Pristina/Prishtina, Kosovo., Pristina, Kosovo

How many countries are there in Europe? Google it if you have to. Some say 50, others 51. Why the difference? Kosovo. Some countries recognise it as an independent country, including the UK and the US, whilst others do not.

We had booked our bus tickets from Belgrade to Pristina in Belgrade for 15 euros. The bus left promptly on time at 12:00 and we arrived at Pristina bus station at around 6pm. It was a long trip but there was lovely scenery and the obligatory delay at the border crossing. There is something a little disconcerting about a guard with a gun boarding the bus and there was a delay of about an hour but we did have a stop or two on the way which broke up the journey.

Shortly after crossing the border, we saw some dilapidated houses. Possibly war damaged, though admittedly that is speculation. Some with no rooves, all with no glass in the windows. Some of them, sadly, with human inhabitants. You couldn’t help but feel for them living in such squalid conditions.

What struck us on our arrival into Pristina was how small it was; Belgrade was a large city but Pristina was very small in comparison and it was a lot more modern than we expected. We grabbed a taxi from the bus station and took the short journey to our accommodation ‘The Headquarters‘ (The HQ Apartment). We had used booking.com to book an apartment for our stay in Pristina which had a good rating and the meet and greet to collect the keys went without a hitch. The apartment was completely suitable for our needs and even had a washing machine which we were very grateful for after travelling for 2 weeks only on hand luggage! The accommodation was situated on a busy street with copious bars, coffee shops, restaurants and a supermarket. For only 54 euros for 2 nights, we were very impressed. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).