Memo to Travelers: Kosovo is Like a ‘Joyful Construction Site’

Travel Blog • Joanna Kakissis • 02.20.08 | 10:37 AM ET

This is a good thing, at least according to Balkan Travellers, an e-zine focused on travel in the volatile region. The world’s newest declared nation is tiny, landlocked, impoverished and a cauldron of tension, but it’s apparently also got lots of building projects (hence the “joyful noise”), good cafes and restaurants, a youthful population and even a tourism Web site.

Will Kosovo eventually be a post-war Balkan success story like Montenegro and Bosnia, which have emerged as magnetic destinations for independent travelers? The former UN protectorate has serious problems, like creating a functioning infrastructure and taming the fury of Serbia and Russia, but that hasn’t stopped the Kosovars from dreaming.