In Podgorica, traffic is chaotic, the streets are overcrowded and traffic jams are frequent. Pedestrians pass the streets wherever they can and don’t pay regard to the traffic lights (which is quite understandable, as at some places the green light lasts only 10 seconds or so). Drivers do not obey the regulations, jump the red […]
Author: Marianne van Twillert
INDIAN SUMMER ON MOUNT LOVĆEN
The last weekend, warm and sunny, was an excellent opportunity to make a tour around the Lovćen National Park and enjoy the beautiful autumn colours of the beech forests and the spectacular view from the rotunda of Njegoš’s mausoleum on the summit of Jezerski Vrh. We took the road from Cetinje to Ivanova Korita and then […]
BIRDWATCHING IN THE DANUBE DELTA
One of the highlights of my journey through Eastern Europe this summer was a birdwatching tour in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, which is situated in the eastern part of Romania. This area has the third largest biodiversity in the world (over 5,500 flora and fauna species) and is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage […]
PODGORICA: SHADOWS OF GREY
Prefabricated buildings are perhaps one of the most widespread legacies of communism. Entering or leaving any city from Tirana to St. Petersburg, from Podgorica to Kyev and Odessa, visitors have to make their way through suburbs filled with unattractive grey concrete housing blocks. After World War II, panel factories were built everywhere in the East European […]
JEGOR’S PATH: A HIKING TOUR ON THE COAST
After the long hot summer season, October is a good time to make a hiking tour through the coastal mountains of Paštrovačka Gora and enjoy the panorama of the Budva Riviera. We made the tour from the monastery of Praskvica to Čelobrdo along the path called “Jegorov put”, which was hand-made by the one-armed Russian […]
KEEP MONTENEGRO CLEAN – TAKE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!
When I remember my life in former Yugoslavia, I have the feeling that solid waste management was at a high level at that time. The situation has deteriorated since then. Of course, things have changed: nowadays we produce much more waste, and plastic bags from the supermarkets have become an unavoidable part of the landscape […]
FREIBURG, GERMANY – THE ECO-FRIENDLY DISTRICT OF VAUBAN
As interpreter for GIZ, I accompanied a group of Energy Managers from the Montenegrin municipalities to Germany last week. One of the most interesting topics of the study tour program was the visit to VAUBAN, a sustainable neighborhood of 5,000 residents in Freiburg, on the southern border of the city. All of the houses within […]
“STUBIĆI” – THE ROAD POLES OF PODGORICA
Along the streets, boulevards and squares of Podgorica you can see thousands of small poles. Instead of “stubići” (which means small poles), the inhabitants of the Montenegrin capital also call them „mugići“, named after the mayor of Podgorica Miomir Mugoša, who placed them with the aim to create more space in the chaotic, overcrowded town. […]
A NOSTALGIC VISIT TO AMERSFOORT – HOLLAND
During my stay in Holland, I also visited Amersfoort, the town where I was born. Since my emigration in 1967, Amersfoort has expanded from 75,000 to 150,000 inhabitants, but the old medieval center (the place got its town charter in 1259) has remained the same. It represents a popular tourist attraction, as it is full […]
DURMITOR – THE SEDLO PASS ROUTE
One of the most spectacular roads in Montenegro is, no doubt, the Sedlo pass route from Piva Lake to Zabljak. The road, althoug narrow, is completely paved now and when you travel off-season, the silence – and beauty – of nature is absolute. An update of this article was posted on June 27, 2018, see: […]