Adventures in Prishtina
Plus a flashback to Valencia
In transparency, N and I weren’t in Prishtina for a cultural tour. (That can be the focus of a future trip.) We were there just to get away, go to the mall, and maybe go bowling. Our AirBNB hosts were the cutest. They own a bakery and confectionary and, while we didn’t make it there this time, we did enjoy the box of chocolates they left for us. They were really yummy.
We had a parking space, which was clutch, though getting in and out of the garage was super tricky, as the spaces were tight down there! I had to do like a 21-point turn.
Here are some anecdotes from our weekend adventure.
Food
I was shocked in a great way at how affordable food was. Granted, we only had several meals while in town, but they were more affordable than meals we typically have in Tirana. I also tried the local beer, Peja. And coffee—I learned a bit about that. Apparently the coffee culture in Kosovo is nearly as vibrant as in Tirana, which is saying something.
Breakfast our first day was my favorite. I had done some research ahead of time and found a spot recommended for brunch. It did not disappoint! All in we spent 14 Euro for two dishes, two strawberry lemonades, and a cappuccino. I 100% would’ve gone back the next day, but they’re closed on Sundays. Highly recommend going here if you visit.
One of the things we discovered in Prishtina is that sometimes the area outside of a restaurant won’t look terribly inviting, but the inside is amazing. So don’t be put off by first impressions. (The same can be true in Tirana.)
Traffic
We were ready to head to the mall by early Saturday afternoon and, of course, it couldn’t just be easy to get there. We pulled out of the apartment garage and turned left, heading for the main road we came in on the day before. However, there was a line of cars going basically nowhere and some were even turning around and coming back towards us. We had no idea why, so we just had to be patient (not my strong suit).
Well, I got to where the side road intersects with the bigger boulevard only to discover that it was closed for repaving. Are you kidding me?! No signs, no cones or arrows or anything at all visual that would’ve warned us through traffic was going to be impossible.
My options were to get mad or laugh. I chose both, rather simultaneously. And then I had to figure out how to turn around (with cars coming at me from two different directions) and go back the way I’d come. It was a total cluster. At least the road was flat, and I wasn’t in a stick shift. (Flashbacks to my meltdown in Salobreña.) The upside of driving at a snail’s pace because of the congestion is that I was able to map an alternate route out of the neighborhood.
I was completely at the mercy of Google, and I ended up on some total back way that snaked me through narrow roads with double-parked cars and tons of traffic. It felt like I was in Tirana and I wondered if we’d even make it to the mall, LOL. Eventually (aka quite a while later) we got out of there and back to a main road that wasn’t closed for paving. From there we zipped to the mall. Phew.
Shopping
N needed some new summer clothes, so this was attempt number 1 (likely of many) to start to find some. We went to Prishtina Mall, one of the largest malls in Europe from a size (square footage) perspective. I was hopeful that would translate into more store options than we have in Tirana. And I suppose it did to a degree, but mostly it was a similar set of stores, just with more floor space in them. Secretly I was hoping Prishtina Mall would’ve been more like the malls in SE Asia. Hahahaha, not even. (One can dream!)
It was nice to have plenty of room to move around, but unless the shopping experience itself is going to be elevated (which for me means more/better store options, good customer service, and better aesthetics, including architecture and design), then it’s not worth driving 4 hours for. Now if it had been like one of the KL malls, I’d be making a trip to Pristina with some frequency, LOL! Gosh, I miss them; they are just next level.
Anyway, N also needed new athletic shoes, so that was a key mission. There were 4-5 sporting goods stores, all next to one another at one end of the mall. I was hopeful for a good experience and, well, we got a 4/10 experience, if I’m being generous. Turns out, if you go into any of those stores, no one really knows what customer service is (nor anything about athletic shoes). You basically have to track an employee down and beg them to help you. (In some stores, you can’t even do this; they just ignore you, including at the Nike store.)
Then when you tell them you need help looking for shoes for volleyball, they sort of shrug their shoulders and don’t know how to help. So you’re back to square one: Googling different shoes and trying to figure it out yourself. The results you get online aren’t available in store. And looking up what’s in store to see if it’s a good fit is tedious and makes you want to throw your phone through a wall.
There has to be a better way. (There are better ways; they just aren’t available in Eastern Europe.) We eventually got a pair of shoes, but we went through rounds and rounds of trying stuff on, none of it really right. Gah. And this is basically why having a big, huge mall isn’t necessarily better. I’d prefer a curated store with excellent selection and a highly trained, knowledgable staff any day. Like the running shoe store experience I had in Munich. That or just open a Decathlon (the European equivalent of REI at a fraction of the cost). But I digress.
Bowling
We wrapped our time in Prishtina with a trip to a different mall, mostly so we could go bowling. We had gone bowling on a whim in Valencia* but N wanted to redeem herself, as the lane had been pretty wonky and none of us had great scores there, her especially. So we dropped by, rented shoes, and paid for a game. Total cost? 6 Euro. Say whaaaaaaaaat?! The shoes alone in Valencia had been about that much. As we sat down to put our shoes on, someone walked over to bring N a cup of popcorn, no charge. I liked this place.
We had a super fun first game and decided to bowl a second. I mean, at those prices, how could you not? The people bowling next to us had zero bowling etiquette (in every way) but aside from that the bowling alley was great. If/when we go back to Prishtina, we would definitely go again.
*****
Our drive back to Tirana took just over 3 hours. It helped that we knew the way now. I definitely wouldn’t want to make the drive during winter, as Kosovo gets snow and driving through southern Kosovo and northern Albania is fairly remote. But from spring to fall, sure. Next time we head that way I’d like to see Prizren, which is closer than Prishtina.
Have you been to Kosovo? What did you like and where should we be sure to go on our next trip there?
*I don’t think I shared the bowling photos from Valencia in any of our trip recaps, so here they are. I have to put them in one by one so faces don’t get cropped out.
