(By Chiara Tulp)
As some of
you might have read in the other posts, during our ten days in Kosovo one of
our main challenges was to juggle Pristina nightlife with days packed with
meetings. We often spent hours sitting in rooms without air conditioning just
to go back out into the burning sun. So, what better way to freshen up than to
sit down on one of the many lovely terraces Kosovo’s cities have to offer and
enjoy some coffee and fresh orange juice?
Spending
the days in cafés is a big part of Kosovo’s culture and social life. If you are
wondering how it is possible that all cafés are filled with people pretty much
any time of the day - we were wondering the same thing. It turns out that this
lovely way of socializing and enjoying the day is closely related to the high
rates of unemployment in Kosovo. The numbers we found ranged between 45 and 55
percent oft he overall population and 60 to 70 percent oft he youth being
unemployed. The next question we had was how the people in Kosovo can afford to
spend their time in cafés drinking coffee without a steady income. The answer
is simple. A lot of money is flowing back into Kosovo from the diaspora living
abroad, in countries such as Germany, Turkey or Switzerland. The fact that this
is where the money goes is perceived differently. On the one hand people say
that it is good because, well, at least it is spent and goes back into the
economy. On the other hand, some are very frustrated by this behavior, because
they believe the way to get the economy back on track is to increase
employment.
On the
positive note, this lifestyle makes for a very vibrant social life. Especially
if you speak English with each other people sitting on the table next to you
are likely to start a conversation. And trust me, they have very interesting
stories to tell, and they will give you the best tips on which areas of
Pristina and Kosovo you should visit. There was only one problem; you might not
always get the coffee you ordered. During our stay it took Olafs about 5 days
to find out how to get a cappuccino just the way he wants it, which could leave
him let’s say slightly frustrated. So let me translate the language of coffee
for you. If you order a classic cappuccino you have a 90 percent of chance of
getting an extra thick layer of chocolate syrup on top, which sounds lovely,
but apparently there are those who are not keen on chocolate in their coffee.
So his next attempt was to order espresso, which in Kosovo usually comes in a
small cup with milk froth. If you order a cappuccino and the waiter asks you if
you want milk with it, he probably means a huge layer of cream on top of your
cappuccino. Luckily some cafés, especially in areas where a lot of
internationals work, the coffeemenu might have pictures. So order from the
pictures rather than from your knowledge of coffee terms. After five days Olafs
had almost given up hope and just reduced his order to plain coffee. And
surprise, he actually got a real cappuccino! So let me sum this up for you:
Espresso means Espresso Macchiato, Coffee means cappucchino, cappucchino
usually means an extra layer of chocolate syrup, cappucchino with milk means cappuccino
with extra cream, and don’t ask me what you get when you order a latte
macchiato, because I haven’t quite figured out what we got. It could probably
best be described as a giant café au lait, or koffie verkeerd. So, bare this in
mind when you plan your next holiday in Kosovo.
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