Kosovo

The morning began with a bus ride to the border, and after a rather long wait, we were through both border crossings and into Kosovo! We drove to the capital city, Pristina. The drive took us through some lovely scenery and then into a developing city. Just about everywhere you looked there was some kind of construction going on. Along the highway we stopped to take pictures of the speed limit sign that had both the speed limit for cars and trucks, and for tanks! Only in Kosovo!

Our first stop in town was to a survivor of the war. We were invited into his home and he told us his heartbreaking story of how he lost his father, his brother and sister-in-law and their three children (his niece and nephews). Again, the warmth of his family's welcome and his gratitude for the United States was moving.

We then drove around the town for a bit, viewing embassies and government buildings and then had a delicious lunch at a restaurant that served local food. My favorites were the stuffed grape leaves and the meat in a kind of tomato-cheese sauce. So delicious!!!

A member of KFOR, the multinational peacekeeping force in Kosovo met with us for lunch (and then rode back with us to Skopje) talked to us about their efforts in Kosovo. An extremely interesting guy and job.

We then took a walking town of the downtown area and walked passed the parliament building that was COVERED in rows and rows of signed petitions of local citizens who were urging the government to not open up talks with Serbia. Obviously they have not forgotten the atrocities suffered in the 90s.

We then visited the museum of Kosovo which was missing a large majority of its exhibits. Apparently they were sent to Belgrade for a traveling exhibition in 1999 and never returned. After the museum we visited a local mosque, then went to Bill Clinton square to see the statue of Bill Clinton, the huge billboard of him, and an American flag they fly in recognition of the US-led NATO air strikes which ended the Serbian attempt to ethnically cleanse the Albanians in Kosovo. There is also a Bill Clinton boulevard which is one of the main streets in town. It made me very proud to be an American.

By this time it was getting late, so we drove back to Skopje, again crossing the border back into Macedonia.

Overall, an extremely interesting day and a wonderful visit to a country so welcoming to Americans!