Sunday, June 14, 2015

A day of relaxation

Today at 9.45 many pale faces took the bus to Prizren. Apparently last night was a great night out causing many not to sleep for more than two hours. After a bus ride of roughly 1,5 hours we arrived in a very cute little town. The clear water streaming down from the mountain glistered in the sun as we gathered around to meet the guide that was going to take us up the hill. I felt bad for those who had gone out, because although I was one of the very few who slept more than three hours, I had trouble finishing the steep walk as it was. After fifteen minutes of walking we arrived at the top. Whereas I thought we were climbing to see an ancient building, it was more the view that was breath taking. We could see all of Prizren and beyond. It was beautiful. After climbing down again, which actually was not as easy as you might think, we went to see a beautiful mosque. I had never been in a mosque before. The carpet was so soft that I just wanted to keep on moving around. It was interesting to see how, after we had visited the mosque, we went to see an orthodox Christian church. These two churches were basically built on the very same ground, meaning that two religions had been living side by side for a very long time.

Then it was time for lunch. Our host-mama had already informed us about the famous kebab of Prizren, so we couldn’t leave that stone unturned. As one group ran from store to store for swimming gear, as we were going to visit a lake later that afternoon, the other group (me included) went to eat kebab. It was different from what I had in mind. Living in a Turkish neighborhood in Amsterdam I was expecting something like a Turkish Pizza or a Doner roll. But when I asked the waiter whether it was served with garlic sauce he looked at me very confused. So, no garlic sauce, nevertheless the tiny pieces of kebab were delicious. Grabbing a swimming suit on the way to the bus we had managed to do exactly everything we needed to do in Prizren. We were ready for the lake. However, as we were on our way to Albania, the bus driver realized that he did not bring the needed documents to cross the border. Hence, plans changed. Instead we went to a lake right outside of Pristina. It was absolutely beautiful. Although it was already 16.30 when we arrived there, the temperature was still very high so we all managed to go for a swim and rent a boat to take out on the river. It was absolutely wonderful. After all the intensive and busy days we now had some time to relax. To make it even better, we ended up in a restaurant with a terrace by the water with the best food I had had on the trip. The fish was absolutely delicious and it was so nice to see everyone just absolutely enjoy themselves.

- Suzanne Groen

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