Kosovo Connection

This week we welcome guests from Kosovo to Iowa to exchange ideas in agricultural education. This is a partnership created in collaboration with Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa FFA Foundation, Iowa Sister States, the Republic of Kosovo Consualte in Des Moines, and the Global Agriculture Learning Center at Hawkeye Community College. We welcome agricultural educators and high school students from Kosovo to Iowa as part of the exchange that took Iowa agricultrual educators and high school students to Kosovo last September.

The idea is to exchange ideas and best practices by each side to improve agricultural education in Kosovo and Iowa. Today was just the first day of exchanging ideas in Iowa. As we exchange ideas over the next week we challenge you to think about the value of exchanging ideas utilizing the discussion points below. Iowa FFA members watch for our Kosovo friends at State FFA Convention on Monday!

Discussion Points

• What are the benefits of exchanging ideas and practices with others?
• What challenges can arise when conducting exchanges like this one? How do we overcome these challenges?
• What is something you learned from another school, organization, or business that has helped you grow? How did you attain this knowledge? 
• How do we foster a culture of exchanging ideas to improve all involved?

Faleminderit Kosovo

Today we wrapped up a spectacular week in Kosovo! We started our Saturday with the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport. We had a great discussion regarding the history of Kosovo and current successes and challenges. After our meeting with the Deputy Minister we enjoyed conversation over a variety of our favorite coffees. Next we made our way to the National Catherdral, National Gallery, and the National Museum in Prishtina. Even though Kosovo as we know it today is a country that is just 10 years old it is very rich with history. We were able to see over 8,000 years of history and artifacts at the National Museum.

From the National Museum we traveled just outside of Prishtina to the Ulpiana Archeological site. We were able to check out roads and foundations of structures that the Romans built in the 3rd to 4th century AD. It is amazing that with all we saw they have only uncovered an estimated 2-3% of the city. Thank you to the Ministry for providing lunch after a great time together.

We took advantage of some time this afternoon to shop for souvenirs and pack. We concluded our evening the way we have much of our time in Kosovo...eating like royalty. We prep for a long day of travel tomorrow as we return to Iowa. While our time in Kosovo is coming to a close we know this partnership is just beginning. Faleminderit (Thank You) Kosovo!

Celebration Dinner Kosovo Style

It was a great Friday in Kosovo! All student/educator teams spent the morning with their host schools and host communities. This allowed some last minute time to share ideas and engage with one another. Morgan and Brad had the opportunity to present a workshop to students at the Prishtina Agriculture High School.

Following lunch student/educator teams started returning to the hotel to prepare for a celebration dinner with all involved at the Prishtina Agriculture High School. Every group had phenomenal expereinces and stated how hard it was to leave their host school and communities. This evening the entire group gathered for dinner. All involved shared thanks and reflected on the week. The students at Prishtina Agriculture High School prepared a spectacular meal in their state of the art kitchen. This also allowed great time for conversations with new and old friends.

After dinner the Kosovar students and educators invited us to the gym to play volleyball. Good times were had by all. While there was some language barriers there is no doubt that laughter is a universal language. Many stated tonight that it is hard to believe it is already Friday. Tomorrow will be our final full day in Kosovo. We will spend our Saturday with the Ministry of Culture learning more about Kosovo.

Immersed in Kosovo

Our Iowa and Kosovo students and educators are having a blast together and learning so much! The Iowa team is being immersed into the culture, education, and agriculture of this great country. Today included time in different levels of schools, visits to farms and agribusinesses, cultural excursions, coffee, and spending time with each other. Tomorrow we will all return to Prishtina to share and celebrate our time of collaboration in Kosovo. I will let the photos below tell the story of today!

Eye Opening Experiences

Today was the first full day our student/educator teams have been out with their host schools for the entire day. The comments that are being shared truly reflect great times being had by participants with lots of learning. Here are a few of the comments that were shared from today:

• “We have had a great and eye opening experience today! We may not want to leave!”
• “We have eaten at 6 restaurants and farms today and cannot eat anymore!”
• “We have visited the agriculture school, primary school, gymnasium (general school), along with a famous theater.”
• “We have visited many farms producing dairy, beef, apples, walnuts, and honey.”
• “We are enjoying coffee again!!!!!”
• “Great classroom visits today!”
• “Enjoyed a trip to a 7th century castle to learn some history as well!”

