - Struga

< Lake Ohrid

Struga - Black Drini River

-Signs -

Swans in Drilon Park

Drilon Park

Entrance to St. Naum

Entrance to church ar St. Naum

View of the Church

My girls and I

St. Naum

Ohrid

Statue in Ohrid

Flying our Shqiponjë

Friends and Graffiti

PHEW ok, last Travel - SPRING BREAK! For Spring Break allowed me to welcome Bulgaria as country 22! (YAY!) Bulgaria was a highly suggested, but never considered destination. We spent 3 full days in Sofia, including a day trip to Plovdiv - which was actually only spent at the mall because ya know - we were THOSE girls. Despite our mall filled attraction, Bulgaria offered a taste of something I wasn't expecting - insane beauty, great shopping, intriguing history, and loads. of. food.I definitely would recommend visiting Bulgaria to anyone traveling Eastern Europe and it is on my list of places to further explore :)