Podgorica (Montenegro) - Dubrovnik (Croatia) - Kotor (Montenegro) - Podgorica (Montenegro)
Nice traditions have to be continued - like for example the one that my boyfriend and I started last year: Alternately, we organize surprise trips for each other, during which the other one only learns at the airport where we're going (to read about our last surprise trip to Sweden, click here: --> Link).
That's why I had no idea where the plane will bring me when we arrived at Zurich airport last week. I had an approximate idea of the weather, but that was it. My boyfriend gave me a boarding pass which had been modified in such a way that it didn't tell me anything either. Only some minutes before boarding, I found out the destination: For 6 days, we would explore Croatia and Montenegro!
We flew with Air Austria via Vienna to Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. There we picked up our rental car. The procedure took a long time, but then we finally started. The Balkanbeats on the way in the radio brought us into the right travel mood. The landscape was very green and mountainous, the roads sometimes very muddy and bumpy and we almost ran over a stray dog that came running at full speed towards our car. The adventure feeling was perfect! After crossing the boarder twice (Montenegro --> Bosnia --> Croatia), we finally arrived in Dubrovnik when it started to get dark. We were welcomed warmly (and with a beer) by our AirBnB-hosts. The view from our appartment over the old town of Dubrovnik was amazing!
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| Somewhere next to the Bosnian border |
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| Dubrovnik by night |
We had already heard in advance that cruise ships regularly bring thousands of tourists all at once, so it makes sense to explore the city either early in the morning or in the evening. That's how we did it the next day. Early in the morning we explored the center of Dubrovnik. We started on the city wall that completely surrounds the city. Dubrovnik is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen and reminded me much of Venice. But it's true - once the big cruise ships arrive it gets very crowded in the old town and it's difficult to move.
At around 10 a.m. it became packed in the city, so we soon decided to take the car and look for some more quiet places. It wasn't hard to find them, the villages along the coast all seem beautiful! Not far away from Dubrovnik we found fantastic beaches, cute little restaurants and the peace & quiet we were looking for.
For the way home we chose the road through the mountains. That was a great decision, because here we met endless vastness, great views, very nice and helpful people, who didn't speak English (which I always love!) and many sheep.
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| Perast - doesn't it remind you of Venice too? |
The next day, we already had to leave beautiful Dubrovnik and crossed the border to Montenegro. Our first stop was Perast, a small, sleepy town with 19 churches (!) and 16 palaces (!). Next to the town, you find 2 very small islands (St. George and Our Lady on the rock). Interestingly, both were artificially built on a subsoil of collected stones and shipwrecks that had been collected over 200 years. Nowadays they serve as cemetery and church islands. The church island you can easily reach by boat and the little boat trip is really worth it!
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Our lady on the rocks- the church island |
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| St. George island - the cementary island |
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| Beautiful Perast |
Later we arrived in Kotor, also known as "the pearl of the Adriatic sea" because it lies like a pearl in the Kotor Bay, framed by mountains.
Unfortunately, this city is also quite flooded with tourists and it is worth visiting it either early in the morning or in the evening. But then it's worth it - the city is wonderful! Small, friendly and cosy. We felt very comfortable here!
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| Kotor - a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and the sea |
We made a little trip to Cetinje, Montenegro's old capital. We saw some beautiful old buildings and visited an interesting museum, but otherwise this city didn't inspire us.
On our way home over winding roads and mountains we discovered a small restaurant with a fantastic view. We were the only guests and the owner didn't speak English, but treated us like guests of honour. What a wonderful encounter!
We had a funny encounter a short time later when a woman on the side of the road waved at us and invited us to stay. She was sitting in front of a small woodshed, which she had decorated with plants and funny objects. Soon we found out that she was the wife of a winegrower and invited guests for a tasting of wine and schnapps. She didn't speak English and we didn't speak Montenegrin, but we sat down with her and she started to offer us wine, schnapps, coffee and eggs. The more schnapps we had, the more fun the conversation became. It was lovely! With a litre of walnut schnapps in our luggage and a great mood we continued our trip - luckily without an accident and without a police control!
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| živjeli! |
Our next stop was Rijeka Crnojevica. In the 19th and 20th century, this town was the biggest Montenegrin port and a leading trade center. At the entrace to the town there is a famous stone brigge called "Danilo's bridge". There is not much more to see, but the view we had some kilometers away was stunning.
Another very nice place is Sveti Stefan, a small islet that is nowadays a luxury resort. Too bad it's not possible to visit it anymore - unless you want to spend some thousand of Euros.
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| Sveti Stefan - nowadays a luxury resort |
For the last day in Montenegro we had an untouristic program, because we had heard by chance about a mountain race. A waiter in the restaurant explained us the way and provided us with youtube videos and enthusiastic comments. The race was indeed thrilling to watch, unbelievable how fast these little cars were racing up the serpentine roads!
While watching the race we got to know Sasha and Mayana, two very friendly people who live in Kotor. We watched the race together, had a cup of coffee, then the two invited us to their home. On the way we met a tiny Montenegrin, who carried his house right on his back. Those spontaneous encounters (with people as well as with animals!) are one of my absolute favourite things and one of the reasons I love to travel.
Mayana and Sasha showed us a fantastic restaurant, from where we had a great view over Kotor and the bay. We were amazed - happy to have met such fantastic people, to have spent wonderful days in Montenegro and sad that we had to leave the next morning. There would have been so much more to see!
This surprise trip was absolutely perfect. We got to know two amazing, beautiful countries, of which we had no idea so far, we got to know incredibly lovable people, made new friends and came back with many positive memories. I think this wasn't the last time we explored the Balkans! And off course not the last surprise trip - the next time it will be my turn again. Have to start planning very soooon!! :-)