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| Montenegro means Black Mountain and there are plenty of them! |
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| A morning boat ride on a vast bay. |
Note: A word
about the photos. None have been
‘Photoshopped.’ All the colors are
just as the camera recorded them.
The waters are the same blue, the mountains are as dark and rugged. Words like majestic, interesting, and
quaint do not do justice to Montenegro.
Montenego is perhaps the last
of under-discovered Europe. With
good reason. Inaccessibility of
air travel. Lack of easily
accessible tourist destinations.
Second world atmosphere.
We flew from Munich to
Dubrovnik via Lufthansa. Then an
almost four hour bus ride wound along the coast to the town of Bar. Not much in Bar, but the Hotel Princess
is a modern refuge. Behind the
hotel, a long, expansive promenade marks the seaside for evening strolls. The locals flock in droves. Baby carriages. Lovers. Sulky teenagers.
Rambunctious children.
Whole families. Coffee
stands, beer stands, open-air fish restaurants, braced by palm trees and soft
streetlights. It’s the place to be
in the languid twilight.
Sun plays across the water
near sunset. Suck in a lungful of
the cascading mountain air. Smell
the sea. Enjoy the rapid change
from bursting sun to dimming gold to creeping night.
Shopping is minimal. Are you really a tourist who likes to
get off the beaten track? This is
the place to find out.
Montenegro has suffered
through wars a-plenty. In the
1990s civil war saw the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. Montenegro took the
side of the Serbs. There are still
signs in Dubrovnik (Croatia) decrying the villainy of Serb and Montenegran
troops.
Today, all that has passed,
at least in Montenegro. The Army
has about 2000 troops. There is no Air Force. Hulks of the former Yugoslavian Navy sit rusting in
harbors. Unmanned. Forgotten.
Along the coast, the
landscape is dotted with half-constructed homes and buildings. A Chinese company was going to develop
here, says our guide, but they pulled out. An English consortium was going to build a hotel over there,
he says, pointing a finger at what looks like a construction site untouched for
years.
Ah, the former glories. In the thirties, apparently the coast
was ablaze with English, Italian, and German pleasure seekers. Nightclubs. Deluxe apartments.
Beaches teeming with the well-to-do. Little evidence remains.
Montenegro is trying to join
the European Union, hopefully by 2017 or so. Croatia is about to join this summer. For Montenegro, it’s an uphill climb
and from my point of view, it would be like a poor section of Mexico becoming
the fifty-first state.
Still, there is a lot to like
in this far corner of Europe. The
landscape is spectacular. I’ve
seldom seen such majestic mountains, which rise to an average height of over
6000 feet and cover the vast majority of the land.
The Tara River Canyon is said
to be the second deepest in the world, after the Grand Canyon. Though the great crag, hundreds of feet
below, a river of pure aqua-colored water flows in an endless rush. Never seen water this color in the
wild. When we stop at a shallow
bend for a closer look, I find it absolutely clear, with every bottom pebble
distinct.
Crossing the canyon at it’s
deepest point is the Tara Bridge.
Built between 1937 and 1940, the area was occupied by Italian forces in
1942. To halt the Italian advance,
one of the bridge’s engineers, operating as a partisan, blew up the center
span, only to be captured and executed.
The bridge was rebuilt in 1946 and has been featured in several films,
including the British World War II epic, Force 10 From Navarone.
With the imposing terrain,
travel in Montenegro isn’t measured in kilometers, but in time. For five days straight, we spent about
six hours per day on the bus.
We bussed to Orthodox
monasteries, found deep-water lakes in the snow-crusted mountains, ate the
freshest of fish at seaside restaurants, drank delightful beer, wine, and
brandy (from the monasteries), and enjoyed fresh cheese and smoked ham in the
heart of the rural countryside.
Underdeveloped, yes. Uninteresting, definitely not. Although not for the faint of heart
traveler, Montenegro offers sights, tastes, and adventures you won’t find anywhere
else.
Fast Facts
Population: 650,000
Capital: Podgorica; 152,000
Area: 3,812 square kilometers (5,333 square
miles), about the size of Connecticut
Language: Montenegrin, Serbian, Albanian
Religion: Orthodox (65%), Muslim (19%), Roman
Catholic (4%)
Currency: Euro
Life Expectancy: 73
GDP per Capita: U.S. $2,200
Literacy Percent: 97
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| A shallow portion of the Tara River Gorge |
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| Tara River Gorge, almost as deep as the Grand Canyon |
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| National Park, birch forest |
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| Ostrag Monastery built into the rocks in 1665: Serbian Orthodox |
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