Travel Surprises and Fitness Lessons From Kosovo
Kosovo Surprised Me
When one of your closest friends gets married in another country, you go. No questions asked.
So my wife and I packed our bags, braced ourselves for the 11-hour journey from Lisbon (including the layovers in Switzerland), and flew out to Kosovo for the big day. He’s one of my oldest mates—over 15 years of friendship—so the wedding was both a celebration and a reunion of sorts. It was brilliant. Traditional, full of energy, good food, endless dancing… the lot.
But in the days leading up to it, I had the chance to explore a city I honestly hadn’t given much thought to before—and let me tell you, Prishtina had plenty of curveballs in store.
Things I Didn’t Expect:
That a brunch spot could literally have no food.
My wife and I walked 10 minutes in the heat to a place called Brunch Lounge. Online photos showed waffles, eggs, full plates of delicious looking food. We got there. No menu. I asked what food they had. “We don’t serve food.” Just drinks. I’m still confused now.That blueberries could be the highlight of a mega-mall visit.
Prishtina Mall is one of the biggest malls in Europe… and we left with two boxes of locally grown blueberries. That’s it. But I’m not mad (in fact I loved it)—Kosovo’s blueberries were cheap and delicious, and I had plenty during the trip, which made hitting my fibre goal well easy.That Google Maps would betray me.
I’ve travelled a fair bit, but Prishtina was the first place where Google Maps didn’t cut it. Reviews were scarce, info sometimes wrong, and it turns out most people rely on word of mouth. (Shout out to the physio who I found that treats top Kosovan athletes—two Google reviews. I gave him his third. The deep tissue massage was 10/10.)That cheese and cream would be everywhere.
I’d heard the Balkans love their dairy, but wow. Even the coffee had extra full-fat milk. My wife, who’s usually okay with milk in her coffee in other countries, tapped out early. I tried to be mindful too. As much as I enjoy trying local cuisine, I wasn’t about to start downing cheese bricks and cream for breakfast 😂 just a personal preference thing.
Travel Fitness Is Never Perfect
I didn’t hit the gym once. All my movement came from walking, which we did plenty of thanks to our centrally located Airbnb. And while I wasn’t fussed about nutrition at first (it was a holiday after all), by day 3, I naturally started making better food choices again—more fibre, more protein, less cream-on-cream-everything.
That shift on day 3 wasn’t forced either. It just happened. Because when you build strong habits, they follow you, even when you’re navigating a country that has “Thank You USA” signs in various places, blazing heat that dictates your schedule, and locals dressed so well it felt like Milan Fashion Week every time I stepped outside.
And that’s the overall message here:
You don’t have to “start from square one again” after a trip.
You don’t need to stress if the gym wasn’t part of the itinerary.
What you need is to build a foundation that gives you the freedom to enjoy the moment without guilt—and the clarity to shift back as soon as you’re ready to go again.
It’s what I help my 1:1 online fitness members work toward all the time: consistency, but without a level of obsession that makes living healthy… ironically become unhealthy.
Want to build that foundation for yourself? Then sign up for my free 14-day Fat Loss Kickstarter by clicking here and I’ll send you a short, straightforward email every day for two weeks.
Think of it like a personal trainer in your pocket (no cheese blocks included).
Speak soon,
Leo
