Bond. James Bond.
To say my husband is a HUGE Bond fan is an understatement. I’ve always been a fan, even if its depiction of women is quite pathetic. Especially their immediate and mostly fatal attraction to James.
It’s not so much James is on my mind as much as Montenegro is. Yes, I learn about world geography from Hollywood.
Why Montenegro?
I was a political science major during the Cold War and then all of the sudden the Cold War ended, the Soviet Union fell apart, and the birth of a multitude of states ensued. It was confusing. Don’t get me wrong, as much as nuclear deterrent against the Russians drummed up hours of late night banter, it’s good that the Cold War drew its final breath. For one thing, we could finally have new Hollywood plots and new villains. Though it’d be years before ethnic stereotyping the good and bad guys would get less offensive.
It’s almost embarrassing, as a political science/history major, that I know nothing about Montenegro. Except for 2 things – it was once part of Yugoslavia and it’s where parts of Casino Royale were filmed.
While this area has history going way back, Montenegro didn’t become its own until independence in 2006. Bordering Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, and Albania, Montenegro is a small state of just over 5,000 square miles, with about 670,000 residents. What’s smaller in Europe? Countries like Luxembourg and Monaco. In other words, Montenegro is small.
Montenegro tourism calls it the heart of Europe (just across from the heel of the boot that is Italy, which annexed Montenegro in WWII). Boasting Mediterranean climate (averaging 200+ sunny days) and over 100 beaches, it’s no wonder it was once a tourist gem.
Have you seen photos of Montenegro? The word picturesque comes to mind. It’s really beautiful.
So Montenegro is on my mind, because now that September rolling to its end, I have to start thinking about Christmas holidays. We spoke about Montenegro before. (Probably when Casino Royale opened.) The government is really positioning it as the next playground of the rich and famous and there is a megaton of tourist information. I just have to look, I suppose. Despite its diminutive size, from the brief Google searches, its diversity is nothing but.
So perhaps it’s time to add another M, to join Monaco, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Macau (does this one count separately?), Mexico…
I would certainly welcome a traditional Christmas, with all the trimmings, including the cold, the snow, the Christmas markets. Just good ole fun (but not a Christmas Uprising). And maybe not all the customs, like this one from 1881 as published by The New York Times called Christmas in Montenegro. Though I’m unsure if they still use the Julian Calender – so is Christmas really in January?
Photo Credit: Andrew Buchanan
