A little Christmas in Macedonia and Kosovo -  We went to Mass at the Catholic Cathedral in Skopje, Macedonia last week and were most impressed by the nativity scene they had on display near the altar.  As you probably know, Annette has a large collection of nativity scenes that she loves to display at Christmas, so we consider ourselves to be creche experts.  The nativity scene in Skopje was impressive even by our demanding standards.  It took up most of one side of the altar area, probably 15' wide by 8' deep.  There were mountains, villages, numerous flocks of sheep and cattle, angels, stars, wise men - the whole works plus some!  We were very impressed!  The photos below don't do it justice, but thought you might enjoy them.

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On Christmas Day we went to mass at the Cathedral here in Prizren and saw their nativity scene located outside of the church.  It is nice but not as impressive as the one in Skopje.  Mass in the winter here is a challenge, with no heat in the church it gets really cold inside.  On Christmas Day there were 40 to 50 KFOR troops in camo uniforms in the church for mass.  There is a large KFOR (Kosovo Force - the NATO troops brought in during the Kosovo war in 1999) base near the town of Ferizaj, so we suspect that some Christian troops were brought to Prizren for Christmas mass.  Most of the troops are German, but we occasionally  see American soldiers too.  Anyway, posted below are two photos of the creche in Prizren.  Hope you had a great Christmas too.

Our long weekend in Macedonia - The weekend before Christmas we spent 3 days in Skopje, Macedonia, the capital city of the small landlocked country just south of Kosovo.  Macedonia was part of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991.  The country has a population of about 2 million and Skopje is home to about half a million of them.  From Prizren it was an easy 3 hour bus ride that cost only 15 euros for a round trip.

We stayed at a cute little hotel on the edge of downtown Skopje, and being a bit hungry after the bus ride we took a short walk and discovered the first McDonalds we've seen since leaving the US.  So lunch consisted of Big Macs, fries and cokes, all of which cost about 800 denars.  Luckily, a Macedonian denar is worth just a little more than 2 cents American, but our $16.00 burger meal made us start to miss the 1.5 euro burgers in Kosovo.

This is the McDonalds we discovered in Skopje, and note the big Coke billboard with Santa.  Macedonia is predominantly Orthodox Christian, with only about 25% Muslim, so Christmas is a big event there, but the main celebration takes place on January 6th, not Dec. 25th.  After a bit of wandering we made our way back to Hotel Kapistec, cleaned up and headed into downtown to find the Opera House, since we had noticed on the internet that the Macedonian Opera was performing Bizet's Carmen that evening.  So we enjoyed a good evening at the Opera followed by a nightcap at one of the many coffee shops on the big Alexander the Great plaza, shown in the photo below.

Saturday morning started with a great breakfast at the hotel and a brisk walk to the new City Mall a few kilometers away.  It looked like any fancy shopping mall in the US and the prices were out of my range, but didn't deter Annette from dropping most of our denar stash on what must be some very good lipstick.  As with any shopping mall at Christmas time, Santa was in the building.

After the mall a quick cab ride took us to the Mother Theresa Memorial in downtown Skopje.  Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born in Skopje in a house that was destroyed by a major earthquake in 1963.  Her parents were ethnic Albanians and Catholic, and her father was originally from Prizren.  A memorial chapel and museum was built to celebrate the life of Mother Theresa, and we were lucky to have a long conversation with Zhaklina, the curator of the memorial.  Annette was happy to discover that Mother Theresa's original middle name, Gonxha, means "rosebud" in Albanian and that she had a life-long devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux.  We also discovered that the Bishop of Skopje had a strong influence on her when she was growing up, and that he was originally from Novo Mesto, Slovenia, where Annette's grandmother was born.

 Statue of Mother Theresa and the memorial chapel and museum.

The rest of the day was spent roaming around Skopje.  It is an interesting place, going back to the Thracian people of antiquity, followed by one conqueror after another as has been the case in most of the Balkans.  Alexander the Great was born in nearby Greek Macedonia and ruled his empire around 350 BC.  The big plaza area of downtown Skopje has a HUGE statue of Alexander, as well as statues of nearly every other important figure in Macedonian history.  Many new government buildings are being built around the plaza, with massive columns and classic architecture, which combined with all the statues gives the downtown area sort of a Vegas vibe.  It reminded us of being in Caesar's Palace but on a grander scale and with a big river running through it.  But, all in all we had a fun little trip and were glad we went.  It was a little strange with all the signs using a cyrillic alphabet.  Our last night there we were walking back to the hotel and decided that a pizza would make a good late night meal on a cold and blustery night, but we realized we had no idea what a pizza joint's sign would look like.  In fact, the whole time we were there we hardly could tell what was a restaurant based solely on the signs.  But, with a little help from locals we did get a pizza, although the only thing on the sign that gave it away was a cartoon of a little guy making a pizza (and of course the nice aroma coming from the door).  I had to laugh at myself when we got back into Kosovo on the bus Sunday night, because I was thinking "I'm so glad to be back where I can actually read the signs again."  Of course, all the signs here are in Albanian, which I still can't read, but at least I know the letters, unlike the cyrillic Macedonian signage.  I'm just going to post a few more photos below to give everyone a feel for "Vegas on the Vardar".

The Alexander the Great statue in the plaza.

