Pristina to Belgrade

We said goodbye to Pristina yesterday before taking the bus back to Belgrade.  Once again, we lucked out majorly by catching the bus just before it left the station, thanks to some very nice station workers and drivers (we <3 you, Adio Tours).  Before leaving we visited the museums we missed during our earlier attempt.  First was the Kosovo Musuem, which is home to prehistoric archaeological objects found in Kosovo, its most famous item being the Hynesha në Fron (Goddess on the Throne).  The statue is 6000 years old and represents the earliest sign of civilization in the Kosovo region.  While it was returned to the Kosovo Museum in 2002, after having been loaned for an exhibition in Belgrade in 1999, several artifacts of its ilk remain in Belgrade - a fact the museum is very openly displeased about.

Blurry shot of the Goddess on the Throne

The Kosovo Museum is very adamant about retrieving the others.

A better view of the pre-historic creatures

Afterwards we visited the Ethnographic Museum, located in a characteristic 18th century house.  It took several tries to find it, as it is located on a small street in the old bazaar area of Pristina, but we had fun passing through the marketplace nearby.  The guides showed us artifacts related to Albanian birth and death rituals as well as explaining traditions for weddings and guest accommodations.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the inside.

We are now back in Belgrade and spent the day catching up on some of the sites we missed on our first few days here.  It was rainy again, but walking through Belgrade is always lovely.  We went inside St. Mark's church as well as the Cathedral Church.  Both are beautiful.  We returned to Kalemegdan and I got some photos this time, even though the weather was still not great.  We ate dinner at Kafana '?' (Znak Pitanja), which first opened as a tavern in 1826 and is Belgrade's oldest traditional restaurant.  The meaning behind the name dates back to its having once been referred to as "kod Saborne crkve" (meaning "at the Cathedral Church"), but had to be changed due to the church's protests to being included in the restaurant's name - at which point the owner put up a question mark during the interim and the name has lasted ever since.  It serves delicious authentic Serbian food and was perfect for the final meal of our trip.

Saint Mark's Church

Old Palace

Horses in front of the Parliament Building

Kalemegdan in the rain

Fortress in Kalemegdan

Victor Monument in Kalemegdan

Cathedral Church and Patriarchate (in background)

Knez Mihailova Street

We fly home early tomorrow morning.  The trip was a great success, filled with plenty of delicious and cheap meals, great hotels, fascinating landmarks and incredible hospitality.  Both Serbia and Kosovo were awesome.  I hope we will be back to visit soon.  Thanks everyone for reading!