[cont.]

Images from a divided city...
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We are not really sure how Kosovo works!
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Remember we had planned to cycle to Novi Sad in Serbia, then take public transport to Raška north of the northernmost Kosovo border post, then cycle across the border? Remember that it seemed to me the border might be closed? Well it wasn't...
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We cycled from our Novi Sad backyard apartment to the main bus station where a very helpful young man said there were two bus options to Belgrade, both of which would reach the city in time for the 13:30 bus to Mitrovica in Kosovo. The only unknown was whether there would be room for our bikes.
The first bus driver said _nope_; the second helped Charl load the bikes in an empty hold on a virtually empty bus.
In Belgrade, getting a bus ticket was a slow process with queues in a hot hall, a refusal to take our credit card and therefore having to draw cash and get back in the queue. Despite holding a ticket, the bikes again were not guaranteed, but in the end were loaded without stress.
We entered Kosovo at exactly the border post I had planned for us to cycle across, having passed through stunning mountain scenery on a narrow road twisting and turning beside a thin stream.
Although the Serbian official checked our passports, he did not stamp us out of Serbia; the Kosovo official did, however, stamp us into Kosovo having asked only what the purpose of our visit was.
It was a 6-plus hour bus ride to Mitrovica, bringing us into the city's northern bus station just as it was getting dark. As we had not known for sure whether we would make it to Kosovo on this day, we had not booked accommodation. There was excellent wifi on the bus, which allowed me to source and reserve the apartment in which we are now staying. Two hours later, the neurotic owner cancelled on us, saying he was not convinced we were going to pitch! A second option also fell through when it turned out the host had not updated her availability calendar. So we arrived in the dark city bed-less. Complicating matters was the fact that my Oxygen SIM, bought in the Czech Republic and useable in many Eastern European countries, does not work in Serbia and Kosovo, so we were in the dark in more ways than one.
The bus driver, when asked about a hotel, waved us in the direction of the centre, not far away. Here we found a bustling pedestrian street filled with restaurants and revellers. An enquiry at a sweet shop led us a block or two further on to the North City Hotel, over-budget but manageable for one night (after which we communicated again with Mr Neurotic and secured the apartment).
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Of the around two million people in Kosovo, half of whom are younger than 25, over 90% are Albanian-speaking Muslims and around 5% Orthodox Serbs.
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Mitrovica is divided into north and south by the Ibar river, the bulk of the city lying to the south. Although in Kosovo, north Mitrovica is proudly and defiantly Serb. As you know, a new orthodox church was built here. A Serbian flag flutters from every second or third light pole. On our first night, when I asked a question on Google Translate in Albanian (the majority language), I was told in no uncertain terms that the person concerned spoke Serbian.
ATMs on the north bank of the Ibar dispense Serbian dinar; south of the river you get Euro. This is a cash economy, with to date no-one accepting credit cards for payment for anything.
Number plates seem to be either Serbian or Kosovar, but many people block out the details with what looks like custom-made stickers.
The bridge across the river is blocked to vehicular traffic and has a police presence. Pedestrians cross freely.
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Charl bought a stamp for his collection yesterday from a Posta agency in an... er... unkempt building (see above). The stamp was from Serbia. Seems Kosovo has not yet made it into the Universal Postal Union (South Sudan is the latest member) with internationally recognised stamps, though they apparently do have peace-themed stamps of their own. We'll try for these in the capital, Pristina...