COVER N. 626 - MONTENEGRO  

Postmark: Lastva Grbaljska 85317 - 21.07.2025

Posted on the 21st July; Received on the 6th August 2025

_________________________________________________________________________________

Hmmmm, Montenegro.... a country that ranks real high on my list of  most loved places, for all its unspoiled incredible natural beauty, and only the second cover I got from there... Un grand Merci, Roland.

We will begin with the two stamps on the upper right corner. These constitute a set issued on 21MAY2012, themed on nature protection, something that in the case of Montenegro is, if possible, even more vital than in a lot of the world places, given the yet pristine condition of a large area of the territory.

To illustrate the idea, the stamps feature two animals - a duck (0.30 €) andf a frog (0.95€) wearing a lifebuoy. 

Even if totally in favour of the message conveyed, I  am not particularly fond of the design and maybe it is just me, but I had some trouble identifying the duck on the stamp, for the image seemed quite confusing.

- A century of aviation in Montenegro, reads the red legend below the somewhat stylised biplane illustrating the 0,30 € stamp, issued on 05SEP2013, on the left upper corner of the envelope, with its wheels replaced by Montenegro's Air Force cockades.

In fact, it seems that the first heavier than air flight in Montenegro was made by a Donnet-Lévêque seaplane in 1913, in the port of Tivat, a place that is not that far from what is now Tivat Airport, a sight I quite remember, when I drove up the mountain from Kotor in a narrow road that had more than 20 hairpin bends before it reached the summit.

Tivat Airport

 - The 0,30 € stamp illustrated with a child's drawing of a child running away from a bee was issued on 31OCT2017. It carries the legend Radost Europe, what translates, I believe, into Joy of Europe, hence I believe it to have been issued on the occasion of the Radost Europe children's festival that annually takes place, since 1969, in  the City of Belgrade, Serbia.

The festival, aims to showcase the cultures and customs of children all across Europe, through their songs and dances.

The postmark was applied at Lastva Grbaljska, a town not very far from Budva, on the coast.

COVER N. 582 - MONTENEGRO 

Postmark:  Budva-Mogren19.04.2025

Posted on  the 19th April; Received on the 6th May 2025

_________________________________________________________________________________

Of all the countries I've been to, there's a little one in the middle of the Mediterranean that I found absolutely stunning and which gave me the opportunity of seeing something I had been thinking I would only see way up North of the continent.

The Ghost that Walks, the restless wanderer, passed through some time ago it seems, for I got this surprise cover from the country where I saw a fiord for the first time, if my memory isn't playing tricks on me. so Thanks a lot, dear Phantom, Danke Sehr, Alex!

Also, this cover is the opportunity to add another country to the fold, so I couldn't be happier about it. Double thanks, then, Alex!

One of the countries issued out of the disaggregation of Yugoslavia, in spite of its smallish size, Montenegro has got to be one of the most scenic and well preserved in terms of natural beauty, of the European countries.

As I mentioned above, I will never forget the day when I was coming slowly by the road into the mouth of the bay that harbours Kotor at its end... The huge mountains in front of me, and the water going in, cutting through them... "Wait a minute", I said to myself, "is this Norway...? damn it, this is a fiord!" How excited I was with this simple finding...

and after that, the long and winding road with not much than a single lane in width that goes up the mountain with some 20 +  elbow bends which led us to a fantastic viewpoint over the bay.... pity the day was so terribly hazy for photographs...

and what about lake Skadar, or Durmitor National Park, where I did some short and easy but nonetheless unforgettable hikes...

ah memories....

CEPT/Europa common issues have been around a long time. In fact, next year it'll be the 70th anniversary of the first CEPT issue which saw the light of day on the 15th Septembers 1956, in the then European Coal and Steel Community member states, namely  Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany.

The first half century of this emission was celebrated not only by the members of CEPT or  now PostEurope but also by several postal administrations all across the world.

Montenegro, which would only become a member of PostEurope in 2008, was one such case, issuing the imperforated souvenir sheet that Alex used on the cover, with a face value of 5.5 €,  on 03JAN2006, along with another souvenir sheet containing four more stamps allusive of the same anniversary.

The postmark hails from another beautiful seaside city in Montenegro: Budva.