Merry Christmas from Kosovo!

Charlie and I are spending Christmas in Kosovo. We will be thinking of all our family and friends as we toast you on Christmas Day. Health and Happiness to you all! You make our lives so special

We began getting into the Christmas spirit in Vienna and continued it onto Prague. Then I spent last week in Dublin with Maggie, Robin and Lyla making Christmas cookies, shopping, enjoying all the decorations and being immersed in the Christmas tide.

On Christmas Day we are having some fellow Americans (and one really great German guy) over for dinner. We are having ham! Unbelievable in this Muslim country! One of our friends got it from the US Embassy so we are set.

It is always fun to try to replicate US holiday feasts here. I was looking for cream of tartar for cookies and two really nice men at the grocery store kept bringing me various packaged mixes to make pudding (cream?). It may be a challenge to get things here but the people are always so nice and try so hard to help you.

We have five more weeks here. I have LOTS of packing to do. How did we accumulate so much stuff! And I do have several adventures to post for you readers. We are going to Italy for New Years so, hopefully, I'll get those posts written in 2012 before we leave for home.

May your Christmas be fun and happy and your New Year healthy and full of happy surprises!

Vienna: November 2011

We just got back from weekend in Vienna. What a beautiful city! And it was all decked out for Christmas so that made it even better. We stayed in the inner city near everything we wanted to see. The pedestrian walking area was just outside out hotel door. Every street had a different light display. Some were quite elaborate. It was so beautiful at night. I definitely got into the Christmas spirit! (You might note the McDonald's sign in the upper right. McDonald's is everywyhere...and there was a Starbuck's right across the street.  I think it's quite cheeky of Starbuck's to establish itself in Vienna - the home of European coffee.)

The Christmas Markets were open and we enjoyed them so much. Here are some photos of the three we were able to get to.

Our first Market was in a small neighborhood and had some really unique offerings. I found a lady who made rose "liquer" for use in baking...and drinking. It's fantastic. 

This market had the most unusual things to see both in the stalls and out...

The biggest market is held on the plaza just outside the Vienna City Hall. The City Hall is a beautiful backdrop for it and it is big. 

There are stalls offering everything! Decorations, gifts, foods, drinks of every kind.  Of course there are every kind of sausage you can imagine to eat and... the very special hot mulled wine. Yummy!

What would a Austrian Christmas Market be without a gingerbread house.

In the evening we went to another market in the Maria Theresa Square. It was especially fun at night and they had a stage with musicians playing.

Charlie liked the candy stall...

I thought these hats were interesting and a fun display. There were lots of stalls with hats. They are a very necessary article of clothing in the Austrian winter.

After being dragged all over the Markets, Charlie was happy to sit in a typical Vienese cafe and have some hot chocolate. The hot chocolate there is indescribly delicious. Definitely NOT Swiss Miss.

I loved this window display in the Lanz store. It is a "drindle"which is a traditional Austrian woman's dress. They had them in different styles and a wide array of colors.

As we strolled the streets, Charlie was happy to find his link to Austria: the Rosenbeger Market. He had Rosenbergers in his family tree.

Our hotel was beautifully decorated, too. I loved this table in the entry.

And the hotel's Chef had made his own gingerbread house for the lobby.

One of the highlights of our trip was my birthday dinner at the Grand Hotel. It was truffle week in Vienna so we had truffles with every course...including dessert! Absolutely unforgettable.

Here is Charlie in the hotel's lobby right before we left for the airport to go back to Pristina. I think it describes how we both felt after our whirlwind trip to Vienna...tired, ready to sit awhile, but happy!

I am going to try to catch up on our adventures this week. I have to tell you about our wonderful time in Lucca and other stuff. I will get busy on that.

Charlie has definitely decided that he will not "re-up" for another year so we will be heading home the last weekend of January. So...I better get caught up before this adventure is over!

It is a beautiful day in Pristina. After cold, rainy weather and serious electrical and water problems, this is a welcome change. It is interesting to be in a country that is trying so hard to improve. They are installing fiber optic cables so our internet connection is on-and-off. They are trying to improve the electricity grid so our power is off way too much. But ...a few inconveniences for the better.

One huge improvement made this summer is sidewalks!!! Every time I go downtown I just want to skip along the beautiful paved sidewalks! Can you imagine walking on dirt/mud, broken rocks, with missing manhole covers. It is such an improvement. Now if they will just shovel them when it snows.....

We are going to a beautiful winery this weekend in Macedonia. We have been there before and really enjoy it. Several EULEX people will be joining us so it should be fun. It will be good to get away.

The situation in the north with the Serbs is still a problem. Along the border the Serbs have dumped gravel over 6 feet high on the roads leading into Kosovo's border crossings to deter any traffic coming into or leaving. Groups of them are camped out near these huge hills of grave to guard them. Last weekend they even had a wedding at one of the campsites! It is a problem that could become more serious quickly so I do hope some resolution is reached soon. It is especially difficult since the courthouse in Mitrovica is in the north. Now no one from Kosovo can get to the courthouse so it makes for a very disjointed administration of justice...if any. We shall see.

I have so many photos to post! I will begin working on catching up with our travels. I am leaving Monday for Dublin for two weeks. Maybe then....

Here are some photos of our home here.

Here's our house. There are four flats. All but ours are occupied by Romanian police men.

Here is our "street". We now have some gravel on it so it isn't as muddy as last winter. This is the street with no name.

Our entry door.

The living room. It's very comfortable. The windows and light are great.

Our cosy fireplace.

My wonderful kitchen!

Dining room/office.

Balcony off the dining room.

View from the balcony down to Pristina.

My trusty car. I just found out that the previous owner had diplomatic plates (which came with the car) so I can park and go wherever I like! No wonder the others drivers have been so nice to me.

Home of our landlord's family and our housekeepers. They ( mom, dad, four adult sons and one adult daughter) live in the bottom floor which is competed. They will finish the house and move up to the other floors and money and needs dictate.She is quite a gardener. You can see all the fruit trees and a plastic "quonset hut" where they grew vegetables.

We are very comfortable here and feel fortunate to have found such a nice place. Sadie loves running in the hills behind us.It's a good place.