Tomorrow will be the last full day at host schools before all return to Prishtina for activities Friday. Below are a few pictures that were shared:

Venturing Out

We kicked off our day today with USAID Kosovo! Traditionally a lot of producers in Kosovo have produced corn and wheat. Unfortunately, due to small tracks of land (average farm size of 5 acres) these are not very profitable crops. We ventured out to the Kosovo countryside with USAID and Tetra Tech to learn about some projects that were helping farmers become profitable and sustainable. We first visited an apple orchard and greenhouse production facility before traveling to a greenhouse operation that is producing all types of vegetables and over one million seedlings a year to sell to other producers. It was truly remarkable to see what the farmers and producers were doing to make 20-50 times more with these production practices than traditional farmers producing the traditional corn and wheat crops.

The projects that we took a look at focused on:

• Improving agricultural production and food safety
• Developing markets
• Finding strategy partners (for sustainability)

At the conclusion of our time with USAID we returned to Prishtina for a lunch before our educator and student teams started venturing out to their partner schools and communities throughout Kosovo. This is exciting times as students and educators from Kosovo and Iowa are coming together as they learn more about agricultural education and agriculture in general from each other. Educators and students have arrived in their partner school communities and are ready for a couple full days together before all return to Prishtina for a dinner Friday night.

From Mystery to Ministry to the Dairy Industry

Today was truly a spectacular day! We arrived late Sunday night to Kosovo. It was dark and many went to bed once we got to the hotel so Kosovo was still a mystery to our travelers until the sun rose on our Monday and we were able to experience Kosovo for the first time. Our Monday morning consisted of meetings with the Ministries of Agriculture and Education. We first met with Minister Rikalo at the Ministry of Agriculture. He shared success and challenges of agriculture in Kosovo and the importance of agriculture to the country. He, also, had many great questions for the Iowa students and educators about agricultural education in the United States. Next we made our way to the Ministry of Education to visit with Minister Bytyqi. This provided an excellent opportunity to learn about the education system in Kosovo. We discussed successes and challenges facing education in Kosovo.

After our meetings we made our way to lunch in a beautiful setting. We enjoyed lunch outside and took time to slow down and enjoy conversation. Following lunch we traveled to EuroLona a dairy and dairy processing facility. We were able to see the entire process from the cattle to a processing facility that bottles milk and produces yogurts and cheeses.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a nearby restaurant, followed up by some gelato near our hotel. We are capping off a great day with a little time at the pool spa in the hotel. We look forward to tomorrow with a day with USAID in the countryside before participants meet their host site partners.

Kosovo and Iowa: Great Partners in Agricultural Education

Today a group of agricultural educators and agriculture high school students/FFA members take off for Kosovo to kickoff the Kosovo/Iowa Ag Ed/FFA project. This is a project that was first envisioned by at the time Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey (now Undersecretary at the USDA), and Minister of Agriculture for Kosovo, Memli Krasniqi (now member of Kosovo Parliament) as part of an Iowa Sister States organized experience that the Global Agriculture Learning Center (GALC) was a part of. That vision was further developed this past May when the Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa FFA Foundation, Iowa FFA Association, and GALC traveled to Kosovo with Iowa Sister States.

Today all the visions and planning become a reality! We are off to improve agricultural education in both Kosovo and Iowa through this spectacular partnership. Over the next week Iowa participants will meet with the Ministries of Agriculture and Education in Kosovo, tour agriculture businesses and producers, and spend time with their partner schools in Kosovo. After we return the partnership will continue with online interaction monthly before agricultural educators and students from Kosovo come to Iowa in April.

We look forward to an awesome experience of learning and growing together! Below are the paired Kosovo and Iowa schools.

Gjakova and Oelwien
Gjilian and Independence
Peja and Union (La Porte/Dysart)
Prishtina and Pleasantville
Vurshtrri and Waukee

Developing Agricultural Education in Kosovo

Today definitely had a focus on agricultural education and much was accomplished. We started our day by traveling to Vushtrri to visit their Agriculture High School. We received a tour of the school, enjoy refreshments prepared by the food technology students, and then had time to meet with faculty to discuss the agricultural education project we are developing between Kosovo and Iowa. Vushtrri’s excitement for this project is evident.

Following our time we returned to Prishtina for the remainder of the day. Late morning we had a meeting with the Dean and some faculty from the Agriculture Department at the University of Prishtina. We discussed successes and challenges facing their institution and the excitement of moving into a new building in the future.

