How to end a round the world trip?
This question popped up quite a few times. But we always considered Thailand as the official last destination on our trip. But it didn´t turn out that way in the end. We came home after 10 months of travelling because of an important wedding, but we continued to travel.
We had more than a month left till our “old life”, that´s why we visited Hungary and different parts of Slovenia on short weekend trips. But the official end of our travels is a road trip through
Montenegro.
Our first stop was Dubrovnik. Yeeees, I know, this is not Montenegro, but if you´re coming from the north it´s on the way and it would be a shame to just drive through. The old city is amazing! But right now Dubrovnik is overrun with tourists, especially Asians.
We continued through Bosnia and Herzegovina to Montenegro. We decided to visit the Tara canyon first. We paddled in the Black lake and filled our tummies with forest fruit, which you can buy there. And for dinner we tried the local “Durmitor diner” – roasted potatoes, home smoked meat, white cheese and kajmak. Yum!
The next day was reserved for adrenaline. After a very calm and non-adrenalin rafting, the Zip Line was much more fun and exciting.
The winding road took us high and higher. Now and then I caught a glimpse of the white building in the rock. The last part of the way we walked, almost like the pilgrims to the monastery Ostrog – the orthodox monastery built into stone. And if you didn´t know, miracles happen here.
The road back down was friendlier and we rushed (if you can consider 50 km/h as rushing) through the Montenegrin suburbs into the capital Podgorica. Only the centre is worth a visit, of course in the evening, during the day there´s nothing much to do. The next morning we continued to Skadar Lake, we wanted to see the river Crnojevic. The picture says it all.
Compared to Podgorica, Cetinje, the old capital, is worth a visit.; tidy streets, museums, small cafes on squares, churches, monasteries and shops with cheap souvenirs. The city is really nice, but you can see everything in just a day and you´ll even have the time to ascend on Lovcen. This is a hill with a national park and on the top is Njegos´s mausoleum. The mausoleum itself is pretty cold – you know, a lot of stone walls – but on the other side is a wonderful viewpoint platform, from where you can marvel at the Kotor bay, the sea, Cetinje and mainland Montenegro.
It was time to drive to the seaside. When we reached Budva, we couldn’t believe our eyes. Soooo many people. I just said to Jure to drive on. Soon a small island just next to the shore caught our attention – St. Stephan. But if you don´t want to spend a lot of money to enter the island, you´re at the wrong place. We ended up in Bar: pebble stone beach, apartment very near to the oceanfront, good food. And don´t forget about the charming Old Bar. 2 days and it was time to move again.
We wanted to see Ulcinj´s long sandy beach. We skipped the city and drove down to the river mouth of Ada Bojana. There you´ll get the freshest sea food in restaurants built on stills. But with crazy prices for the region.
Our last stop in Montenegro was for me also the most beautiful – the Bay of Kotor. It is just incredible, what mother natures can create. Three cities are well worth your time: Tivat – the dwelling of the new super modern and high end Porto Montenegro, where you can watch multimillionaire´s yachts. It´s just like Monte Carlo. Kotor – after this city the bay got its name and when you´re there, you´ll understand. It´s like small Dubrovnik, full of narrow stone streets, encased with a city wall and with a viewpoint high up over the roofs and the bay with a breath-taking view.
Perast – this one is for the romantic souls. It´s so small, you can walk it in 15 minutes, but so picturesque, you´ll snap a whole bunch of pictures. Just in front of Perast´s coast are two tiny islands Sv. Juraj in Gospa od Škrpjela, which are like the icing on the cake.
Montenegro is stunning, it´s still fairly cheap, people are friendly, especially if you talk any of the languages of ex-Yugoslavia. I´ll come back, for sure, to my favourites: Kotor bay and National park Durmitor.
