Disappointing bus to amazing Kosovo

  What the hell outta a journey that was. I am not keen on overnight buses, but I did not expect this at all. I traveled by public transport in Nepal (from Kathmandu to Pokhara), just 2 days after the main earthquake and during the aftershocks, through a very tiny roads in Himalayas. I did the whole South and Central America by bus, even the most uncomfortable and dangerous road (well, not even a road-a stony path) from Sucre to Cochabamba in Bolivia. Yet, this one was the worst, I think, I have ever experienced.I have to start with the fact that I’ve had no choice, but just to take an overnight bus from Podgorica (Montenegro) in order to reach Pristina, in Kosovo. There is only one transport a day that connects these two capitals, and it departs from Podgorica’s main bus station at 21.30. I really would not recommend to do so, as at the terminal I have spotted a very nice connection to Prizren in an early morning. I think at 7 am, as far as I remember. I have heard a great things from other travelers about this place, but was a bit late for me, as I already bought a ticket.

  So why was it so bad? Well, I guess it wasn’t only the bus itself, but also other circumstances reflected on the level of discomfort I have experienced. But starting from the beginning, I departed from lovely town on the cost of Montenegro, called Budva. I caught the bus at 11.15 am (they depart very often, at least every 1h) from the main station there, and arrived to Podgorica around 14.00. This leg of my journey was a real pleasure, as the whole road was trough the high range of mountains. The view was just breathtaking. Once I arrived at the capital of Montenegro, I bought a ticket for 21.30 departure, so I’ve had some spare time to look around. As much as I truly felt in love with this country, Podgorica, I am afraid, hasn’t got much to offer to the travelers. Well, maybe just a good dinner in the city center, but that’s about it. Instead of visiting things, I was just reading a book in the park. Not much of excitement for a place I have never seen before. Around 19.00 I went to the main bus station to wait. It is a very small one, so you will get really bored by waiting, but what else could I do? At 20.30 I went to sit by the bus stand, and as always, drunk jerk had to sit next to me to bother me all the way trough. Unlucky, he had the same bus, but was so drank, he got eventually kicked somewhere on the way. Or he kicked himself? Perhaps, as I haven’t whiteness any force involved in his termination. Anyway, while waiting there were 2 incidents at the station where police had to be involved. First one was as of result of a violent fight between two guys. Second one I did not see, but heard. All that made me feel a bit unsafe. Finally the bus arrived, and, as I could not ask for more (😂), it was just filed with male local passengers. I was under the watch all the time, human cctv. It was like back in Nicaragua…I was a black sheep again.

 All the way trough the border I was hoping Kosovar control will not stamp my passport, as I was going to Serbia next. Of course they did, and that fact made me even more stressed. Here, I will just add that later on I crossed the border to Serbia from Macedonia with no issues. Finally we arrived, and I was the last of 2 passengers remaining in the bus…what can I say.  It was still an early hour (5 am), so I had to wait at Pristina cold bus station before heading to my hotel.

   Well, the point of my pointless blog is that as bad as my journey was, as good I found the other side. I absolutely love people of Kosovo. They are very helpful, very kind, open to tourists and friendly. The owner of my hotel was amazing too, he even mad a traditional food for me, and we sat together and discuss the current situation, economy and problems of this, newly, independent country.

 Sometimes while traveling you have to experience worst, to receive something unforgettable and to fell the kind heart at the end, or maybe that helps to appreciate it more!