P is for Prizren

Today’s blog post was brought to you by the letter P. For Prizren, and Pristina, and Peja. Did you notice how I listed 3 of the top four cities in Kosovo, and they all begin with P?*

Today I visited Prizren. This day trip was postponed from yesterday because the weather report was more promising. However, it also turns out that most shops and such are closed on Sundays in Pristina, so I’m assuming that applies elsewhere and thus that today was actually a better day to visit. (Aside: I’m not sure why this is the case since most Kosovar Albanians are secular Muslims (i.e. Sunday is not in any sense a holy day)).

Observation of the day: Prizren is covered with little clothing shops. Its really astounding, how many. Also, both there and in Pristina there seem to be an extraordinary number of shops specializing in ball gowns / special occasion wear. People here must have significantly more reasons to dress black tie than I do, cause there really is quite a large market apparently.

Getting there and back given my non-existent Albanian and the bus drivers' and taxi drivers' non-existent English was a not so fun adventure. (Taxi to bus station. Bus from Pristina to Prizren. Etc. It's a story for another day). However, Prizren itself is a charming old city, with the area by the river covered in old cobblestone roads, an old stone bridge, a Serbian Orthodox cathedral, a Catholic cathedral, several mosques, and the remainers of an old castle from which you can see a panoramic overview of the whole city (if you climb all the way up to it). So, all in all, it was a nice day visit. But I will be ready for a quiet day in Pristina tomorrow.

*The fourth is Mitrovica.