A Decade of Re-established Independence, 1000 Years a Nation

May 21st, 2016, Montenegro celebrated ten years since it's "declaration of independence" from Serbia, and previous to that, Yugoslavia. Incidentally, 2016 also apparently marks 1000 years since the nation that is now Montenegro was initially formed. 

 

 Gearing up for this momentous occasion, flags were hung from seemingly every streetlight pole on every major road (and many minor ones) available, in Podgorica.

 They even needed to weld the flag holders onto the poles first.

 And there were billboards everywhere saying "A Decade of Re-established Independence, 1000 Years a Nation, Eternal Montenegro."

Since the 21st is on a Saturday this year, the holiday will extend to Monday. Happy Birthday Montenegro!

Ancient History versus Cats/Puddles

We travelled as a family to the coastal town of Bar for a few days, earlier this month. Unfortunately, most of our time there was VERY rainy. But on our last full day, we decided to take advantage of a rare sunny day and explore the historic areas of Bar. The first, and oldest, is the Old Olive Tree.
This tree is over 2000 years old, 10 meters in diameter and still fruitful!

But what the girls found the most interesting about the tree, was a small cat who was roaming around the location.

There were also some big puddles to jump in because of the rain.

Then we went to "Old Bar" which dates to the early Middle Ages and has in the past 1,000 years belonged to the Byzantine Empire, the medieval Serbian state/empire, the Republic of Venice, the Balšić family of Zeta, Louis I of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire before being reclaimed (via siege) by Montenegro in 1878. 

There are many steep climbs, both to get to the city (you pass many souvenir shops on the way up-unfortunately they are closed in winter) and once inside the walls. The previous four photos were a random sampling, in no particular order.

The girls enjoyed exploring the ruins, but their favorite find was a giant puddle at the top of the old fortress.

 

So, our children appreciate history, just not as much as they like cats, or puddles.

 

Bus-ted

I know that it's been a (long) while since my last blog post. Sorry. Much has happened since then. Both girls are now in pre-school, so you'd think I should have more time to post.
Today's topic is once again on our bus system. We depend on it a lot when our car is not working, or just one of us needs to get somewhere, and the girls would like it if we took the bus all the time everywhere.

Here are a few more discoveries I've made recently about how "things work" here versus my experience with public transportation elsewhere:

Bus times are not consistent. Some drivers leave the Starting station (the only one with an official departure time) a minute or two early, others a minute or two late.

Bus routes are not consistent. For awhile is seemed an additional loop was added on to the end of the rout, but not every driver took it, some just followed the original route.

Drivers make personal stops. I may have mentioned before that we've had drivers stop at sports gambling shops, I can only guess to place a quick bet. I've also had a driver stop to purchase cigarettes from a person who stands on the sidewalk and keeps her stock in her backyard.

Routes are subject to change without notice. For a few weeks, a two block section of one main street was closed. The first time I rode the bus after this closure (which I was unaware of), I was surprised to have my bus veer off it's normal course and take me farther away from where I had planned on debussing. Since it wasn't the regular route, people would signal that they wanted to get off where ever, and the driver would comply. There was no informing signage either at the bus stop or on the bus about this change. Perhaps online or in the paper, but not everyone checks those. It seemed that towards the end of the detouring period (I believe the street is reopened), the route was constantly changing-improving I guess, but it kept you on your toes. Where is the closest place this bus stops to my intended destination? Where can I wait to ensure I can catch a bus back home?

Bus rules are not consistent. On two separate mornings (of two different weeks) when I was taking the girls to school, a bus driver (different one each time) told me that it was a free ride to take children to pre-school. The morning after the second time, Steve took the girls, and even though it was the same driver as the day before, he had to pay. The following day, same driver, so did I. And we haven't heard it since. Perhaps it was a limited time offer, or the bus company felt like they were losing too much money. Just seemed pretty random to us.

 

I know all of these sound like grumbling, but overall, I am well pleased with the bus which gives us some freedom to get our children to school or us to other destinations even when we can't (or don't want to) take the car.

In The Swim of Things

A nearby hotel just built a beautiful swimming pool with three different depths, including a kiddie pool only half a meter deep (about 18 inches).

