The Reservoir - A good day trip
A huge relief from the scorching heat wave we experienced in early May.
Arton, a friend who owns
the Internet Cafe we've talked about in our e-mails,
borrowed his father's
car and took us to this reservoir north of Pristina.
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Jim, Fuji and Arton. This is the first time in two years that the reservoir is full. It supplies water to Pristina and other towns. On a hot spring day it was just what the doctor ordered! We even went swimming!
In our wanderings around the reservoir at the east end we ran into some folks that invited us in for a beer... need we say more? |
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John, a former Texan, works for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) training the former Kosova Liberation Army (KLA) now the Kosova Protection Force (KPF-aka National Guard) in disaster preparedness. This group doesn't have a great reputation as several members were just caught blowing up a train bridge in Mitrovica, a Serb area in northern Kosovo close to Serbia. There is still much work that need's to be done to heal this area, especially since Mitrovica is essentially a fully segregated community separated by a bridge. side note: In the last 2 weeks 5 Serbs have been brutally killed (in two towns); shots fired at a church in another town; and the attackers have not been found. As this is being written, a grenade was dropped off in downtown Pristina and talk is that it is a Serb element letting the Kosovars know that all is not well. The Serbs in Parliament are all taking about resigning due to the lack of UN and the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) protection of minorities. |
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Fuji and our new found friends. The younger people have a different perspective on the future of the region. Those that work are more willing to move on with life. But with unemployment at over 50% many folks just have time to sit and dwell on what "was" thus continuing the inability to move beyond the war. |
| As we (Arton, Jim and Fuji) moved on from the east end of the reservoir we hit the middle of the reservoir. What a different scene! This is about being young and "being seen." |  |
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We headed back east and found a calmer area for a swim and then a beer. Arton politely listened to Jim's ratchet-jawing. Even nicer yet (or maybe Jim tired him out), he let Jim drive most of the way home. Fuji has not driven since coming to Kosovo and this was Jim's only driving experience. Fun Day! |