We are just back from the annual Biking and Hiking Fair (Fiets- en Wandelbeurs) in Amsterdam. Full of impressions, of course. Also this year, almost 20,000 nature lovers visited the two-day event. Yes, a very special kind of visitors indeed – all of them passionate hikers and/or bikers, most of them dressed in typical […]
Author: Marianne van Twillert
WILL THE MONTENEGRIN COAST SURVIVE AS TOURIST DESTINATION?
A few days ago I read a very interesting article in „Vijesti Online“: the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism has made up a Draft National Strategy of Integrated Coastal Management, which clearly points at the danger of irrational urban planning on the Montenegrin Coast. I could not believe my eyes when I read […]
THE MONASTERIES OF THE MORAČA CANYON
When you are in Podgorica, it is a good idea to spend a day in exploring the Morača Canyon and its monasteries, in particular off-season, when there is less traffic. Just follow the road to Kolašin and Belgrade and it doesn’t take long before the scenery becomes breathtaking. The highway – one of the […]
CHRISTMAS EVE IN PODGORICA
After having spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands, we were eager to celebrate another Christmas in “our” city, Podgorica. The Orthodox Church still uses the old “Julian” Calendar, which means that Christmas Eve – in Montenegro called Badnji Dan – is on January 6th and Christmas Day (Božić) on January 7th. […]
WINTER IN THE ULCINJ SALINAS
Recently I saw a video about the Ulcinj Salinas and I was so enthusiastic that I decided to go and visit this nature reserve that is still rather unknown in Montenegro and beyond as soon as possible. With 250 registered bird species, the Solana is a paradise for birdwatchers: spoonbills, Dalmatian pelicans, flamingos and […]
WOMEN OF MONTENEGRO
I have read quite a lot of books about Montenegro and its history; many of them were written by travel writers visiting Montenegro at the end of the 19th and in the beginning of the 20th century. For me it was fascinating to learn more about life and traditions of the Montenegrin people, but what […]
PODGORICA: IMPRESSIONS OF BLOK 5
In my opinion, Blok Pet (Blok 5) is one of the most fascinating districts of Podgorica. I like to walk around there and ask myself how could this neighborhood be restored and rehabilitated, painted and decorated, how could it be cleaned up and become a nice place for living again, as it was thirty years […]
RESTAURANT RAPSODIA: AN AMAZING CULINARY EXPERIENCE IN ALBANIA
There is a place in Albania I visit very frequently. And that is Hotel Restaurant Rapsodia in Shengjin, municipality of Lezhë (2 km from the highway Shkodra-Tirana when you pass Lezhë). Why would we travel more than 100 km from Podgorica for just a dinner? Why would we take all our friends and relatives to […]
ALBANIA, TAMARË: THE NEW KELMEND ROAD
The area around the Cijevna river (in Albanian: Cem river) has always attracted me, so the information that a Joint action plan for its ecological defense and the sustainable environmental development of the cross-border area was started this year made me quite curious. A draft feasibility study on eco-tourism development in the surrounding villages […]
AN UNKNOWN WILD FRUIT: CORNELIAN CHERRIES (CORNUS MAS)
Have you ever seen or tasted cornelian cherries? In Montenegro they are called “drenjine”. Many foreigners probably do not know these wild berries that usually ripen in September, as they are consumed in Eastern Europe and Iran only. In Western Europe the tree is also grown as an ornamental plant for its late winter flowers, […]