Montenegro

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Our time in Albania had come to a close and it was time to make a decision as to our next move, getting out of Albania was becoming just as difficult at getting in. We would have loved to have visited Prizen or Pristina in Kosovo however after looking at out remaining time in Europe before heading back to Georgia we realised that we had to make some sacrifices, Kosovo was one of these. Our next plan was to take a bus to Budva however there are no direct buses into Montenegro from Albania; instead you must take three buses and hope that you can connect from one to the other. After much debating we decided we would skip the three buses which would have taken most of the day and night and instead took a taxi which set us back 150 euro (fancy schmacy I know, but the time and stressing that we saved I remain was worth it).

After driving through the incredibly rocking landscape into Montenegro we arrived in Budva, the tourist drag of Montenegro. We stayed in the only hostel situated within the old town walls which meant everything was close by. The old town itself is very small and situated right on the coast, the building and narrow streets are quite beautiful. The shores are packed with people swimming including many Russians and at nigh the promenade lights up like a carnival. We originally planned to spend two nights in Budva and then on to Kotor however we decided to instead spend another night in Budva and take an all-day driving tour through Montenegro.

We left Budva with two other guys from our hostel at 10am and didn’t return until 9pm in the evening. Our first stop was the village of Njegushi, where we drove high in the mountains to for a stunning view of Boka Kotorska Bay. After we made our way to National Park of Lovcen where we climbed over 400 steps to the mausoleum on top of Mountain Lovcen, from which point you cn see almost half the country and on a clear day across the Adriatic Sea to Italy. We stopped in Cetinje for lunch and walked around the sleepy town before making the drive up to Ostrog Monastery which is carved into Mount Bjelopavlici. Here we watched the sun set over the peaks before descending to Lake Skader where we visited a little fishermen’s village on the shore of the lakes. Finally we stopped at St. Stefan where we admired the beautiful little Island where a basic room will set you back over 900 Euro. Feeling a little sorry for ourselves we headed home to our 15 Euro a night dorm.

The following morning after an enjoyable time in Montenegro we decided it was time to make our way to Dubrovnik where we hope to catch up with Amanda.

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