Antique Venetian villages, royal blue Adriatic Sea, mountainous hinterland and breathtaking panoramas known only to locals – this blog will have all the information, tips and tricks you need to prepare for visiting this beautiful country.
Until then – well, go with your investigative flair and do your research – but only after you hear about the creation of the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula – Lake Skadar.
Once upon a time,
The scenery you will see when you visit us was, well, a little bit different. This whole area was under the rule of a beautiful fairy. She had the most unique black eyes, which corresponded to Montenegro’s dark mountains. Instead of the fresh waters of Lake Skadar, you could see only grasslands surrounded by sharp mountain peaks, making the perfect, rough skyline.
Now you know that if there is a fairy – there should be another character, right? In this fairytale, it is a young and gorgeous sailor. She fell in love with him at first sight. His blonde hair and deep blue eyes were everything she could think of for days.
So, she did fall in love with him, but this isn’t that kind of a love story, is it? We are creating the lake, right?
Well, love between fairies and humans was forbidden on Earth. It was unfair, but in the end, they never had any chance against God himself. That is why she had another wish instead: for her black eyes to become deep blue, as she wanted something from her loved one to keep forever.
She sat on the ground and prayed to God for days, hoping that he would make her wish come true. She was so obsessed with it that she stopped caring about her grasslands. Her mania made the lands look not so green but rather profoundly sad – like herself.
God was thinking about her for days. He was trying to figure out how to punish her for being greedy and make her feel satisfied with what she already had in life.
Little did he know he would change his opinion one day.
In the end, he decided to punish her by taking her sight away?
Yes …
And what happened to her?
Well, if you fast–forward it to the end, it was the lake that happened, but yeah.
She was blind, sad, devastated and deeply hurt because of her forbidden love. The one thing she wanted – deep-blue eyes – was impossible anymore…
She cried for days, months and years. Grassland became swamps, and, little by little, the lake was formed.
Her tears created the most beautiful fish species, unique birds, and even gorgeous water lilies. The power of her imagination also formed rows of willows and reeds, every river, and all the tiny little insects that now live on Lake Skadar.
The beautiful white lotuses were made in the name of the wedding dress she never wore. The golden lotus flowers were created in the name of the golden ring she could never give to her beloved. The love for her long-gone sailor remained as powerful for centuries. She was tired but happy to know that a beautiful world began on the wings of her sadness.
And what did God do?
He tried to teach us that everyone, and sometimes even him, makes mistakes. Didn’t he?
When God finally saw what she had created, he allowed her to see and enjoy the creation. He was amazed by her endless love and promised he would never again forbid another love.
And now you would ask, “What about her?”
As for her, well, one look at herself in the lake showed her beautiful – now deep-blue eyes. She was happy because she had assembled a wonderful lake in the name of love, and, in the meantime, she decided to rule underwater and let us, humans, enjoy her creation in peace.
Remember,
When you look at the deep-blue water of Lake Skadar, her eyes look at you with all the warmth of love.
Kingfisherly,
Milica Vujošević
