Within a week of being at University I realised how young and uncultured I was, well, for all of my 18 years that is. Surrounded by gappies who had ‘discovered’ themselves, matured and caught the traveling bug, I felt quite insignificant. I got a part time job and immediately started saving for some extravagant summer adventures to rival the stories of my peers.

Never one to follow the crowd, I avoided the conventional Thailand, South American gaunt and decided to inter-rail around Europe. One of my many stops was Montenegro in the Eastern sphere of Europe. Previously Yugoslavia and then Serbia Montenegro, this little country had been plagued by a history of nation-state conflict. Indeed my trip there came just two months after its independence was constitutionally recognised. A far cry from the backward, unstable and out of touch image the Eurovision would have us believe, Montenegro was jaw droppingly beautiful and the people amongst some of the most hospitable around.

Prepared with a tent and camping equipment my boyfriend and I headed for Durmitor National Park in the North of the country. This trip definitely wasn’t for the faint hearted! As Montenegro only has one train station (linking it to Serbia), the national mode of transport is…wait for it…a minibus. Our particular model had a door that didn’t close properly and a severe lack of seat belts; lets just say it was an MOT disaster. With multiple warnings of ad hoc landslides and ‘soft roads’, as well as the odd deserted car crash, the five hour journey winding along steep cliff faces was not exactly confidence inspiring! However, what we found at the top was well worth the high blood pressure.

Filled with deep and vast lakes, several mountain and hiking trails with the offer of white water rafting and hand gliding- Durmitor is an unsung adventure playground. However, it was the simplicity, beauty and tranquility of life there that was heart-stopping. After buzzing round cities sapping up culture after culture, Durmitor offered the perfect scenery to sit and take stock. After days of swimming in the icy-cool lakes followed by romantic walks among the trees, I left with a contentment I have yet to rival. For those of you with a little fire in the belly and a curiosity for the unspoilt, Montenegro is a must. As an up and coming ski resort, Montenegro’s doors are now open all year round. To capture the magic of the country in all its perfection, get in quick…that is before Ryan Air or Easy Jet do.

Lauren

Tags: Durmitor National Park, Montenegro

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 1:14 pm and is filed under Reviews, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.