Eurotrip: Montenegro

During our stay in Dubrovnik, Angie and I took a guided day tour to Montenegro. We started out 7:10am and were warned that we were in for a long day on the bus. Knowing this, we snagged the first seats on the bus and settled in. (Somehow we always end up at the front of buses... we started it in India and now sitting any farther back makes us sad. The views are so much better up in the front! And my risk of getting sick is much lower. Um, anyway...)

Our first stop was border control. In two weeks, Croatia will be part of the European Union... but Montenegro will not. So border control will remain for a while. Luckily it went very easily, and we got to stay inside our dry bus. (Notice the rain?)

After driving into Montenegro for a bit, we stopped to take pictures and learn more about the country. In this pictures, there are two islands, and one was made by dropping ships filled with sand into the water so that a church could be built in the middle of the lake.

Soon after our photo stop, we arrived at the town of Kotor. I can't remember very much about the history of this town, but I was really impressed with the walls that went up into the mountain. See if you spot them!

 

 

 

 

See the walls going up and up and up?

After a nice exploration of Kotor, that ended with coffee and cake made out of nutella (mmm!!), we took a harrowing road to our next stop. We did 25 tight switchbacks on this narrow road all the way up the mountain, and I have no idea how our drive could see anything. Our guide said it was the most fog she had ever seen.

Luckily when we reached our next stop, the tiny town of Njugusi, the fog had disappeared and we were greeted with giant pastures and lunch made with local bread and cheese. A few winters ago, this town was completely disconnected from the rest of the world due to snowstorms - no transportation, no electricity, no communication. For two months, the people lived off what they made and claimed it to be one of their favorite winters. I can't even imagine!!

Our last stop was the town of Budva. We were told it is also known as "Little Moscow" due to the massive amount of Russian investments. It is also a favorite celebrity hangout, with stars like Madonna and Beoynce docking their yachts there. It is also known for being where parts of James Bond Casino was shot. We first explored the old walled city before making our way down to a secluded little beach.

Angie-hands in our fourth or fifth walled city!

Before we found the secluded beach, we found this little statue. Which of reminded me that I need to get back to Bikram yoga ASAP!

Budva was definitely my favorite city of the three we visited in Montenegro. It had a nice mix of old and new, and seemed to be a place where people really enjoyed themselves. Take this guy - I think this is what Joe aspires to be! Fishing in the Adriatic... not a bad life!

For having such a limited amount of time, I am really happy with how we saw Montenegro. We covered a lot of ground, learned quite a bit, and did not have to be responsible for a thing except getting ourselves to the bus on time. I would love to go back to Montenegro at some point, and I can only imagine how much this country will grow as tourism keeps expanding. Overall, guided bus tour was a great success and a great way to see my last new country!