The kiddie pool also has some great waterslides which the girls really enjoyed.

They offer a family package where the whole family can swim from 10am to 8pm for 14€. They have a café/restaurant in the pool area (and a bar IN the deep pool that you can swim up to, order and drink!), and nifty waterproof wristbands that you swipe and at the end of your time, you give it to the entrance/exit personnel and they charge you for your purchases. Great not to have to worry about keeping your wallet dry! And there were lots of places to sit, lounge chairs, bean bags, and hammocks. They even provide towels!

We went for about 3 1/2 hours, ate lunch there and really enjoyed our time.

Low Budget Kids' Stuff

In the past week we have taken two opportunities to fight the cabin fever of cowering in the one air conditioned room in our house to escape from the 102° heat. There is an exhibit of dinosaur fossils from Patagonia, Argentina, on display in Budva. The best part is that it is inexpensive (€5 per person, children under 5 are free), and very geared toward children. There is a place for digging up "fossils."

There are places to color, do "rubbings" of a dinosaur etching, play games on computer, put a giant puzzle together, even little egg-shaped chairs that close so your child can pretend to be a baby dino about to hatch.

Two of the girls' favorite things were the dinosaur they could "ride"

and the "insert your face here" picture.

We were also invited to a birthday party at a "mini zoo" which had some ponies, a pig, goats and rabbits that you could pet

 ducks, geese, a turkey and a peacock.

There was also a giant trampoline, slide, swings, seesaws and concession stand. And no entrance fee! You did pay €1 for 15 minutes on the trampoline, and I presume if you ride the ponies it costs something too, but a nice and inexpensive experience for sure.

 

 

 

 

Rich and Poor Languages

"War doesn't determine who's right, but who's left." This is a truism in English that plays on the fact that both "right" and "left" have two different meanings. So I thought I'd present a few of the words in Serbian/Montenegrin which have multiple meanings.

For example vreme means both time and weather, sat is both hour and watch/clock. The only way you can have a simile is with kao since it is like and as.  They use the same verb igrati for to dance and to play (a game or with a toy). The verb slušati is to listen and also to obey. Nositi means to carry and also to wear. Brinuti se is to both worry about and to take care of. Računar is a computer and a calculator. The word for world is svet but that is also the word for holy and saint. Milost is both grace and mercy.

But they also have some words we don't. They have two words for garden: bašta grows edible produce while vrt is floral. There are three different words for aunt (and uncle) depending on how you are related. Tetka is your mother or father's sister (her husband is tetak). Your mother's brother is ujak and his wife is ujna. Your father's brother is stric and his wife is strina. Another word they have that I know of no English equivalent is krmelj -those little crusty things that build around your eyes when you're sleeping.

And just for fun, I'll include a cute picture of Ruth and Esther in a "tent" they built in our living room.

Montenegro Medical

I know it's been over month since my last post. One major reason has been dealing with health issues. While always a bummer, it has given us a first-hand look at some of the differences (both good and bad) between health care here versus in the USA.

 

Good news, healthcare is much cheaper here. In the course of two weeks there was a visit to a hemotologist, neurologist (with eeg), pulmonary specialist, and chest x-ray and the total cost for all of this was about what one regular check-up would be stateside. And this was the "private" sector. Public healthcare here is free to those with national insurance (read citizens), though not all forms of care are available, and usually the wait is significant.

On the darker side, at least to Western minds, the health provider community seems to be in the mindset of 20-30 years ago by American standards. Many seem to think that sickness is caused by exposure to draft as much if not more than by germs. The IV medication (and even most OTCs) still come in glass bottles, a mother who has a spinal before a c-section is required to lay flat on her back for the next 24 hours (we learned that from a friend). Some doctors prescribe tea as a medication. One aquaintance broke one finger and they casted his whole hand rather than just splinting it and taping it to a neighboring finger. I think as the "old guard" retire and younger doctors take their places there will be a modernization here. Of course many lay-people also believe some of the "old-wives tales".

Ruth did enjoy getting to use her doctor's kit on Daddy.