Hello. It's been a while since I posted something, and there are a few photos that I have wanted to share, but I never got around to actually finishing the task. Over the next few days, I hope to finally put some of these photos on the blog with comments.
Today was a typical unpredictable day in Kosovo. Last night, I had several tasks to do on the Internet, but the power went off twice, and I finally gave up and made my way to bed with Frank's headband light beam (I guess from his mining days??) on my forehead. I went to sleep and woke up to take a quick shower. Whenever I take a shower here, I am always aware that at any time the power could go off - it happens at least 4 or 5 times a month. If the power goes off, we also lose water since water is sent to the apartments via a pump. Thankfully, so far I have never been caught in the shower all soaped up when the electricity was gone. If it does happen, we have liter bottles of water filled and ready for rinsing off, but that would be a cold, uncomfortable experience! We also use these bottles to wash our hands and brush our teeth when needed. Anyway, the power went off two more times this morning, so I finally was happy to get out of the apartment and set off for the university where there was power. As my students constantly remind me with a smile, "This is Kosovo."
My cab driver didn't speak English, but I was pleasantly surprised when he said, "Parlez-vous francais?" As most of you know, I was a French high school teacher in my younger days, so I always love any opportunity to brush up on my skills. The cab driver spoke good French, but he was as much out of practice as I was. He had lived in the French-speaking part of Switzerland during the war here, and he went to French-speaking schools and then returned to Kosovo after the war. Leaving the cab, I walked into the university and made my way down to the library storage area where I have a few shelves to stow away materials. In the library, I speak German to the woman custodian named Susanna whose phone number I keep on speed dial just in case the library is locked and I can't access my materials. As you can see, one has to be flexible to live here, but the people are delightful and always happy to help, especially if you're American.
Well, here are the photos.....
Frank and I in the Prizren City Center with the Sinan Pasha Mosque (from 1615) and the fortress on the hill (a place of defense and refuge since prehistoric times) in the background.
This is after a climb up the steep hill from Shadervan Square to the fortress. The photo was taken inside of the fortress in December 2012.
Part of the interior of the fortress
The site was used exclusively as a fortress until 1912.
Another view of us at the fortress with our walking poles. The fortress hill is accessible via a very steep road and pathway from the city center and about a 15 minute walk. As many of you know, I injured my knee in a fall walking around our neighborhood in Pueblo in August, and the knee has bothered me off and on since. I am very proud that I can finally walk to the fortress and have been there 4 times. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I hope to make it at least a weekly excursion via the back way up the fortress. The back way is several miles long, but a beautiful walk along the river and a small creek. It is a nicely graded path all the way to the fortress, and many locals (especially retirees) can be seen making the trek, especially on weekends.
A view of Prizren from the fortress taken through the fortress entrance
This wouldn't be a Charron blog without some photos of food...actually, Frank thinks it's ridiculous that I always want to take photos of our meals in restaurants, but I think a picture is better than a thousand words! This is a photo taken in December 2012 of our bento boxes at a Japanese restaurant in Skopje, Macedonia (about a 3 hour bus ride from Prizren). Whenever we leave Prizren, we always are on the lookout for international restaurants. Prizren has delicious, healthy, fresh food in restaurants, but not much variety and not any choices outside of Qebap (grilled, spiced, minced sausages), grilled meats, pizza, and a few pasta dishes. This Japanese meal in Skopje was very good, but it cost us probably at least 6 times a dinner out in a nice restaurant in Prizren would cost.
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