July 21st

We visited an organization called the Nansen Dialogue, an NGO that facilitates interactions in Kosovo between Albanians and Serbs.  They also work with refugees and IDPs, mostly Serbs, who fled Kosovo during the war, trying to return them to their property.  We wandered around the pedestrian area a bit more, and then returned to the bus.

Just outside of Pristina, we visited the monument to the Battle of Kosovo.  One of the reasons Serbia is intent on holding on to Kosovo is that it sees the region as the cradle of its civilization and history.  A key aspect of Serb history is the Battle of Kosovo in 1389.  The Kingdom of Serbia clashed against the invading Ottomans.  Both sides were nearly wiped out, but the Turks had reserves to call in, and won the battle, adding the Kingdom of Serbia to the Ottoman Empire.  Serbs view this battle with nationalistic pride.  The monument is a tall tower that offers a surrounding view of the beautiful landscape, and a guard is maintained due to vandalism by those opposed to Serbs.

Before leaving Kosovo, we stopped in Mitrovica, a northern city with a Serbian enclave.  The city is divided by the Iber River, and we stopped at a bridge guarded on both sides: Albanians to the south, and Serbs in the north.  Both sides have their own institutions and for the most part their own infrastructure, and the town is very symbolic of the division that defines Kosovo today.

We planned that evening to stay in Mokra Gora, a town in western Serbia.  However, plans rarely stay the same in the Balkans.  Apparently, when we had crossed in to Kosovo the day before, we received Republic of Kosovo stamps on our passports (despite asking the border police not to).  Since Serbia doesn’t recognize that entity and the border crossing is technically a “security checkpoint,” allowing us to cross back in to Serbia with the Kosovo stamp would be an act of recognition.  The option we were left with was to travel from Kosovo to Montenegro and enter Serbia from there, adding several hours to our already lengthy bus ride.  Despite the willingness of our professor to be arrested and creating an international incident, we decided to change our plans and stay in Montenegro for the night.  We chose an upscale hotel (gotta love that emergency fund from the university!) in the mountain town of Rozaje, pulling in late at night. Our bus got a lot of stares as we wound our way through the sleepy Muslim town, and exploring at night offered only quiet streets, but we were happy with our nice rooms and beds.