Country #88

Country #88 - Kosovo

The Snow Storm

I woke up to a fresh snowfall in Pristina, Kosovo! I had gotten a great night of sleep and then had a much-needed omelette and buffet breakfast. I did not have an early morning for once and definitely took advantage of it. I really appreciated the great view from my room, especially with the snowfall. The snow kept me from seeing the city as it was really coming down and I wouldn’t have enough time to go out and see anything. The cab ride back to the bus was nice, though, as I was able to see a few highlights of the city such as the National Library of Kosovo building which, to me, looked like a bunch of bubbles!

Something that I immediately noticed about Kosovo was how many newer buildings that there were and how much recent development had taken place. Another surprise was how good everyone’s English was. I wasn’t expecting it but it was very nice! The most surprising part about Kosovo, though, is that many people don’t yet consider it a country. In fact, Kosovo is the only country that I am visiting that is technically not considered a country by Guinness.

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So technically I am visiting just for fun as I do consider it a country and it isn’t essential to the record-setting part of my travels. But, I am very glad that I made the stop! It was very interesting to see and learn about. Everything about it felt like its own country. For example, it had its own currency and border controls. Here’s to hoping one day it is considered a country!

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I made it to the bus station a bit early for my bus out of Kosovo where I was headed to Albania. The bus ride was quite the adventure. Last bus ride, craziest bus ride you might say. Driving through the mountains in Kosovo in a snowstorm was an ordeal to say the least! The bus passed by countless overturned cars yet kept on going. It was a very slow task to make it through what only yesterday had no snow whatsoever. But man was it crazy today! Snow was piled up everywhere and I was truly amazed that the bus made it through without issue.

I talked to a guy from Albania for a bit who was nice and liked talking about different English sayings. It was a nice change of pace during the snowstorm drive. The rest of the bus ride I watched Netflix and eventually, the bus made it out of the mountains. It was only a few more hours once entering Albania to make it to the capital, Tirana.

88 countries down, 108 to go.

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