Disclaimer: this post is not for the faint of heart due to the length. But, it is only because of the super amazing time that I had on my two day trip to Montenegro.
The day started out with a beautiful drive through the mountains of Croatia to pass through customs (of which I got a stamp in my passport!!) and into the small country of Montenegro. The most amazing thing about Montenegro was the wonderful views. There was literally no bad view from anywhere in the cities or in the mountains. I can honestly say I have never in my life seen anything as beautiful as this country.
The first stop on the itinerary was the city of Kotor. It was the old capital of Montenegro and some pretty cool old palaces. The places actually look like slightly large houses because they were not that wealthy of a country. But, the best part of Kotor was the view (this is going to be a common theme.) From the main square of the city, in every direction there are gorgeous mountains. It is like the country is in the middle of a giant valley with a small bay on one side. When I have internet next I will put up pictures because, as the old adage says, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and in this case, it is very, very true!
In the center of the town there is a gorgeous Catholic cathedral. Through the history of Montenegro it went from Catholic to Orthodox, to Catholic and back to Orthodox. Then it was settled on to have both Catholic and Orthodox be the main religions of Montenegro. So, about one block from the Catholic cathedral, there is an Orthodox church. Both of these buildings have gorgeous architecture and, like lots of churches, are really beautiful to look at.
The next stop on the itinerary was the Maritime museum in Kotor. It is a museum recounting some of Kotor’s main historical figures and momentous events. There was a room that was dedicated entirely to rifles and knives. I have never seen such elaborate weapons! (I am not sure how practical they were or how much they were used actually for warfare.)
After a gelato stop as we were leaving Kotor, we took a bus trip up one of the mountains nearby. The road that we were driving up was basically a super-duper squished two lane road that had 30 “S” turns. Needless to say, I was fairly motion sick by the time we reached the top of the mountain. The view from the top is beyond words. The entire bay was in view along with parts of the Adriatic, numerous mountains, and the sun was playing on the water making the most gorgeous backlight for pictures. I stood there speechless for about five minutes just taking in the view. It truly was my happy place. I can see myself going back there many times in my head and remember the beauty very fondly.
We finished the drive up the mountain and had a snack at the top. By “snack” I mean that we stopped at the only restaurant on the mountain for some cheese, bread, and this really yummy native fermented honey drink. There was a biker who was biking up the mountain that reached the restaurant just as we did. It was pretty funny because he biked this crazy long road (it took about 35 minutes in the bus) and then when he got to the restaurant ordered a tiny espresso, took off his shoes, and sat there for awhile. It looked like quite the intense workout!
The drive down included many more excellent views that were just as breath taking. Then, we stopped in a small medieval town close to Kosovo and looked around at the monastery there. The best part of the town was the immense number of small kids running around. There was this one little blond boy who kept chasing pigeons around and making little squeaking sounds. (I really love little kids J )
Then we proceeded onto the city of Budva. This is the major hotspot of nightlife in Montenegro. The hotel that we were staying in was in downtown Budva and was absolutely adorable. It was a tiny room that had air conditioning and a gorgeous view of downtown Budva. Dinner was at the hotel and consisted of a three course meal. The vegetarian meal was a bunch of vegetables (peppers, zucchini, corn, carrots) all stir fried in this sauce that I had never tasted before with a sweet taste but left a sour after taste. It was very interesting, but was a yummy new experience. After dinner some friends and I went out for the evening. In downtown on the main road by the ocean there was a carnival with open air pubs, street musicians everywhere, and so many people of all ages and ethnicities. It was quite the interesting night and I met some very nice natives and ended up sitting down by the water watching the disco lights off in the distance for awhile. It was absolutely beautiful, and a night I will never forget.
Once the evening ended, I headed back to the hotel for a glorious night’s sleep!
The morning came way to quickly, but by 8 I was out of bed and down having a coffee for breakfast. I had until 12:30 pm to explore so I hit the town once my coffee was finished. The first stop was a pastry shop that had the most delicious pastries. The one I got was a croissant but it had chocolate melted in the middle. (Europe really understands how wonderful pastries are for breakfast.) After breakfast I meandered around the shops for a long while, chatting with shop owners, looking at stray cats and dogs, and looking at the beautiful views that were everywhere around the city. The walls around part of the city had a very narrow part on the top that was just barely wide enough for one person to walk. But (like the rest of the country) had wonderful bay views from pretty much everywhere along the walls.
Then I went to the beach for about an hour. When I say beach I actually mean a shore line with a lot of rocks. The water was magnificent though. It was about 80 degrees, wonderfully clear and just seemed to go on forever and ever. In addition, it was very salty (because it comes from the Adriatic Sea) and that meant that it was very easy to float and absorb the beauty that surrounded everything. The beach was very crowded with family: small babies running naked around splashing in the water and moms and dads with their family. It was pretty cool to see so many families just enjoying a day at the beach.
At 12:30 I headed to the restaurant where everyone was meeting for lunch. It was a lunch full of fresh veggies and potatoes (it tasted like the tomatoes were freshly picked.) Then gelato and back on the bus. The bus ride was pretty much a straight ride back to the ship past the Croatian border (yet another passport stamp!- I am excited about the stamps because I haven’t gotten any other stamps in my passport because we don’t have to go through customs to go into the ports.) The one stop that we made was at a gas station that had a full bar and good coffee. It was pretty much deserted because there are not many people (compared to the United States) who buy gas in Europe because it is so expensive (about 10 dollars a gallon.)
Once I arrived back at the ship a shower was my first priority! It was definitely time to get all of the salt out of my hair that had encrusted on and was flaking off. The shower was glorious! After that I was ready for dinner, (mmmm pizza) a little skyping with the family back home, (it was so great to see you all!!) and then back to the ship because I am absolutely exhausted. Tomorrow I want to have one last full day in Dubrovnik so I have to get my beauty sleep J Thanks for reading!
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