Merry Christmas !

This is the last post of the year, I'm flying home on Wednesday (weather permitting).
Thanks for reading the blog it's been really enjoyable doing it - I hope I can continue to find things to post that you enjoy reading. I'm back in Pristina on the 9th of January.
1,300 views and counting !
Have a great Christmas.
Orra best !
G.

Popping out for something to eat

If you are trying to work out what's in this photo, you may need to double click on it to see more clearly.
All the cafe/kebab shops here have the grill sticking out of the window!
No protection to stop curious kids touching the metal outside or banging their heads on the way past, but hey they should watch where they are going shouldn't they?

Uniform Top Trumps Update

Morocco & Slovenia added !

A trip to the station.

Stumbled across Pristina Railway Station yesterday, so thought I would pop back and take a few photos.
As you can see they even lag behind the UK in railway investment. This is a working railway station!

It was 3 o'clock.

Needs Must.

As you can see from the photo below the snow has finally arrived here ( I can hear you all now 'that's not a real snow fall').

The sub-zero temperatures have caught out the University where we are currently doing our training, the room we use is really cold and only has one socket the wall heater cum AC unit is at one side of the room (right) and the laptop and projector on the left. So it may not be pretty (or up to UK H&S standards) but as the title says needs must !

Election Fever

Things are hotting up on the general election front here. It's voting day tomorrow and as you can see from the photo everything is plastered with banners, stickers and flags. Yesterday saw thousands of people attend a rally in the building next to our training room in the university, all day and early evening people were parading up and down chanting and shouting in support of the different parties.

Kids nipping your head about Christmas presents?

A typical scene at any road junction with traffic lights, the Roma kids wash car windows and beg instead of going to school, their mothers and grandmothers show them how it's done.

I doubt these kids will get much for Crimbo.........

Looking for a different view?

Thought I would share the link to my colleague David's blog, His experiences make for interesting reading
Predictably or co-incidently (depending on your view) his blog is called 'David goes to Kosovo!'

David's Blog

It's a funny old town..

Went for a walk today, took a few photos, went to the most bizarre shop.
I'll start with the shop, it's basically a department store full of designer clothes at ridiculous prices that are a mix of counterfeit and the real thing. Anyway as it's at the entrance to the NATO base it's full of soldiers from a real mix of countries I saw soldiers from Estonia, Poland, Turkey, Greece, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and the US, All armed with rifles strapped to their backs - shopping! One French guy trying on jeans propped his rifle up in the corner of the changing room to go and get the next size up! It did make me wonder just how dangerous it was to shop in Pristina and whether I should ask for an armed guard when I walk back from the pub in the wee small hours.


So the photos,

The big modern looking building is the main government office and where I do the training. The low concrete building in front of it houses the gym I go to. As you can see, the snow isn't far away, in fact it's laying about 50m behind me.

Its General Election time here and the above is a poster on a billboard by the side of the road which tells you how to go about voting. Is it just me or is there rather a lot of information to take in when driving?

 So, you might be thinking this is an ad for the Kosovar version of Richard & Judy on Channel 31, it is in fact an election poster for party number 31 - saves confusion - I think.

More posters this time thanking the US (again) and wishing them Happy Thanksgiving - as you do. But rather cheekily Party 31 have plastered one of their posters over the top.

Aspirational Marketing

Saw this and wondered if it would catch on in the UK;

Nice to know wifey knows her place over here......   ;-)