Three Easters from the former Yugoslavia: Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro, early 2000s Slovenia: Spring had come to Ljubljana, you can tell by the forsythia and the willow, but it was not by the weather. A cold wind blew snow flurries … Continue reading Eastertide in three former Yugoslav Countries (Early 2000s)
This is Old New Year’s Eve, January 13. Today and tomorrow I’m posting about this strange holiday from letters I wrote between 1996 and 2011, today 1996 – 2000. 1996: “Old New Year” sounds like an oxymoron, but in Macedonia … Continue reading Old New Year, Macedonia and Montenegro
The border between Albania and Montenegro is a wild and beautiful place. These pictures are from the Montenegrin side, although the people are ethnic Albania. This area is north of Tuzi. Continue reading Albanian Border Lands
This Canyon runs North from Podgorica. The main road and railroad from Podgorica to Northern Montenegro, and Belgrade, runs through this canyon. We drove it once a month in a “commute” between Montenegro and Kosovo in 1999 and 2000. … Continue reading Moraca Canyon
When we were teaching at the Kotor Journalism Summer School a visit to the Saturday Market was a regular event. Not only for shopping but to gather sound for radio pieces. Continue reading Kotor Saturday Market
Durmator is a National Park in Montenegro with the highest mountains. The Tara Canyon is the deepest canyon in Europe. Biograd Lake is also a national park. Continue reading Durmator, the Tara Canyon and Interior Mountains
Cetinje is the old royal capital of Montenegro. It was protected by mountains from the Turks; in that way Montenegro could maintain some degree of independence. Historically the capital is not in Podgorica because in the late 1800s Cetinje had … Continue reading Cetinje
Budva is a walled city on the Adriatic. We first visited here in 1972, shortly after it was leveled by an Earthquake. You can see cracks in the city walls and in some of the buildings. Some of the cracks … Continue reading Budva
In 1997 I first visited these islands. I have been back several times. Here is what I wrote then. June 1998 We visited the Church of Our Lady of the Rock which sits on an artificial island where the four … Continue reading Our Lady of the Rocks
Parast is an old Venetian town in the Boka. It sits just opposite the narrow point of the inner bay and had a fort above the town. Now it is a place for people to spend the summer. Continue reading Parast
This is the road from Kotor to Cetinje. Someone once asked the Prince-Bishop Njegos Petrovic how long it took to travel from Kotor (then part of Venice) to Cetinje, the capital of independent Montenegro. He said “For a friend, about 6 … Continue reading Skala Kotor
Kotor is a World Heritage Site. It is a walled city that had been part of the Venetian Republic, and then part of Austria until the end of the First World War when it became part of Yugoslavia, and then … Continue reading Kotor
Sveti Stefan used to be a village. Under Tito it became an exclusive hotel hosting the likes of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Margaret and Robert McNamara. We first visited in 1972. We were allowed to wander the … Continue reading Sveti Stefan