Young, funky and instantly likable, Pristina has a compact array of history and museums, bazaars and flashy shops, cafes and bars and day trips and some of most brutal brutalist architecture going.
Pristina is one of the world's youngest capital cities.
The area has been setlled since 7000BC.
Romans spent a few hundred years here, calling it Ulpiana.
From the 5th C BC Dardianian Kingdom, through the Ottomans onto the communists, Pristina has been shaped and moulded by the usual Balkan forces.
The most enduring influence is the Ottoman.
Minarets of its many mosques attest to this. The 15th century Madhe mosque is one of the best.
It's not far from the old bazaar, which spreads randomly across a few streets.
The small but good National Museum is also nearby. A large part of the collection was looted by retreating Serb forces.
Down another back street is the Ethnological Museum, with a small but fascinating display of Ottoman Kosova lifestyle.
It is housed in (one of?) the oldest houses in Pristina.
Pristina is not just a city of old stuff. Its young population fills the thriving bars, cafes and university campuses.
The most remarkable building is the National Library, designed by the Croatian architect Andrija Mutnjaković, and covered with 99 domes.
Its controversial design contrasts with the nearby Serbian Christ The Saviour Cathedral.
Pristina's best views are from one of its other modern works, the Cathedral of Mother Theresa.
There's a small fee to take the elevator to the op of the spire of this so-so interesting church.
Besides the views, the stained glass windows are pretty flash.
And the afternoon light throws some cool effects out.
Religion is a source of tension in Kosovo, and nowhere is that more evident than Mitrovica, which is Serb to the north and Kosova to the south of this bridge.
The change is immediately visible, with north Mitrovica less crowded and bustling than it's muslim south.
There are more than a few reminderss of which side you are on.
One of the former Yugoslavia's more famous "spomenik" (monument) is a short walk out of town.
There are also some cathedrals and a fort on nearby hills.
On the other side of Pristina, Gracanica is another ethnic Serb town, with a very impressive Cathedral.
Just 10 minutes by car from Gracanica, the world changes again.
Janjevo is a sleepy mixed-ethnic community nestled in the hills.
It was historically an important source of gold and silver, growing through the 12 to 16th centuries.
Mixed churches and mosques and shops are well preserved houses, while other fall down, their owner absent or unable to maintain them.
Now majority Albania, but still multi-ethnic, Janjevo had no killings during the break from Serbia.
Fine stone buildings point to Janjevo's former wealth.
Janjevo, like Pristina, like Kosovo, has seen far better days.
21st century Pristina continues to build, to grow.
Hopefully for these wonderful people, it can grow long in peace.