Sketches of Kosovo

Personally, Kosovo felt like the first ‘real’ destination of this trip. It is a place I had not visited previously and a place I do not know much about, other than how the media has portrayed it for years.

After having spent four nights in the area, not surprisingly, I still feel largely ignorant about this place despite some textbook knowledge I absorbed each evening. Yet, it did not feel too unfamiliar, and I will remember the warmth of the people, many of whom happen to know how to cook top-quality meatballs.

Purely by coincidence, I caught the place on the anniversary of the start of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. Having visited most of the former Yugoslav countries, I know something about how complex the historical events were, and how much the accounts can sound different based on whom you hear them from. I do not intend to take the view of a pure relativist here—I was just reminded once again of how our identity can be a tricky thing. It can give us a strong sense of meaning in life, which is important, and the means to build shared stories together; but while doing so, we let ourselves believe that the enemy is justifiably real, and that they are deeply different from us.

I confess that I really wanted to catch a glimpse of the largest shopping mall in Kosovo: Prishtina Mall. It is also true that I like the idea of a shopping mall (perhaps more on this later), but I wanted to visit the commercial complex as if to prove to myself that Kosovo is as modern and ‘usual’ as other capitals, and I left satisfied.

I had the impression that the meatball and sausage variants (namely Qofte, Qebapa, and Suxhuk) can be called the national dishes. They are highly accessible, seem to have been well-standardized, and are likely of great quality irrespective of the venue. I am conscious that many of these are popular throughout the Balkan region, but I had the best subjective experience here—perhaps because they were not too salty.

One thing I still could not get used to: the generous smoking culture outdoors and often indoors. The frustration when someone next to you picks up a cigarette! 🙂

26 March 2026, Prizren, Kosovo

16 Comments

  1. Pak Goat naturally like your web site however you need to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to tell the truth on the other hand I will surely come again again.

  2. The point about catching the NATO bombing anniversary by coincidence and then noticing how accounts shift depending on who tells them stuck with me. One practical thing: before visiting, read a short timeline from two or three different local perspectives rather than one overview, and note where they diverge. It makes the conversations you have on the ground easier to follow and keeps you from nodding along to just the first version you hear.

  3. Your reflection on Kosovo moving from a media-shaped image to a place defined by the warmth of its people feels especially thoughtful. It’s also honest that four nights and some evening textbook reading could only begin to scratch the surface of a country you had previously known so little about.

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