After hiking in northern Albania, I felt tired and dirty. I wanted a charming small town to relax in for a few days. Have a chance to do laundry, organize my bag, sleep in a private room (I’d been staying in dorm rooms), and just chill. I knew I needed to be in Sofia, Bulgaria to catch a flight, therefore I decided to travel east and spend a few days in Prizren, Kosovo.

I’ll admit I had never heard of either Prizren or Kosovo before I started travel planning and looked at the map. The whole region is interesting and has seen many wars and conquests. Most recently Kosovo was declared an independent state yet Serbia still considers it part of their country. Coming from Albania, I’d heard about how Kosovo has lots of Albanians. They kept telling me how wonderful Bill Clinton was and how all Albanians love the Clintons. I felt a bit young since the first president I really remember is George Bush. After a bit of googling, I learned that there was a war going on and lots of ethnic and religious discrimination between the Serbian and Albanian people. The USA and NATO bombed key sites in 1999. Kosovo Albanians see this as a turning point. The USA has acknowledged Kosovo as an independent state since 2008. At least that is the basics that I understand. You could dedicate your whole life studying the politics of the Balkans.

As a traveler, this applied to me in that relations are still a bit tense. I’d been advised to not travel to Kosovo and then into Serbia since the Kosovo stamp might not be recognized by Serbia. I decided to avoid the problem by traveling from Albania to Kosovo to North Macedonia to Bulgaria.

Prizren is a cultural center that has been saved from most of the destruction of recent wars. It’s a very charming town about 3 hours from Shkodër, Albania. There are cobblestone roads, historical buildings, a fortress, tons of mosques, and a few churches. The feel of the place was relaxed and very family friendly. One day the streets were all blocked for a kids’ bike ride.

I took it easy here. I hiked up to the fortress and enjoyed the views of the city. Luckily while I was overlooking the city the Adhan (call to prayer) started and it was beautiful.

This was a nice place to relax. I spent many hours sipping Turkish tea in the plentiful sidewalk cafes. Thank you, Prizren!