Ancient & Lovely Prizren

Prizren, Kosovo with a population of 178,000 (in 2011) is Kosovo's second largest city behind Prishtina.  Prizren is also an ancient city known for its Filigree Silver, the Old Stone Bridge over the Lumbardh River, the Albanian League of Prizren Museum, the Ottoman era Sinan Pasha Mosque, the Kaljaja Fortress and the old city center popular with tourists known as the Shadervan.  Prizren lies on the slopes of the Šar Mountains and is bisected by the Lumbardh River.

The Old Stone Bridge (Ura e Gurit) was built during the Ottoman era at the end of the 15th century AD.  The bridge connects the Shadervan and Saraçhane districts.  It was damaged by riverbed and road construction in the 1960's and destroyed by flooding in 1979.  The city rebuilt the bridge in 1982.

Click on my photos below to see them in high resolution on Flickr.  You can view the photos in high resolution by clicking here!

The Old Stone Bridge over the Lumbardh River with the Šar Mountains in the background

Cafes line the Lumbardh River as it cuts through Prizren.  Prizren offers a lively cafe & restaurant scene with many historic locations to see.

Cafes line the Lumbardh River in Prizren

Allow enough time for a relaxing stroll along the Remzi Ademi boulevard along the Lumbardh River.

Strolling Remzi Ademi Boulevard

Kaljaja Fortress (aka Prizren Fortress and Dusan's Fortress) was the capital of the Serbian Empire in medieval times.  The Byzantines built the first fort at this location overlooking the Lumbardh River.  Stefan Uroš IV Dušan expanded the fort.  It was also occupied for 400 years by the Ottomans.

Kaljaja Fortress

The Ramparts of Kaljaja Fortress

The old Prizren city center, called the Shadervan features many cafes and restaurants.

Men talking to a woman in Shadervan Square

Horse & Carriage in Shadervan Square

One of the oldest buildings in Prizren is the Sinan Pasha Mosque built in 1615 during the Ottoman Empire era.  

Sinan Pasha Mosque c 1615

The League of Prizren was formed in 1878 to unite 47 Ottoman "beys" in Kosovo, establish an autonomous region and to organize their defense.   We enjoyed exploring the various buildings of the Prizren League House Complex.

Entering the Prizren League House Courtyard

The Prizren League House

Bajrakli Mosque (Mosque of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror) & Museum

Chris, Pam & I in front of the League of Prizren House

We wrapped up our visit to Prizren with lunch at Te Syla Restaurant.  I enjoyed Pljeskavica (seasoned beef & lamb) with Lepinja Bread (a sort of fluffy Pita Bread) and a Tirana Beer or two which were very good 8^)

You can view the photos in high resolution by clicking here!

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White Drini Canyon

In the village of Dol in southwestern Kosovo, midway between Gjakova and Prizren, is White Drin Canyon.  The canyon was created by the eroding action of the White Drin River during the post-lacustric period.  The short canyon is only a mile long, but still picturesque.

Click on my photos below to see them in high resolution on Flickr.  You can view the photos in high resolution by clicking here!

White Drin Canyon

Downstream, the White Drin River is popular with campers during the summer months.

White Drin River swollen with Spring rain.

Fshajt Bridge carries Highway R107 over White Drin Canyon.  The bridge was built in 1942 to replace an old Ottoman bridge built in the 1700's and destroyed in World War I.  The bridge was again damaged in 1999 during the Kosovo War but was repaired by the Italian Kosovo Force (KFOR).

Fshajt Bridge (Ura e Fshejtë or Ura e Shenjtë)

We appreciated the restrooms at the nearby Ura E Shenjte Restaurant which offers a beautiful view of the canyon and the river.

Ura E Shenjte Restaurant

View of the Mountains Near Damjan from Fshajt Bridge

You can view the photos in high resolution by clicking here!

Flag of Kosovo

Driving from Valbona, Albania to Kosovo

As you can see, the Albanian Alps (aka "Accursed Mountains" of Albania) are beautiful!  After breakfast on 5/7/2015, we headed out on Rruga Azem Hajdari which runs from Valbona through Dragobi to  Bajram Curri, Albania.  We then took highway SH22 to the border crossing with Kosovo.  We passed pretty quickly through the Albanian and Kosovo checkpoints.  From the border crossing, we took the M9-1 back to Gjakova, then the R107 to  Drini Gorge.

