Prior to breaking out on their own, Montenegro was the second half of the what remained of Yugoslavia.  Physically, the two probably couldn’t have been more different.  I found Serbia to be quite green, quite Slavic…Montenegro is very dry, very hot and very Adriatic.  There is a strong Venetian influence in Montenegro exhibited strongly in the Baroque architecture and food and the far ‘happier’ and ‘zesty’ attitudes of the people there.  While Montenegro did participate in the conflicts in Bosnia and Croatia by contributing troops and hardware, and were the one the receiveing end of NATO strikes in 1999, the country appears to have come out that turbulent decade in far better physcial shape than other participants (although I am told the economy is in shambles). 

I stayed in Kotor for about 3 days in a old Venetian house near the bus station. The owner, a Mr. Franovic was a retired geographer who loved to discuss geo-politics, especially in regards to China and the United States. 

Kotor has the the ever-present old town but with an interesting fortification system above the town weaving it’s way into the hills providing one with an amazing view of the Gulf.  While I would have loved to get up further into the moutnains, the Adriatic coast is indeed a frying pan and I doubt I would have been able to carry enough water to get even half way up the slopes. 

I opted instead for renting a pedal bike and made my way up and down the Gulf trying to get rid of my farmers tan…

Kotor – Montenegro

[[Show as slideshow]]

Again, this is a country that I would have loved to have had access to my own motorbike.

Technorati Tags: balkans, kotor, montenegro, photography, photos, serbia, travel, traveling, yugoslavia

Related posts:

1. August ’08 – Belgrade – Serbia
2. Warsaw, Poland – August 2008
3. August ’08 – Moscow

Belgrade contains an “Old Town” which appears to be a mandatory spatial unit if one wants to be taken seriously as a European (even if you are Serbia) city. Prices are good as is the food, atmosphere and sights (heh heh heh).

There are also a few scars of the ’99 NATO air-campaign…the most notable being the bombed out Serbian Army HQ, just up from the main train station. It would appear that it is being preserved as is. The one thing that is striking about it to me is it stands as a demonstration to how incredibly accurate US munitions are. The two buildings each contain a bomb hit straight down the center which drove several floors into the building before blowing out the front and center portions. Surrounding buildings remain untouched and bear no noticable serious repair evidence. This gives rise to my belief that US forces only miss when they want to miss (using GPS JDAMs at least). The accuracy of these hits really pounds in the theory that the hit on the Chinese embassy during that same campaign was deliberate and hardly a mistake…although the actual reasoning behind the targeting remains obscure (bad maps, demonstration to Chinese forces, targeting of Serbian communication units within the embassy among others).

Lots of meat on the menu here so if you are carnivorous in nature, this is the place for you.

Technorati Tags: belgrade, bombing, bosnia, china, montenegro, NATO, sarajevo, serbia, travel, weapons

Related posts:

1. August ’08 – Belgrade – Serbia