Rogova Gorge and other things

As promised last time here are a few pictures of the Rugova gorge. It really is spectacular, with tunnels cut through the rock (one leading straight onto a hairpin bend), a zigzag to gain height and overhanging rocks. There is a ski resort at the top of the gorge, though as there was no snow last winter it presumably did not do too well.

In the gorge there are now a number of restaurants and a couple of hotels, as well as the bottling plant for Rugova water. We had a picnic on the banks of the river a few hundred yards above the plant. The braver members of our group went swimming. It was reported to be extremely cold.

Also this time a photo of the house we have bought in Chesterfield as our eventual retirement home. In the meantime we shall be letting it, and hopefully we now have a tenant.

Our house is the second from the left, no 7. Access is actually through the front and back gardens of no 8, but this seems to be perfectly normal in Chesterfield.

Flat hunting expedition

For those reading this Blog who do not know, Jonathan has taken slightly early retirement and he and Clare are moving out to Peje, Kosova.

On 19th July we headed out to Kosova, to look for a flat and find our way around.

The first part was very easy. We saw one flat and took it. It is close to the centre of the city, near all the facilities we need. It is on the third floor (no lifts) but the compensation is a beautiful view of the mountains from the bedroom window and from one of the two balconies.

As one of our friends who visited commented, "it is very orange". The decor seems to be typical of that liked by Kosovars, with beige and orange prominent, along with varnished wood finishes. Not a hint of magnolia - the main bedroom is painted cerise!

The next two weeks were fun, challenging and useful. We travelled to Pristina by bus (€4 each way) to visit a colleague to talk about possible work on standards development. We twice visited the local supermarket using the free minibus (we now get a wave from the driver every time he sees us) and managed to buy food, including fresh meat, without knowing more than a couple of words of the language.

Two days after we arrived in Kosova, two teenage girls from England came out. They spent a week at a camp in the mountains, and then a week in the city.

Then on 4th August our team arrived from Harpenden, making us 21 in all including two children. For four days the team ran children's clubs in a village in the mornings and in the city in the afternoon. On the Friday we all travelled up the Rugova gorge (pictures next time) for a barbecue.

We spent a couple of days at our new flat, but most of the time were with the team, so we have not really made the flat our own yet. We shall be travelling out on 3rd October to take up residence properly.

Now we are back in the UK, completing the redecoration of our house in Harpenden so that it is suitable for letting, and making final arrangements to move. Now we have a flat, we know just how little we shall be taking out to Kosova, so we shall have to throw out even more than we expected. And that is tiring!