The Prishtina Agriculture High School is very close to the agricultural university so we simply walked to the high school where we found students preparing our lunch in the food science lab. These students created a spectacular lunch for us along with Prishtina faculty and municipality representatives. We definitely gave the students an A+ (or a 5 in Kosovo grading). We were blown away by their talent in preparing and serving lunch.

After our delicious lunch we spent the afternoon brainstorming, analyzing, and creating the agricultural education partnership project between Kosovo and Iowa. Great plans have been made and work is to be done yet, but we are very happy how things went and are excited to move things forward!

For dinner those in education gathered for a dinner with the Kosovo Ministry of Education. As always the meal was awesome and we were treated to great conversations and fellowship. Saturday will be our final full day in Kosovo, before returning to Iowa Sunday. Saturday night will be capped off with a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister.

Adventures in Gjilan

First thing this morning we hit the road as we made our way to Gjilan in southeast Kosovo. When we arrived we had a meeting with Mayor Lutfi Haziri. He shared lots of information on the municipality of Gjilan with us. He explained that this area is a heavy agriculture area producing fruits, vegetables, tobacco, meat, wood, and processing of food products. His three priorities for the area were to improve infrastructure, agriculture, and education.

From the Mayor’s office we made our way to the Agriculture High School in Gjilan. They currently have a little over 2,000 students in the high school. We were able to visit with the principal and teachers at the school to learn more about how agricultural education operates in Kosovo. We were able to tour their classrooms, labs, greenhouses, and orchards.

We enjoyed a great lunch on top of a hill overlooking the city before visiting Kadri Zeka University in Gjilan serving about 7,000 students. While they don’t currently have agriculture as a degree option they incorporate agriculture into their current programs such as business and economics with the importance of agriculture in the area. They look forward to possibly adding agriculture degrees at some point.

Our final stop in Gjilan was time at Ask Foods. This is a unique food processing company that is growing. They are the only facility in the Balkans that can store fresh fruits and vegetables without freezing products for up to one year. They specialize in fruit juices, spreads, jams, canned vegetables, etc. They export most of their products with markets in New York and Chicago in the USA. We would like to thank Tony Bislimi for hosting us and planning our time in Gjilan.

From Gjilan we returned to the hotel and immediately traveled to Vushtrri where Norwalk, Iowa and Vushtrri signed their sister cities agreement. It was a great evening of ceremonies, including speeches, singing, and dancing. We concluded our day with great conversations at the restaurant Soma as we prepare for a busy Friday in Kosovo!

Exploring Dairy, Education, and Potatoes in Kosovo

We started off the day with a large group of the delegation meeting with the Minister of Innovation, Besim Beqaj, at the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo. The minister did a great job of outlining possible areas of growth for education and his vision for Kosovo to lead IT in the region with all the young people in Kosovo. We were able to have great discussion and ask many questions.

After our breakfast, hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo, we broke off from the large group and we headed to Eurolona. Eurolona is a farm who’s main products are dairy and wheat. While Eurolona is a farm they are also a processing facility for dairy producing milk, yogurts, cheese, and other dairy products. They utilize all of their milk and buy milk from other area farmers to produce all of their products that are currently sold in Kosovo. As their operation grows they are looking towards the possibility of export markets. Currently they are milking in a tie stall setup, but are in the process of switching to a free stall/open setup with an eight herring bone parlor. It was great to see their setup and tour their facilities. We were even able to see some genetics from Iowa State University as Eurolona is the home of the first embryo transfer cattle in Kosovo and the region. This work has been done by Dr. Curt Youngs from Iowa State University.

For lunch we enjoyed another spectacular meal in an outdoor setting. Many enjoyed fish while others opted for steak or calzones. Following lunch we met with Almir an agricultural educator at the Prishtina Agriculture High School and the principal of the school. This is the only magnet agriculture school in the country. They currently have 530 students studying agriculture. Unfortunately, there were no students on campus as it was a national holiday. We were able to see their awesome facilities including their food lab, greenhouses, computer labs, orchard, and science laboratories. We will return to the Prishtina Agriculture High School on Friday to learn more about their program and see their school farm.

Before retuning to the hotel we visited M&6 Products who process potatoes into french fries and also create kroket, which is similar to a mozzarella stick with meat chunks. Thanks to Almir for sharing agriculture in Kosovo with us today. After returning to the hotel we had the opportunity to enjoy dinner at nearby Soma and enjoy conversations with colleagues and friends from Iowa. We look forward to another exciting day tomorrow!

