22 Sep 2012 In Montenegro: Staying fit, living with less on a fitness journey
by Karl Lenser
In July, my 16-year-old son and I traveled to Montenegro to visit an exchange student that was at Conway High School during the 2011-12 school year. Kristian met Nikola Spadijer last August when Nick joined the Conway High tennis team, and they became close friends as the year continued. Since Nick’s 18th birthday was in late July, we decided to make this a father/son trip and a chance for both of us to visit a new country and immerse ourselves in Montenegrin/Serbian culture.
First, a quick geography lesson for those of you who do not know where Montenegro is located – east of Italy across the Adriatic Sea, south of Bosnia and north of Albania. Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia were part of Yugoslavia before it was divided into separate states/countries in the early 1990s.
We flew from Little Rock to Houston, which was followed by a near 10-hour flight to Frankfort, Germany. Our final portion of the journey was a two-hour flight to Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro and home for the Spadijer family. We left Little Rock at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and arrived in Podgorica at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The time zone/time travel was the first of several fitness obstacles that I had to overcome during the eight days that we were in “Black Mountain” country.
As was the case when I traveled to Hong Kong in 2010 and the Bahamas in May, I quickly gathered some recon information while we were driving from the airport back to the house. Where could I run as I was now a stranger in a strange land? As a runner, that is an immediate concern. How do I find a route that is both safe and simple enough to find my way back to the house?
I purposely rested on Thursday to help my body repair itself from the lack of sleep and the time zone influences that impair physical activity and overall energy. My theory is that the older you get, the tougher it is to recover from long flights and time zone changes.
To best prepare for my running sessions, I was very observant of the neighborhood streets and landmarks so that I could plan for a few different runs during this trip. Fortunately, I quickly discovered a few routes that provided a variety of flat stretches, challenging hill climbs and easy access from the home. There were not a lot of safe and interesting running routes to pick from, but I did my best. After running in Podgorica, I really began to appreciate all of the running and cycling routes that we have in Conway and the 501 area.
One thing that helped was that I established a running goal before we left the U.S. My goal was to run four days, and each day was going to be around 50 minutes. It definitely helped as the “sedentary devil” was in a fierce battle with the “fitness angel” throughout the week.
In addition to running, we played water polo in the Adriatic Sea and played tennis one evening on red clay courts during a quiet and warm evening. We also introduced many Serbians and Montenegrins to the sport of American football. It was quite the sight on the beaches when we brought out the football. Apparently, the NFL has not been introduced to this country. We may have been the first to introduce football to Montenegro!
Another wellness challenge included adjusting to a diet that included a lot of meat and a minimal amount of fruit and veggies as compared to my eating pattern at home. Sausages, bacon and pork with several large loaves of bread from a local bakery were a staple at breakfast. I can’t believe my son and I went 10 days without cereal! But our motto throughout the week was “when in Rome (or Montenegro), do as the Romans (Montenegrins) do.” Be flexible, hospitable and gracious at all times. We wanted to experience as much of the local culture as possible, and we did!
Fortunately, the area was full of small roadside markets that had plenty of fruit and vegetables for sale. Locally grown watermelons, kiwi, peaches, figs, plums and peaches were abundant. I labeled these small markets as an “antioxidant oasis” as they were loaded with so many healthy fruits and veggies.
MONTENEGRO IN A NUTSHELL
Climate: Mediterranean; hot, but dry air. It reminded me of Las Vegas or the foothills of Colorado. Average high was 98 to 100.
Industry: Mostly tourism on the Adriatic coast and mountain villages.
Wages: Low compared to the U.S. Teachers in elementary schools make around $500 per month.
Medical: They have free medical care.
Education: Public colleges are free, and a private one in Podgorica costs $1,200 per year. By the time students reach ninth grade, they have to choose to enroll in a school that specializes in a particular discipline, such as economics, marketing, technical/computers, medicine, architecture, etc.
Taxi service: Omnipresent and inexpensive – $1.50 for a 10-minute ride from the train station to home. A 25-minute train ride to the coast cost $5 (roundtrip).
Garbage: (yes, I tried to observe EVERYTHING) Dumpsters are scattered throughout the city. Residents have to walk their garbage down to the nearest container, and the trash truck comes by every week (one driver and two mobile sanitation engineers comprise the trash team).
Streets: NARROW! The streets in the neighborhoods resemble our alleys, but narrower! Our front yard street measured 14 feet across, and the “street” in the Spadijer backyard measured a whopping 8 feet across!
Automobiles: About 99.9 percent of the autos were very small Citroens, VWs, Opels, Renaults and Peugots. I was shocked when I saw two Hummers. I don’t think a big SUV could survive in Podgorica with the narrow streets and gasoline at $5.50 per gallon.
Diet: The Serbs and Montenegrins love their alcohol and food. Beer and wine and Coca Cola /Fanta orange are the top four beverages. Coke and Fanta come in 8-ounce glass bottles. No 20-ounce super sizing here. Maybe that’s one reason for the lack of obesity in Montenegro. Plus there are NO FAST FOOD establishments anywhere (reason No. 2 for the lack of obesity?)
Homes: Most are like duplexes and are around 1,200 to 1,400 square feet in size. The yards are usually smaller than a half of a basketball court. Goran and Dragona Spadijer, Nikola’s parents, pay $35 per month for property taxes.
Running: I did not see anyone else running in Podgorica. I saw many individuals walking to and from local markets or shops. “What is THAT guy doing” is what I envisioned being spoken from automobiles as they zoomed by me. As with the introduction of football, I may have been the first American to run in Podgorica!
Smoking: Smoking was definitely more popular than in America.
Language: Serbian is the language that is spoken. However, as in our country, they all have different accents that indicate where they live. For example, saying the phrase “Have a good day” in Croatia will sound different in Serbia or Montenegro.
Gasoline: $5.50 per gallon. Tennis balls: $9 for a can of three balls. We pay around $2.25-2.50 per can in the U.S.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip that Kristian and I thoroughly enjoyed. We made many new friends and experienced as much of the Montenegrin/Serbian culture as possible. I was pleased that I was able to keep my running routine going throughout the week, and now I can add Montenegro to my list of countries that I have run in.
