We are in Kolašin at our second lodging because the first place wasn’t a good fit (literally) for us. We had booked two nights there but when we arrived, even though the host’s father (another Zoran) was friendly, we discovered the place is on a main road, has a tight spiral staircase that exacerbated Jim’s vertigo, and was very tiny. We made do the first night but left a day early and moved across town to a much more spacious (2 bedroom) place where we stayed a few years ago, apartment Knez. The only reasons I didn’t book this house in the first place is because it’s right down by the river below a high cliff next to the main throughway, so it doesn’t have a spacious view and the sun disappears earlier than in the higher part of town. But we like the owners, an older couple (we have never seen the mom but she has baked things for us and gave us a heaping platter of produce from their yard last time). They don’t speak English but their son, Malden, does. He was finishing law school last time we were here and now has a job with the city. We only spoke with him briefly on this visit but he said he plans to stay here.
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We left Kolaśin 2 days ago and only now am I writing about our pleasant time there.
We don’t love the actual town of Kolašin so much anymore because of recent big building projects that have been happening in recent years, but we return occasionally because we love the surrounding landscape and location. The town is at 3000 feet and abuts Biogradska National Park on one side, there’s a ski area just a few miles up the road in another direction, and some very big mountains close by in another direction. It’s a very green hilly beautiful place with farms and old houses both in and around the town. The town itself also used to be comprised of old houses, fields and gardens as well as two old small resort hotels but only one is functioning. The other has been abandoned for years. There is also a very pleasant pedestrian area with small shops and cafes at one end and a public square with a fountain, monument and old community center that is very slowly being restored. The Tara river parallels the two lane highway that borders the one edge of town, and a lively stream runs down from the mountains through town to the river. And there are many stray dogs and cats.
But in the past 7-8 years a massive amount of new development is occurring, much more than the town warrants or can support. Various people have confirmed the projects are all money laundering schemes funded by the mafia and corrupt investors. Modern chalet style 4-6 story buildings now stand where there used to be gardens, fields and old houses. The saddest part of this, in addition to changing the feel of the town, and the environmental impacts, is the developers are preying on local people to get them to invest and buy condos to rent to the flocks of rich tourists who will soon be coming. Our young friend and her husband from the nearby town of Mojkovac have invested in such a condo (‘not finished yet’ but sure to earn them great income ‘soon’). I pray it works out for them but I have little hope. So many projects stand ‘almost finished’ after 3-5 years of construction.
And sadly, while developers launder their money building resorts and condos, no money is going to badly needed infrastructure improvements in the town. The development is not helping the locals at all, yet prices for food and everything else have gone up. And on the positive side the town is still safe. As before, merchants leave products out in front of their shops unsecured and they are still there the next day. This would never happen in Seattle where even things that are locked and chained get stolen.
Despite all that we had a nice stay. Our first day there we walked up behind town past the little church and botanic gardens on roads we’ve wandered before although we didn’t take the longer higher route this time. But we had a relaxing scenic walk.
The second day we walked above the opposite side of town, on an old dirt road we hiked before but we went further this time. We would have continued on farther but had to be back to town to meet our young friends from Mojkovac who were willing to drive to meet us rather than have us drive to their place.
We met Neda and her twin younger siblings, Pavle and Lana, 7 years ago the first time we stayed in Mojkovac at our friend Kristina’s parent’s house. We had met Kristina the previous year when we stayed at her boyfriend’s mom’s village house. But then Kristina and Dušan moved to Chicago (intending to stay 2 years but it has now been 7). Neda and Kristina were best friends and Kristina asked Neda to come translate for us and her parents since her parents spoke no English. Turns out Neda knew minimal English but we all hit it off and have seen them each time we have visited ever since. However this year Kristina’s parents are out of town so we could not stay with them, which is why Neda (who now has a darling 5 years ago old son) came to Kolašin with the twins to see us.
The twins are now 16 and Lana speaks decent English so she acted as translator. Both twins are studying to be police. Their high school has a program that trains kids to be Custom officials. All high schools around here have specialized programs and students must pick which one to study. Lana is top in her class and she and Pavle both expect to go to college in the capital city of Podgorica. College is still very affordable here. Neda graduated in economics and does not have a job. She recently applied to be a police officer. Her husband is an electrical engineer. They dream of going to America but that seems very unlikely. All three of the siblings like living in Mojkovac and want to stay close to family. They couldn’t grasp why so many Americans live far from their families. ‘Why?,’ they asked. They also were surprised to hear that being a policeman in American cities is dangerous. Violent crime is nearly nonexistent here.
We had a lovely time together at a cafe. We exchanged gifts and chatted about a wide range of things. Through it all 5 year old Vasilije entertained himself quietly. We have experienced this often when with parents with kids. We parted ways because rain was imminent and Neda wanted to get home before the rain came. We were touched that they all wanted to see us and made the effort to visit. They are a beautiful family.
On our walk back to the house we passed 2 cats stopped on the road. One guy was taking a license plate out of his open trunk full of license plates. Who knows what the story was but seeing this seemed to fit with the vibe of the town.
All three of our dinners were decent and predictable. Prices were higher than in Serbia, between 26-30 euros, not cheap but not unreasonable by American standards given all that we ordered.
The rain that was falling when I got up at 7 turned to snow! It is the middle of May and there are tulips and other blooming things in the yard. It’s odd seeing snow. Spring comes to Kolašin later than in many parts of the Balkans. Lilacs and tulips are only now in bloom. I think this year has been chillier overall everywhere here. Our weather has been mostly pleasant with temps in the high 50s to low 70s, but mostly in the 60s and often in the 40s at night.
After saying bye to our hosts we left in the snow flurries for the 80 minute drive on the new Chinese freeway toward Virpazar. Luckily the road was just wet, not slippery, but the surrounding mountains were white with new snow.
monument and community center in background
above that is an old restaurant we’ve eaten at.
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