Udhëtimi im në Prizren (Më në fund) / Moj put u Prizren (konačno)

In my quest to visit all of the former Yugoslav countries, Kosovo was on this list. I tried to get there earlier in the year but, for one reason or another, I wasn’t able to make it.

I was determined that I would get there (since I only had 2 more of the countries to visit) at some point this year.

I had a few other things planned so I had to look in earnest where I could fit it in.

I had to make some changes from the plans I had earlier in the year. The earlier plans were to go to Prizren for a couple of days, then to Prishtina for a couple of days and then head back to Tirana airport to head home. Given that I didn’t have as much time for this trip, I decided that I would just to Prizren and then try and do Prishtina another time.

I booked the flights (for about £15 each way) and then booked the same hostel I was going to stay at (on the recommendation of someone I met in Tirana last year).

Once this was booked, I then booked the transfer tickets from Tirana to Prizren. It cost €15 each way (can’t believe it was almost the same as the flight). I then looked for train tickets to and from the airport. Given the time I was flying, I was going to have to go to the airport the night before. I looked for the train I would usually get (21:16) but this wasn’t scheduled due to some changes with the train company. I had to go via London instead. It wasn’t too bad as it meant I left later (but had a few hours in London before the train to Stansted). I couldn’t decide if staying in London for a few hours was better than staying in Stansted for longer. I don’t know why though since I only had one option (I’m looking at you NE. Damn you for taking PTown off your route!).

I carried on with my day (or night as it probably was – this is usually when I do most of my bookings) and just patiently waited for the time to come. I looked up Prizren on the map and it looked pretty nice (SPOILER: Nicer than I was imagining).

The day of heading to the airport came and I was on shift that day. I finished work at 18:00 and tried to sleep but couldn’t. A combination of noisy housemates and worrying about the rain didn’t help.

I showered and got ready and then headed to the train station. It was drizzling a little bit so I was worried about getting wet and my stuff getting wet but it was OK. I was pretty much dry and the train kept me warm and dried what little bit was wet.

The train to London was the fast train and it was nice to be on that instead of the usual slow train to London. There were a couple of animated characters on it given that it was almost 23:00 I got on it.

I got off at King’s Cross and then hopped on the tube to Liverpool Street station. I sat in the station in the hopes that it didn’t close at night. I was wrong. I was turfed out into the wilds of London. It was super cold. I am so glad I brought my coat (I know, Chris is wearing a coat).

I found somewhere that was open for food and I sat in there for a couple of hours. I got some sausages and mash and it was nice to be in the warm and dry.

I left and then went into the station and waited for the train to head to the airport. Turns out it was running 10 minutes late. Thankfully it wasn’t much of an issue as security is pretty quick at that time of morning.

I got there and headed straight through security and then did the check of where the flight would depart from. Luckily it was at the gates that were right next to the departure lounge that didn’t require a people mover. I went and just sat and waited.

We boarded about 15 minutes late (it was raining outside at this time and they didn’t want to let us wait on the apron in the rain). Once boarding was completed a flight attendant came to the rows I was in and asked any of us if we wanted to sit in the emergency exit rows. I volunteered. I knew I would get extra legroom and I could sleep. Luckily there was nobody else in the row (which is probably why they asked).

Pretty soon after this, the captain got on and said we would have a turbulent flight. I dreaded it. I HATE turbulence. Luckily I slept most of the flight so if there was turbulence I missed it.

We landed pretty much on time in Tirana. I got across the border pretty quick and then headed out of the airport to try and find where the bus picked up. There is a place right at the terminal where they have buses that leave. They were buses to the city centre. I had to ask someone and they said they go from the roundabout at the end of the road. I headed there and there was no indication if this was the case or not. It was a confusing time. There were a few other people who were equally as confused.

I had a couple of hours to wait for my bus so I went to the hotel across the road to use the toilet and to get cool and to charge my phone.

I went back across the road and waited on the roundabout. I started speaking to someone else who was waiting for the same bus. I felt better knowing there was someone else waiting. The bus turned up and they pointed us to a bit further down for pickup.

I got on the bus and sat myself down for the two-hour drive to Prizren. The drive was really scenic. It was nice to see the small villages and the mountains. It’s a route I would recommend just for the scenery alone.

I got to Prizren and they dropped off on the outskirts and then had a car take us to the bus station. Thankfully it was only about 10 minutes. I got to the bus station and then headed towards the hostel.

You can see on the map below the route we took from the airport to Prizren.