January 17, 2020- Flashback Friday - Kosovo - The Newborn Country

For today's post I thought I might do a little "flashback" you might say. This post will not be limited to the usual 100 words. During my time in Bulgaria I managed to get out and venture  into other lands. I had intended on going to Macedonia, with possible plans of seeing Albania soon after. The plans changed and I went a different direction. I decided on Kosovo. Where the heck is Kosovo, some might ask. To be honest it is near other countries that the average person may have never heard of before. Just think Greece, and look up a little toward the left. In 2008, Kosovo became an independent country finally separate from Serbia.  The picture on the left shows flags of all the countries that voted to approve the that UN resolution.

When you hear the word Kosovo, you may remember that some of the darkest events in recent memory occurred in this area of Europe. Some of us remember hearing the name Slobodan Milosevic. Some of us may remember how many of our soldiers were sent to serve in what in the Bosnian conflict.  Others may remember the ethnic cleansing of the Bosniak people (Bosnian Muslims),  along with thousands of citizens who were expelled from Bosnia and into other countries.

Here are a few things you may not know about Kosovo.

• There is a statue of President Bill Clinton in the capital city of Prishtina. This was an honor bestowed upon him as a thank you from the Albanians in Kosovo.
• In fact, the statue is located right along Bill Clinton Blvd
• To top it off Bill Clinton Blvd runs perpendicular to George Bush Boulevard 
• Both of these men are very well thought for sending soldiers to help with peace keeping efforts there. 
• Several streets throughout the country are even named after Woodrow Wilson
• Their national museum has a ton of newspaper clippings from American newspapers notating the Bosnian conflict and the role of the United States in it.
• It is also home to one of the ugliest buildings in the world. See below.

Some things that I experienced in my few days there.                                

• Riding in a bus on a very narrow road, only to be halted by cows crossing. 
• Riding in that same bus and actually seeing the mass graves that were once read about in American newspapers
• Being in the town of Prizren, and wanting to see the inside of a church. As it turns out the church was closed. The security guard felt bad after he found out that I was American, because thanks to my country's soldiers and leaders, his people had freedom.
• I ran at a park outside the capital city a few times and recalled reading after the first  run that were dormant landmines in parts of the park. 
• Really cheap, but really tasty food. 
• Using the Euro, which is rare in the Eastern block.
• The American flag still flies there along with the UN flag. 

                                                       

                                           This is the National Library of Kosovo.