Montenegro

I love contrasts.

From starting my journey in Montenegro in Budva in a luxury 5 star hotel ‘Splendid’ (thank you Kika for taking care of me) and having a bath, just wow. I thought that I started with the top, just the opposite is true.

Montenegro is breathtaking, that’s the word I have been searching for. The landscape is so divers that driving for just 30 minutes is everything but boring, it’s surprising and beautiful. I can say that I have visited a few countries in my life but Montenegro surprised me on all levels. And I have seen just a very small part of it.

Workshop

Always a pleasure to share my passion on stage. A meeting room full with 50 professionals from the tourism and MICE industry from all over the country came to hotel Splendid in Budva. After my presentation, sharing my personal and professional story, the participants started to work in groups to analyze and review their digital marketing strategy. A very divers group of people (and very pleased to see many young people) and I always learn from every group. My take away as one of the participants left a lovely note on the table ;

At the end we are all humans, we are not B2C, or B2B it is H2H. Human to human industry and we should never forget it

Thank you Aleksandra and Andri from Montenegro Convention Bureau for the invitation and to support the MICE industry in your country.

Of all places….

We both travel all over the world, and where do we meet : Montenegro, Porto Montenegro. Porto Montenegro is like mini Monaco (I think, never been there yet). But it has its charm. By the way, I have never seen a menu where they serve caviar. Anyway, Ashley combines her passion of creating incentives with a local impact and traveling together. She has visited MANY countries together with her partner Hippie. You can follow her on Instagram @ashleyroseontheroad

An inspiring couple. We wanted to meet live somewhere on the globe and apparently Montenegro was the destination we both visited at the same time! We didn’t know before and within 24 hours we arranged everything (well, Ashley did, she’s an awesome incentive planner). Both wanted to have Chinese food and I had to laugh! I completely understand after traveling you just want to have different food, and they couldn’t make me more happy than inviting me for a nice lunch!

Our lifestyles are different but that has a lot of similarities. She uses apartments and I use my camper, the rest is the same. We try to see as much as possible from the places we visit and combine this with work!  Moreover we hope to inspire and inform our industry to bridge the gap of talent of work and to think differently about the way we work. Remote is the future!

Facts

First a bit of economical insights. The government raised the minimum wage by 50% this year to 450 euros per month. Yes, you read it well, it was just 225 per month. Can you believe this? And if I go to the supermarket the prices are similar as in the Netherlands! Count your blessings.

The people are friendly, a bit introverted I would say but they are all helpful and warm if you start talking and mention just a few local words. 

Cetinje

After spending a few days near Porto Montenegro, recovering with my foot, doing my laundry, having lunch with Ashley and a Dutch couple living here (not I’m not alone at all!), I decided to move to the next destination. This sounds simple but this small country has a lot to offer. Too many choices! As the ladies of the Cetinje invited me to come during the workshop, which I accepted. Cetinje and Mount Lovcen are for many Montenegrins symbols of the former independent state and the pursuit of freedom and independence. The perfect start to get to know more about the history of the country as Cetinje was the former royal capital. It’s a place that belongs in the travel books; a small city where there is no time. No stress, no business people running to work. Quiet, peaceful and warm. Friendly people and where the locals still have time for a chat and of course to eat.

I would love to recommend Cetinje as a MICE destination but I have to be honest and that’s not yet possible. If you would choose to spend the night elsewhere, yes, definitely. The charming little town with its important history and the approximity of the national park Lovcen has a huge potential for incentives.

What a contrast, in everything. From the luxury in Porto Montenegro at the coast going to 700 metres high in the mountains and being in a total different world. I enjoyed the luxury in Porto (including a needed haircut) and paid a fortune for an Aperol Spritz where in Cetinje you can eat an entire meal for the same amount.

Sitting in the sun and reflecting on my journey and what’s next. Slowly I feel to get more grip on my life and to shape my new life, however that might look like. Never thought that Montenegro could contribute to this life journey. As my foot is still in the recovery phase, and my taste is back and it remains, I decided to focus on gastronomy and enjoy the local food. 

Spending the night at a small camping the owner was so nice, she gives me and the other guests every day homemade cake. Still warm when she served it, and brought it to your camper on a plate! What a service.

Montenegro has stolen my heart and gave me the inspiration, the surroundings and the beautiful nature to work on my new life, future, business and more. This is for me definitely the right place including the right energy.

Now I’m heading towards the north, a bit earlier than expected but as the weather will change in a few days I decided to go now. Otherwise I will be stuck in the snow! Yes because it’s cold in the north and the weather can change rapidly in autumn.

Loekie is here to keep me warm but that’s not enough…