Montenegro – the pearl of Balkans

Montenegro is a small and hilly mountain on the Balkans bordering to Serbia to north-east, Croatia as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina to the west, Albania to the south-east and with the Adriatic coast to the south-west. Upon reaching independence on June 3rd of 2006 it was the second youngest state in the world – right after South Sudan. Our main motivation for visiting the country was to explore the cultural and historical richness, visit bigger towns and taste the local cuisine for ourselves. We’ve spent our first night of exploration in a cheaper hostel in Podgorica. The woman tending to guests was really happy to receive me as a guest, because I was from Slovenia. You could see the happy expression on her face and how much she tried to make us feel at home. She told me: “You’re one of us, don’t you worry about a thing, I’ll explain everything to you!” Despite the long travel from Belgrade and fatigue we could not skip an evening walk through the city. Downtown, right next to the famous Sahat Kula, there’s a restaurant known for its excellent food. We wanted to make sure, so we ordered a plate of čevapčiči (grilled ground meat “fingers”) with a lepinja (flat bread), a side order of fries and šopska salata (a vegetable salad with cheese). We were surprised to get the bill even before we got the food, but we’ve paid only before leaving. 

Next day we took the bus to the place called Bogatiči, where we continued hitchhiking until we reached the most visited and renowned monastery Ostrog. It belongs to the Serbian Orthodox Church and is carved into the bedrock of the mountain Ostroška Greda. It is really impressive and the road leading up to it is full of turns, cliffs and steep drops on the side; and not to forget a constant heavy oncoming traffic. The monastery of Ostrog was founded by Vasilije Jovanović, who was considered a healer, a miracle worker and was declared a saint. Ostrog is the most important pilgrimage site in Montenegro, where believers from all over the world come to pay homage. Many are said to leave healed. The monastery is a meeting point of Orthodox, Catholic and Muslim faith. People of all religions and nations of the world come to visit this magical place. Annually it is visited by over a million of people. While photographing the monastery we met mr. Jovan, who lives in Podgorica and offered us a free ride back to the city in his car. His wife Desanka-Desa was also with him and it turned out she spoke fluent Slovenian, for she lived in Ljubljana from 1975 until 1995 and still keeps contacts with her friends in Slovenia, practicing the language and has many fond memories of our home. It was really nice and interesting to spend time with them. She was delighted to hear I come from Slovenia and invited us to their home for some cake after we reached Podgorica. They brightened our day. And it’s such hospitality that really makes you want to return to this small but warm country. 

Montenegro is proud of its beaches and coastal towns, so going to the sea side is a must for every visitor or traveller such as ourselves. The town that impressed us the most was Kotor. We visited and explored this beautiful town located in the bay of Boka Kotorska, with beautiful city palaces, cathedral, narrow streets, small squares, a maritime museum and many more. A friend from Serbia suggested we go to the local hill with a great view of the town. After an hour’s walk along the stone steps we reached the remains of the old castle, with aching feet. The view of the bay was really magnificent and we were not sorry one bit for taking the exhausting climb to the top. There’s a lot of tourists here, for Kotor is the port for the biggest cruise liners travelling the globe. And once you’re on the Montenegrin coast you should not skip the visit to Saint Štefan, 9 kilometers away from Budva. You can only see it from the shore, as this peninsula is reserved over half a year in advance. It was paid for by a billionaire from Russia as a private resort and the security guard at the entrance at the coast of St. Štefan said it costs between 900 and 5000 euros a night to visit the site.

Saint Štefan is generally considered among the most famous hotel resorts in the world. It’s a former fishermen’s village from the 15th century that still kept its former charm. Old fishermen’s huts, with architecture resembling the medieval times are on the inside turned into modern high class luxurious apartments, hotel rooms, shops, restaurants and cafes. The surroundings on the shore are in the shade of the luscious vegetation with extremely beautiful sandy beaches. We’ve also spend some time to explore other places along the coast, such as: Herceg Novi, Tivat, Perast, Budva, Rafailovići… And since our time was limited and we had a round ticket paid for, we had to return to Belgrade. Full of impressions and glad to have made new friends we’ve decided to return to Montenegro in the near future. Traveling the Balkans you often hear: further south, more depressed! We can clearly say the saying does not apply.