Nestled beneath the towering peaks of the Georgian Caucasus, where thousand-year-old stone towers pierce the mountain mist like ancient prayers frozen in time, lies a village slowly — and inevitably — surrendering to the modern world. Ushguli. Even its name whispers of mystery locked behind sky-splitting summits. In the Shadow of the Georgian Caucasus Our […]
Author: Natasa Djukanovic
CLIMBING GRAN PARADISO
I woke up at midnight. Head throbbing. I can’t believe it’s too hot to sleep. I am in airbnb flat in a village in Aosta valley in the Alps. I know it’s midnight because the church bell sounds 12 times, and then every half an hour it rings again. I dreamed I was climbing and every […]
CRKVICE – GRKAVAC: HIKING THROUGH THE SEA OF STONE
Guest blogger: Nataša Đukanović There is an expression in our language which describes the karst region we live in as – “ljuti kamen”. It is difficult to translate this into English or probably any other language, as it is impossible to use the literal translation – “angry stone”. It also applies to the hard life of the people […]
THE FORTRESS OF HAJ NEHAJ
Three weeks ago, I visited the Red Rock fortress on Velje Brdo, which is close to Podgorica. It has an almost perfect elliptical shape and a square building in the middle. You can almost feel the military discipline and order. You can feel the soldier’s spirit of strict behaviour and perfectly synchronized marching, you can […]
REQUIEM FOR YUGOSLAVIA
Guest blogger: Nataša Djukanović I feel offended when someone says something bad about Yugoslavia. I feel like we, the people who were born and lived in Yugoslavia are a special endangered species going to be extinguished in the next couple of years. So, don’t offend us. Don’t throw a stone on our already ruined home. […]
THETH, ALBANIA: TOURISM CALLED – GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!
Guest blog post by Nataša Djukanović Last weekend we visited Theth for the second time. A fascinating environment! This time we were accompanied by my two daughters. I never thought that Theth would have such an impact on Nataša and I am proud to publish her impressions! It’s been five days since I am back […]