Diplomatic Day in Kosovo

It was a very productive Tuesday in Kosovo. We learned a lot about the country of Kosovo and met with many governmental leaders. We kicked off our morning with a an overview of Kosovo from Ambassador Delawie with the U.S. Embassy. He discussed successes and challenges in Kosovo, before we broke into smaller groups to visit with embassy representatives focusing on our specific sectors of interest.

Following our time with Embassy officials we departed for the Kosovo Parliament chamber for a meeting with the speaker of the parliament and members of parliament. Members of parliament and leaders from the Iowa delegation shared perspective on the Kosovo/Iowa partnership. While Kosovo has room for great improvement and advancement there is no doubt the leaders and people of Kosovo have a strong work ethic and willingness to work together to take Kosovo to new heights. Once again, the love for Iowans was shared with the emphasis that they want Kosovo to feel like our second home.

After a spectacular lunch were we enjoyed a typical Albanian lunch we broke into our different sector groups. The agriculture team joined up with the education team to visit with the Minister of Education, Shyqri Bytyqi. All of the education representatives had time to share information about our educational institutions. We briefly discussed a technical training facility that DMACC is leading the development of with the Ministry and the Global Agriculture Learning Center at Hawkeye Community College has been asked to develop and lead the agriulture portion.

We once again broke into smaller groups as our time with Minister Bytyqi came to a close and our agriculture team split from the education team and made our way to the Ministry of Agriculture. We had a great discussion on agriculture with Minister Nenad Rikalo and General Secretary Kapllan Halimi. We were able to discuss the agricultural education development program we are working to implement and the Ministry is excited to move the project forward. We look forward to growing collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture in Kosovo.

We concluded our evening with a specatacular dinner hosted by Erolld Belegu. Tomorrow is a holiday in Europe so many agencies and businesses are closed. We will spend the day exploring agriculture and visiting a high school agricultural education program. Even in Kosovo agricultural educators pull crazy hours welcoming us on their day off.

Welcome to Your Second Home: Kosovo

We have arrived in Kosovo! It was long travels with layovers in Chicago and Frankfurt, Germany, but we made it to Kosovo with out any major problems. However, we were delayed a bit with our arrival to Kosovo, so after arriving at the Prishtina airport and being welcomed through the VIP reception area we headed straight to a welcome by the Prime Minister. His message was clear. “Welcome to your second home. Our home is your home.” This great hospitality will no doubt be a theme for the week. Our Kosovar friends are always so welcoming and are gracious hosts.

Following our time with the Prime Minister we had a little time to check into the hotel and freshen up before traveling to Stone Castle Vineyards and Winery. Stone Castle is the largest winery in the region and have started exporting to Iowa and plan to expand export markets. It was a specatacular evening with friends discussing the Kosovo/Iowa partnership over dinner. It was great to catch up with former Minister of Agriculture Memli Krasniqi.

Tomorrow will be a full day with briefings from the U.S. Embassy and Kosovo Ministries, before visits with the Minster of Education and Minister of Agriculture. We look forward to an exciting day growing our partnerships in Kosovo!

Off to Kosovo!

This next week is going to be an exciting time of agricultural education development in Kosovo! I am at the airport getting ready to board a flight to meet up with a large delegation from Iowa heading to Kosovo organized by Iowa Sister States. There will be groups focusing on education, sports, art, business, law enforcement, and many other areas. Our focus for the week will be agriculture with a strong focus on agricultural education. The agriculture team is compromised of representatives from the Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa FFA Foundation, Iowa FFA, Iowa State University, and of course the Global Agriculture Learning Center at Hawkeye Community College.

We are excited to grow agricultural education both in Kosovo and in Iowa through this unique program. Follow our adventures throughout the week to learn more about this program and other agricultural connections and partnerships that we are building. Off to Kosovo!

Perfect Saturday in Kosovo

We had a wonderful Saturday for our last full day in Kosovo! The delegation started the day off with exploring the city of Pristina. We ventured down and checked out the soccer stadium that is under renovation for the National Team of Kosovo. After we explored for a bit we loaded the military bus to travel to the municipality of Istog. We had a nice discussion with the Mayor and it was evident, as it was most of the week that, agriculture played a big role in their community. This is the same community that we visited the day before when we toured Agroproduct. The Major of Istog invited a local farmer to join the discussion as well.

