Blue and More Blue

I got a partial outline of the last garden bit done this week and even filled some of it in, too. Last night reminded me we were not in a first world country, though. The city has regular blackouts due to not enough electricity. The flat I'm staying at, though, has a generator that provides backup power for the building. It runs an average of three to four hours a day. Unfortunately for us, last night when it switched back to city power, our flat didn't get switched. The breaker flipped. It took a couple of hours to get someone with a tool to get into that particular breaker box out here to fix it. Needless to say, we didn't get as much sleep as usual.

On the other hand, we went out to eat last night because I was tired of cooking. We went down the street to a little place called Chalet Denis. The menu was in a combination English and German and it had a beautiful red brick oven. I had mushroom soup and a proscuittio pizza. My companion had a shop salad and a Chalet Denis pizza. The soup was as good as any soup I've tasted in France. They used real cream and had seasoned it gently. Was wonderful on a chill and wet day. For some reason, the Kosovar don't consider proscuittio a pork product. Beats me why, but it's on the menu at practically every restaurant. The pizza was good too, with ham and mushrooms on it cooked in the aforementioned oven. I only ate half; the rest will be dinner tonight, since we're going to be a bit busy packing for the trip starting tomorrow.

One Color Done

One of the blues is done all the way on both legs. It only lacks a bit on the outside corner top. That means this is coming along pretty well! I also did some more gold on this last corner.

Faced

The Lady's face got done this week, and I did a bit more on the flag. It's beginning to come along some and I'm working on it every day here in Kosovo, too.

Trip to Prizren

We went to Prizren, in southwestern Kosovo, on Sunday. It's a town at least as large as Pristina and looks to be somewhat more prosperous. There were a lot of people enjoying the balmy weather in town and just as many escaping the heat and going into the mountains above it. This picture is of part of the mountain chain we wound around on the way home. Gorgeous, isn't it?

This is another shot from the same place as the first photo. The village at the bottom is only accesible via one road; lots of villages like that in the country. It really makes for picturesque scenery. Up close, there's a lot of trash near and on the road and people do the picnic thing anywhere they can find a clear spot. They bring lawn chairs, some food, and an umbrella, and spend the day. There are also a lot of restaurants with outdoor patios that let you picnic without the stuff.

This Roman Catholic church sits on the edge of Prizren's old town. When we saw it was locked, we were going to just pass it by, but someone local insisted that we knock on the rectory door and ask one of the nuns to let us in. I'm glad he did. It was a surprise. While small, the murals were of the caliber found in cathedrals.

The apostles lined the barrel vault ceiling. As you can see, the colors were vivid and the quality of execution was excellent. The nuns did let us in, very graciously, and even turned on the lights for us.

Here is the focal point of the church - the altar is right in front of the mural. It's of Our Lady of Fatima, and for some reason is much darker than the rest of the paintings.

Blossoming Flower

This is what I worked on during my transit time. I did a bit of it in the Vienna airport watching two couples play Hearts at my table. It kept me awake. I'm still having problems with the directions, but what's new? Maybe I'll get more of the flower done this week.

Yesterday's Walk

We took a three hour walk yesterday from the flat to downtown (literally, down) Pristina and back. These stairs were the first part of the trip. We took them down, but took another way back. They're the shortcut from our hill to downtown. All in all, they're about a quarter mile of stairs.

This little goddess is what they're trying to make as one of the symbols of Kosovo. It's a neolithic find from somewhere around here. The provenance on the museum pieces left a -lot- to be desired. Anyway, she sits in the state museum toward the front. The first floor of the museum is archaeological propaganda. The second floor is an homage to the Kosovar Albanians who fought in the recent war. It'd be nice if at least the archaeological part wasn't so tainted with nationalism, but what do you expect from the national museum, I guess?

I was told this is the minaret to the oldest mosque in town. (And I was just corrected by the same person who told me so that it might not be; there is possibly one older.) Needless to say, the minaret's a rather new reconstruction. Looking through the windows to the entryway to the mosque, it looked shabby, as if neglected. Perhaps they will refurbish it when they become more integrated into the economy of Europe.

The Newborn sign sits right in front of a shopping center and next to the American school. It's covered in celebratory graffiti, and they're looking for a permanent home for it. The sculpture was unveiled when they declared independence in February.

Small Happy Dance

The third side is done! Only one more side to go, and a fair start on it already. It feels odd to still be working only on parts two and three when part ten? is out, but that's the way I go always. Maybe I'll pick up speed.

I had my first dinner out in Kosovo, at a restauraunt up the street from where I'm staying. It was a nice place and the balcony had an excellent view of the city. My companion, though, left his camera, so no pictures. We're going walking today, and I'll make certain he brings it this time, else I'll threaten to take photos with my phone. He'll be horrified.