After being baffled by statues in Macedonia, I headed onto
an equally as confusing city – Pristina, Kosovo. Ground zero of the war in the late 1990s, the
city is a curious collision of past and present, finished and unfinished. I arrived in my usual manner - up for anything and
less than prepared.
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| The "Old City": one of the oldest buildings in Pristina |
The overall experience involved a lot of head shaking and
second glances, but a lot of fun.
I started off with lunch at Te Nazi restaurant, a
recommendation I had received from a friend.
How could I resist a restaurant with that name? The
food was delicious; there was not a common word spoken with the staff,
all of whom visited my table in attempts to translate various menu items. In the end, I got a delicious and filling
combination of meat and bread, which is quite typical in the region. Now full of local food, it was time for
adventuring…
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| Street art messages and the National Library on University of Kosovo campus |
First I headed towards Bill Klinton Boulevard, which is one
of the larger roads through the city, and home to a famous statue of good ole Bill. Then it was onto the Kosovo Art Gallery,
which is a small building that had missing exhibition pieces. The absence of the work was not intended to be considered "contemporary". They were simply not there, though the title plaques remained. I shrugged and
thought it was best not to ask. It also
housed a permanent collection of very peculiar artwork on the second level. Finally, I headed to the National Library of Kosovo, which also serves
as the library for the University of Pristina.
It was recently named one of the ugliest buildings in the world and for
very good reason - check it out. The building looks
like a burnt marshmallow with zits.
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| Out and about in Pristina: a strong US presence everywhere you look |
That was enough for one head-scratching day. Everywhere I turned I was confused. Was this some sort of Tim Burton production commissioned by the US government?
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| Protests on Mother Theresa Blvd; Memorials for lost Kosovars |
The following day I set out with some hostel friends. Across the street from the library on steroids
is the Cathedral of Mother Theresa.
Grand (in stature) from the outside, the church is shockingly unfinished on the
inside. The crucifix, unseen at first,
hangs off to the left, unseen but probably more accurately un-searched for by patrons. Though it was midday, the church was
completely uninhabited, save for about three hundred purple plastic chairs. I asked if it was finished, and the response
from a local was “Yes, but no one uses it. It’s here to make Westerners feel more
comfortable about the mosques”. I later
learned that about 3% of the Kosovar population considered themselves to be Christian,
yet here is an enormous, unfinished cathedral on the main boulevard. Not quite what I would have expected.
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| Saint Theresa Catholic Cathedral |
Across town, we saw another abandoned church with a random dumpster fire in front of it. This time it was Orthodox and appeared to
have been ignored for the better part of a decade. Apparently, it is being lobbied to be used as the location
for the newest disco in Pristina. The
Orthodox Church has yet to be swayed by the university student’s pleas and the
doors remain padlocked with the grass and weeds remaining overgrown.
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| Casual fire in the dumpster with an abandoned church in the background |
Throughout my stay I experienced a handful of what one may
call highlights, if the term is being used loosely. I saw a protest of Kosovar miners, met a
famous local contestant from Europe’s version of America’s
Got Talent, tasted local snacks at the market, meandered through the
endless cafes and bars, and taste tested more of the region’s infamous rakia.
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| Street Market: so much cabbage |
For a city that was full of confusing and unfinished
architecture and history, the locals and atmosphere were vibrant and
welcoming. Despite my curious observations
above, I rather enjoyed the city and the warmhearted locals. It was hard to pack up after a few days and
leave a city with such a bizarre, but alluring character. Luckily, I had met Tommy and Ian at Hostel
Han and traveled onto Montenegro with them.
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