First, we needed to travel back through the gorgeous Valbona Valley!  Click on my photos below to see them in high resolution on Flickr.  You can view the photos in high resolution by clicking here!

Mountain view from the Valbona Valley

I tried to take photos out the driver side window with the window down when I could.  In this case, I shot through the windshield to capture the views below.  

The View from Rruga Azem Hajdari.

Occasionally, we passed people walking beside the road.  As you can see, animals and livestock are common in the country side of Albania which is not so different from most countries.

Back to views of the gorgeous Albanian Alps!

A young man with his goats.  I shot these candid image quickly as we passed by.

After crossing the border between Albania and Kosovo, we descended into the plains of Kosovo surrounded by light blue mountains.

The plains of Kosovo.

You can view the photos in high resolution by clicking here!

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Valbona, Albania - The Next Morning

We rose early Thursday morning in Valbona Valley, Albania to leave for Prizren, Kosovo.  Enjoyed a great breakfast at Hotel Burimi i Valbones.  Then took some final pics in the valley before heading out.

We truly loved our visit to Valbona!  It looks like there are plenty of great hiking adventures available.  We were told this also a beautiful place to be in the Winter too!

Our room was on the fourth floor of the lodge building with a great view of the surrounding mountains.  Click on my photos below to see them in high resolution on Flickr.  You can also view the photos in high resolution by clicking here!

The view from our room!

Each week our local newspaper in Chesterfield County, Virginia in America publishes a photo submitted by their readers from all over the world.  We thought we'd take one of us in the Albanian Alps!

Pam & Suela, me, Chris & Lirak in Valbona Valley. Albania

The view from the hotel parking lot.

Enjoyed our stay here.  Basic but rustic!  Hotel Burimi i Valbones

You can also view the photos in high resolution by clicking here!

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Valbona Valley National Park

We entered Valbona Valley National Park in the Albanian Alps at about 11:00 am on the scenic road called Rruga Azem Hajdari.  The road crosses the Valbona River in several places.  The rushing water looked greenish aqua I think in part due to the large amount of limestone in the mountains.

At the first stone bridge, we saw a number of swimmers enjoying the rushing water downstream from the bridge.  Upstream is a series of rapids.  Click on my photos below to see them in high resolution on Flickr.  You can also view the photos in high resolution by clicking here!

Rapids upstream from the first stone bridge on Rruga Azem Hajdari

Downstream from the bridge we found some people enjoying a dip in the river.

As Rruga Azem Hajdari snakes through the valley, there are incredible views of rugged mountains on both sides of the valley.

The Albanian Alps (Prokletije in Albanian) is a mountain range on the Balkan Peninsula that runs from northern Albania to Kosovo and Montenegro.  Its highest peak, Maja Jezercë,  is in Albania, not far from Valbona.  At 8,839 ft (2,694 m), Maja Jezercë is the 7th highest mountain in Albania.

Rruga Azem Hajdari winding through Valbona Valley in the Albanian Alps

The road passes several hotels and finally ends at the Hotel Burimi i Valbonës.  This is the view that greeted us!

The view from the entrance to Hotel Burimi i Valbonës

The hotel and lodge includes a casual and welcoming restaurant.  The food was good and fresh.

Hotel Burimi i Valbonës Restaurant

After settling in our rooms in the lodge, we enjoyed a lunch featuring a large fresh salad and pan-fried Trout from the Valbona River.  Awesome!

Fresh salad at Hotel Burimi i Valbonës

Trout fresh from the Valbona River

Our room was on the fourth floor of this lodge at Hotel Burimi i Valbonës.

There was quite a bit of snow at higher elevations, but not much higher!  We were surrounded by mountain peaks like these.  Apparently, it takes a while for the snow to melt in the Spring.

Snow in May!

There is a waterfall within hiking distance, but we arrived in the valley too late to hike to the falls and back to the hotel 8^(

Looks like a big tooth, doesn't it?

Further up the valley, we found some people camping with the SUVs.  Very pretty location near an abandoned old school building.

You can see the old abandoned school building below.

A large section of the valley floor along the river is composed of this rocky area, devoid of plant life.  I assume it is limestone, but I am not a geologist.

The Valbona River flows through the valley and is very clean at this point.

Pam and I on the banks of the Valbona River.

As the day ended, sheep started coming down the mountainside with their sheep dog.

A boy leading his work horse down the valley.

You can also view the photos in high resolution by clicking here!

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