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