Zoomed in view of the Kale, the 6th century Byzantine fortress in Skopje.

The 15th century Ottoman "Old Stone Bridge" across the Vardar River, with the under-construction Supreme Court Building in the background

A new bridge with a whole flock of statues, and a new government building across the river with even more statues on top.

Lots of Christmas lights and decorations in the plaza.

Making Christmas Cookies at Our Apartment

We invited some of the students who frequent the American Corner over to our place to make Christmas cookies and play Mexican train dominoes.  We had a great time!!

Kustrine, Elita, Frank, Elona, Marigona, and Dorine

Elita, Elona, Dorina, and Annette

Elita, Elona, Dorine and Ilirjan (the Fullbright English Teaching Associate from the Bronx)

Elona is 9 and is the daughter of Shykran, the American Corner Coordinator.

In true American fashion, Frank and Bledar are watching American football since we purchased the NFL package so that we could cheer on Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.  Bledar is a basketball fanatic and a member of the booster club for Prizren's pro basketball team which has two American players.  Bledar is a senior in high school.  Somehow, amazingly, any conversation at the American Corner turns into a conversation about basketball when Bledar is present.  We may be talking about American presidential elections, for example, and somehow Bledar eventually relates whatever subject we are discussing to something about basketball.  I just laugh when it happens, but some of the girls just roll their eyes.

Decorated Christmas cookies at the Charron Xmas party.

Elita, Marigona, and Dorine - the master cookie makers.

"Oh the weather outside is frightful"

Here are some photos of the recent snowstorms in Prizren.  For about 10 days straight, we had snowy cold weather.  The snow removal took a while, and the sidewalks and streets were treacherous.  We wear our hiking boots daily now.  Both Frank and I took a few tumbles, but we have padding and we know how to fall, so there were no lasting injuries.  In the past week, we have had some sunny days, so the snow has slowly melted. 

The Turkish hammam (baths) with a mosque in the background about 2 blocks from our apartment.

Snowy Prizren city center taken from the hammam.

Snow piles on our street near our apartment.

The following photos were taken in Prizren on the 100th Anniversary of Albania's independence from Ottoman rule on November 28, 2012.  You will see lots of red and many Albanian flags.  We went to a celebration at the Albanian League of Prizren Musuem, one of Kosovo's most important historical sites.  It is where patriots and intellectuals from Kosovo and Macedonia gathered in 1878 to start the poolitical, military, and cultural struggle against the Ottoman Empire. 

Kosovar boys holding Albanian flags on stage as a backdrop to the ceremony.

One token girl onstage with a flag.

Kosovar boy all decked out for the celebration.  Buildings of the Albanian League of Prizren are in the background.  They were reconstructed after being destroyed by the Serbs in 1999.

Albanian League of Prizren building with mosque in the background.

Celebration with Prizren in the background. 

Celebration attendees.  About 5% of the women cover themselves and there are a few men with beards.  Prizren is the most conservative place in Kosovo.  Supposedly, Saudia Arabia gives monthly stipends to some young women who cover themselves and to young men who wear a beard.

Kosovar young dancer

Young Kosovar boy with Turkish hat.

Kosovar Albanian traditional dancers performing.

Young boy watching celebration

Banner of three Kosovar war heroes.  We live on Adem Jashari street.

Traditional Kosovar Albanian dancer and musician before the performance.

The mistress of ceremonies wearing an Albanian flag dress.  I don't think she dyed her hair red for this celebration.  I've seen her on the street, and this is its usual color.

Dancers ending their performance.

Dancers perfoming.

Two Kosovar traditional Albanian dancers who posed for me.

Don't know if we missed a parade or something, but we passed this horse and rider on the street.

Shadervan Square on independence day.

Shadervan Square with Sinan Pasha Mosque in the background.  The mosque was buildt in 1615.  In the center of the photos is Shadervan Square fountain which has water from a natural spring.

Young Kosovoars celebrating

                                     

Shadervan Square fountain and Sinan Pasha Mosque.

Shadervan Square on Albanian Independence Day.

Shadervan Square looking opposite way on Albanian Independence Day.  Serbian Orthodox Church of St. George is in the background.

Flag seller on the Old Stone Bridge.  American flags are prominently displayed throughout the year since the Kosovars are thankful to the U.S. for helping them gain independence from Serbia. The bridge crosses the Lumbardhi River that bisects Prizren.  It dates from the 16th century but was rebuilt in 1979 after heavy floods washed it away.

Kosovar girls at the celebration.

This is inside one of our favorite restaurants - Symphony - in the Marash District of Prisren.  We went to have lunch to celebrate the Albanian Independence Day.  I remarked to Frank that there was a table of 7 women behind him and that must have left their husbands at home.  He replied that behind me, there was a table of 7 men pictured below.  We guessed that they were couples who didn't want to sit together.  This was later confirmed when the two tables interacted briefly with each other.  The men seemed to be having a much better time with lively conversations and smiles.  The women just concentrated on their lunches for the most part.   In talking to Kosovar friends later, they said that when groups of couples go out, separate tables are often chosen for the men and their wives.  Some of the young women don't like the practice.  We think that the men were probably good friends and the women were stuck sitting with each other even though they didn't have much to talk about.

The "more fun" table even though they don't look that lively here.