Kosovo and Vienna

I went to Kosovo for a few days to write about the growing tensions there. The ethnic Albanians have been promised independence, but the Russians and Serbians are standing in the way.

I went to the patriarchate of Pec - the spiritual seat of the Serbian orthodox church at the foot of the mountains between Kosovo and Montenegro. My photographer and I spent an hour or two sitting beneath the trees outside the 13th century church there, drinking coffee and eating spice cookies and Turkish delight made by the nuns. We spoke with Sister Dobrila, a rather opinionated elderly nun who runs the place. I had visited her in January, so it felt very familiar.

Afterward, we drove up into the Rogova Gorge a bit to a Serbian village that had been abandoned after the war. About 25 people had returned to houses rebuilt by NATO.

We talked to one man who was living there with his father. His wife and kids were in Belgrade. He said it wasn't much of a life and worried that it would only get worse if Kosovo becomes independent.

From Kosovo, I flew to Vienna. I had a night there and booked myself at the Hotel Sacher. I asked the hotel to find me a concert as I didn't have any appointments. They sent me to the old palace.

The concert turned out to be wonderful - Strauss and Mozart. The small orchestra that put it on was surprisingly entertaining. It was also a beautiful room.

The Hotel Sacher upgraded me to a small suite. It was luxurious and lovely, but a bit of a waste as I was all alone.

The bed.

The walls were hung with beautiful original oil paintings. All in all, it was a wonderful Viennese evening. The hotel gave me a Sacher Torte as a gift when I left.