After our meeting we returned to Trofta to tour their trout farm. There is a natural spring that fills roughly 600 gallons per second. After the tour we were able to enjoy some of the delicious trout from their menu. Following lunch we had the amazing opportunity to travel to Consul General Xhavit Gashi's home. This is where he was born right at home, to making many memories with his seven siblings, and taught many life lessons from his father. General Gashi's mother and family still live there today.

The Gashi family are a great group of people who were warm and welcoming. It was great to join them in the yard and learn more about their family and the struggles of the past because of the war. As General Gashi told stories from the war our hearts ached as we imagined what life was like in Kosovo 20 years ago. It was hard to hear what had happened to the people of this small country, but the stories helped us better understand the sufferings. At this point in time the people from Iowa and Kosovo became more thean a delegation, we became a family. We were touched dearly by this. Thanks to General Gashi for opening up to us about hard times.

Wrapping up our time in Kosovo we joined the Ministry of Agriculture team to visit cultural sites and enjoy dinner together. We saw many amazing artifacts, learned more about the history of Kosovo, and different areas of the cultures. As we prepared to wrap up the evening we received a call from the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He had just returned to town and wanted to meet us. We joined him for a brief meeting before returning to our hotel to pack our bags and get things in order for our departure Sunday morning.

Kosovo Agriculture on the Rise

Today we traveled to different regions than we have been to previously. We started the day by traveling to the Peja region where we visited Agroproduct and apple orchards. Agroproduct dries various herbs, berries, leaves, flowers, etc. They have a unique drying facility allowing them to produce over 160 different quality products. They export 90% of their products, with Germany being a main buyer. Seventy percent of their products are gathered from the wild, leaving thirty percent cultivated.

Next we traveled to an apple orchard where we met 12 farmers and the head of their association. This group of farmers have 130 hectares of land in apple production. Unfortunately, this year they have lost their entire crop due to a late frost. Most of the apples stay in Kosovo with approximately 65% sold fresh at markets and 35% processed into further products.

We enjoyed lunch at a beautiful restaurant, which specializes in fish. As usual, we did not go hungry. Following lunch we traveled to the municipality of Rahovec. We had a nice visit with the mayor, who is a former Minster of Agriculture for Kosovo. He explained agriculture in the region and the opportunities in front of them. This area is known for it's vineyards and wineries. After a great conversation we visited the Bodrumi i Vjeter Winery. They gave us a short history of their winery and then gave us a tour. They shared that the skin of grapes give wine their color and the seeds provide the flavor. With red wines they leave the seeds in during fermentation, but with white wines the seeds are removed for fermentation.

From the winery we made our way to a beautiful vineyard. We were able to discuss production practices and inspect the soil closer. We concluded the evening with a social at Soma. As some prepare to head home or other directions this gave us a chance to reflect on our time in Kosovo. We have one more day in Kosovo with some site seeing and a farewell event with the Ministry of Agriculture. It was evident today and throughout the week that agriculture in Kosovo is on the rise. There are great things to come and we are excited to be a part of it!

Presidential Praise: Kosovo and Iowa

It was another full day in Kosovo! We started the day off by visiting with the President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci. There was great discussion around the success of the Iowa-Kosovo partnership and plans for the future. Once our meeting was completed with the president we traveled to an archaeological site. We were able to see roads, churches, tombs, etc. that were built by the Romans. We were also able to get a good look at the soil profile, wheat, and corn in the surrounding area.

We enjoyed another spectacular lunch outdoors at a country themed restaurant visiting with folks from USAID about agriculture projects in the northwest region of Kosovo. Following lunch we traveled to see the projects they were explaining to us. We visited a young farmer producing raspberries. He had grown his operation substantially over the last couple years and plans further expansion. Raspberries are much more profitable than the traditional corn and wheat crops grown in the region. After planting raspberries they will produce for 15 years. It just takes one year to receive your return on investment with raspberries in Kosovo. After our time in the field we traveled to a processing plant that is being built for the raspberries.

Next up was a visit with the University of Pristina College of Agriculture and Vetrenary Medicine. We had a great discussion on agriculture education for their 2,000 students. Public universities in Kosovo are funded 100% by the government.

To wrap up our day of touring and visits we traveled to PESTOVA which processes potatoes into a variety of products. We found their products delicious! They are working to increase production in order to continue increasing their exports.

We rounded out a spectacular day at a backyard BBQ that was fabulous. It included a wide range of food, live music, fireworks, and a birthday celebration for our great friend Consul General Xhavit Gashi!  

