Pristina, Kosovo (February 2026)

 

After we left Skopje, we continued driving to Pristina, Kosovo, my 108th country to visit. This new country was born in 2008, so its landmark of NEWBORN was approximate. I remembered only the civil conflict between Kosovo and Serbia that lasted for 15 months in 1998 and 1999. NATO, led by the U.S. (Bill Clinton), bombed Serbia for 78 days, and the United Nations administered the new country's birth. Unlike the image, the country looked peaceful.

We had dinner with our guide at a fine restaurant in the downtown area. Not too many people spoke English, and we could not communicate with the restaurant staff. The dinner was very good. 

The pedestrian walk was nice and safe, even at night. 

The following day, we did a city tour, visiting a library, an interesting building, and a Roman Catholic church.

We found a structure that showed a woman's face, namely Heroinat or Heroines. This structure was made of 20,000 medals or pins of different sizes. It symbolizes 20,000 women who were believed to have been raped during the Kosovo war. Sad... 

It was a surprising fact that most of Kosovo's people were Albanians. There were so many Albanian flags in Pristina. I would not be surprised if I hear that Albania and Kosovo agreed to become one nation. But, I suppose it may not become a reality to materialize soon, due mainly to political interests. - Jeffrey