If you're at loose ends next weekend, think about popping over to Pristina for a mini-break. The capital of Kosovo has some good restaurants--Café Boheme has lovely pasta and there are also some surprisingly yummy sushi places. But the real reason to be in Pristina is that it looks pretty darn likely that on  February 17 the world will wake up to Kosovo declaring itself an independent nation. Sunday, it seems, is a strategic day for Prime Minister Hashim Thaci to make his historic announcement because the Security Council would not be able to meet in time to put out the proverbial flames of a nation emerging. The rumors are that the United States, Germany and Britain will then instantly recognize Kosovo and it's de facto a done deal. All my Balkan pals have been muttering about it for weeks. Serbia has just re-elected the Western-leaning Boris Tadic as president and last week it was announced that the European Union would be taking over from the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), which has effectively run Kosovo since the NATO war with Serbia ended in June 1999.  With Tadic talking of Serbia becoming a member of the EU and the EU mission effectively moving Kosovo in the direction of eventual EU membership, all the pieces seem to have finally fallen into place.