retiredmartin

April 2023.

I’d like to try and convince you that Pristina is one of the best pub towns in the world but you wouldn’t believe me and you’re not going there for your summer holiday anyway. But if you do, head for the run of pubs hidden amongst the foliage below the street called UCK (honest) and tell them Mrs RM sent you.

After Soma Book Station and Dit’ e nat’ the MIQT pub is the third “must visit” on Rate Beer. I’m leaving Strip Depot to the more adventurous beer tourist.

It took ages to find MIQT before our big match at the national stadium.

It’s almost as if the bars have decided that since they’re in a 97% Muslim city they’d better be inconspicuous and have hid themselves under foliage and used names like “book shop” and “Institute for Development Policy”.

Like the football, the pubs weren’t heaving on a Saturday lunchtime, so eight handpumps taps seemed a bit ambitious, particularly as I couldn’t really tell them apart.

But the music was to Mrs RM’s easy-listening tastes,

the young folk playing chess in the corner entertained the pub dog,

and we found a nice table with a lampshade to enjoy a Grimberger (I think it was, but hardly care).

Billy Joel gave way to Dire Straits. Mrs RM reminisced about the time “Brothers In Arms” was everywhere, though this was “Once Upon A Time In The West”, somehow acceptable in 2023.

The barperson said she’d order us in a burger from one of the other pubs, which was nice.

And barely 20 minutes of “Good Vibrations” and “Roxanne” and Bobby Brown later we had a superb Balkan burger with chips and dips for about £4.

And then I popped down to the Gents.

Except I didn’t, did I ? I went in the Ladies by mistake, Kosovans not bothering to write “M” and “F” on the doors.

Big mistake. Huge.

An even bigger mistake was showing Mrs RM.

“Ughhhhh”. My thoughts exactly.

And then the soundtrack took a turn;

I could have stayed there all afternoon.