"This Castle is 3,500 Years Old!"

This morning was filled with diplomatic visits. We started the morning off by joining Minster of Agriculture, Memli Krasniqi, to discuss agriculture in more depth (see photo below). He was able to explain where they currently stand and where he would like things to go. From their Memli took us for visits with the Speaker of the Parliament, Kari Veseli, and then Prime Minister Isa Mustafa.

Following our meetings it was time for lunch at the beautiful Soma restaurant. This allowed us time to visit and explore partnerships within agriculture between Kosovo and Iowa. After Lunch we traveled to the town of Prizren and visited ABI. ABI processes fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. We enjoyed learning more about their operation and then touring their facilities. They process 72 different fruit and vegetable products and 32 different dairy products.

We then stayed in Prizren to visit the Albanian museum and explore the Prizren Castle. The Prizren Castle has some original features and is being restored, as well, in some areas that have deteriorated. They have been able to date some of the castle structure back to 1500 B.C.  This was a remarkable structure and gave a great view of the city below.

We traveled back to Pristina for a reception hosted by the American Chamber in Kosovo. This allowed time for networking with Kosovars. Following the reception we made our way to a beautiful restaurant for dinner and conversations. Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring in Kosovo!

Jobs and Justice for Kosovo

Today was our first full day in Kosovo and it certainly did not disappoint. We started the morning off with a briefing from the U.S. Embassy. They shared the current political transition with the recent elections and other interesting facts about Kosovo. They stressed the focus of "jobs and justice for Kosovo." There is a need to provide training for jobs, but then there must be a market for what those jobs produce and/or provide.

Following our briefing we made our way to the Government Building, which is just a short walk from our hotel. We heard briefings from the Minstry of Education, Agriculture, and Trade and Commerce. It was great to see and visit with Minster of Agriculture Memli Krasniqi again. He shared general information on agriculture in Kosovo. He shared that there are 130,000 farms in Kosovo with the average size of a farm being just over two hectares (roughly 10 acres). Kosovo currently has a agriculture trade deficit, but there is great potential to grow exports. There was, also, great discussion on challenges facing agriculture in Kosovo.

We had a little time for networking with the ministers and their chief advisors before returning to the hotel for a feast of a lunch. There is no concern of weight loss on this adventure. Food is always plentiful and delicious! For the afternoon we joined the Minstry of Education and numerous universities and colleges from around Kosovo. This allowed us time to share information about our schools and explore partnership opportunities.

For dinner we traveled to General Rama's family farm outside of Pristina. Before dinner we were able to tour their farm which produces eggs, beef, honey, vegetables, and fruits. We once again enjoyed a delicious dinner outside in the beautiful Kosovo countryside. We cannot wait to explore agriculture more tomorrow with Minister Krasniqi and Secretary Northey!

Kosovo Arrival and Stone Castle

It was a long, but successful day or days of travel. With the time change it became hard to tell how long we had spent on airplanes and in airports. Once we arrived in Kosovo we received a very warm welcome from Consul General Xhavit Gashi who ushered us to a bus to take us to a VIP reception. We were able to enjoy coffee, water, and conversation while our baggage was collected and passports were processed. This allowed us to bypass the hustle and bustle of the airport.

We then were able to see some of the city as we made our way to our hotel for check-in. Right after check-in we enjoyed appetizers in a ped-mall area as we reviewed our schedule for the week. Following this time we headed back to the hotel and prepared to head out for dinner.

For dinner we travelled to Stone Castle Winery and Vineyards, about one hour from Pristina. This allowed us to see much of the countryside. We noted most of the fields were small and the terrain became rougher as we traveled away from Pristina. For crops we saw a lot of corn, small grains, and hay. As far as livestock we came across some cattle, horses, and sheep.

Before dinner we had the opportunity to tour the production facilities of Stone Castle Winery and Vineyards. They have many award winning wines. They have 2,243 hectares at the winery and vineyard with 600 hectares in grape production currently. They must buy 3/4 of the grapes they use creating a great market for grapes in the area for other producers. They have separate facilities for white and red wine production making them unique from others.

Following our tour we enjoyed an enormous meal at Stone Castle. We were not sure if the food would ever stop coming. We shared great company with many honored guests in attendance. As we return to Pristina this evening we are enjoying the wisdom and conversations shared with Secretary Northey. We look forward to our first full day in Kosovo tomorrow!