Returning To Montenegro
Reader's Digest UK|Reader's Digest September 2019

US President Donald Trump described the country as “very aggressive.” A writer familiar with it couldn’t disagree more.

Returning To Montenegro

When planning a family trip to Montenegro last spring, I found myself telling perplexed friends who knew next to nothing about the Balkan country: “Imagine yourself in Venice, sail down the Adriatic coast, look to your left and stop before Albania.”

But since US President Donald Trump described the country, in a televised interview in July last year, as a possible trigger to a third world war and Montenegrins as “very aggressive,” the questions have trended from “Where is it?” to “What’s there?”

For starters, there's dramatic natural beauty, including the imposing mountains that wall the coast and inspired its name, Monte Negro, or Black Mountain, in the 13th century.

More invested in tourism—which accounts for over 20 per cent of the economy—than war, Montenegro attracted two million visitors last year, more than three times its population, according to the national tourism office.

A statement from the government in reaction to Mr. Trump’s characterisation cited Montenegro’s “peaceful politics,” noting that during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, the country was “the only state in which the war didn’t rage during disintegration of the former Yugoslavia,” of which it was a part.

As the granddaughter of immigrants from Montenegro and a repeat traveller in the region, my experience of Montenegrin aggression is limited to receiving large portions of food and admonishments to clean my plate.

President Trump wasn’t wrong about the country’s size though. NATO’s newest member, which declared independence from Serbia in 2006, is indeed small. Less than half the size of Belgium, it's diminutive, but it’s just right for a time-pinched vacation, which, in our case, was eight days in May.

この蚘事は Reader's Digest UK の Reader's Digest September 2019 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は Reader's Digest UK の Reader's Digest September 2019 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

READER'S DIGEST UKのその他の蚘事すべお衚瀺
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME
Reader's Digest UK

EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME

Do you want to save 1.5 seconds every day of your life? According to the dishwasher expert at the consumer organisation Choice, there’s no need to insert the dishwashing tablet into the compartment inside the door.

time-read
3 分  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
May Fiction
Reader's Digest UK

May Fiction

An escaped slave's perspective renews Huckleberry Finn and the seconds tick down to nuclear Armageddon in Miriam Sallon’s top literary picks this month

time-read
1 min  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Wine Not
Reader's Digest UK

Wine Not

In a time of warning studies about alcohol consumption, Paola Westbeek looks at non-alcoholic wines, how they taste and if they pair with food

time-read
3 分  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Train Booking Hacks
Reader's Digest UK

Train Booking Hacks

With the cost of train travel seemingly always rising, Andy Webb gives some tips to save on ticket prices

time-read
4 分  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Reader's Digest UK

JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN

Here, far from the crowds, in opal clarity, from May to September, the sun knows no rest. As soon as it’s about to set, it rises again

time-read
8 分  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
My Britain: Cheltenham
Reader's Digest UK

My Britain: Cheltenham

A YEAR IN CHELTENHAM sees a jazz festival, a science festival, a classical music festival and a literature festival. Few towns with 120,000 residents can boast such a huge cultural output!

time-read
6 分  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Reader's Digest UK

GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB

Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.

time-read
6 分  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant
Reader's Digest UK

Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant

After working in TV and radio as an author and nutritionist, Suzi Grant started a blog alternativeageing.net) and an Instagram account alternativeageing). She talks to Ian Chaddock about positive ageing”

time-read
3 分  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World
Reader's Digest UK

Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World

Sam Quek MBE is an Olympic gold medalwinning hockey player, team captain on A Question of Sport and host of podcast series Amazing Starts Here

time-read
3 分  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Stand Tall, Ladies
Reader's Digest UK

Stand Tall, Ladies

Shorter men may be having their moment, but where are the tall women?

time-read
3 分  |
Reader's Digest May 2024