Blogs from Ulcinj, Montenegro, Europe

Maandag 30/5/1916 – Ulcinj (Montenegro) 185km Langs de schilderachtige kustweg door het prachtige fjordengebied van de baai van Kotor. De overzetbak bestaat nog, maar we reden helemaal rond de baai. Toch tijd genoeg. Regelmatig files om door de stadjes te geraken. Ook file aan de grens met Montenegro waar voor de eerste keer onze ID's en autopapieren grondig gecontroleerd werden. In Kotor aan de stadswallen lagen 3 enorme cruiseschepen aangemeerd. Vandaar de drukte warschijnlijk. Budva is ondertussen een volgebouwde agglomeratie geworden. Keken uit naar Hotel International wat 49j geleden eigenlijk nog een open werf was. Maar onzichtbaar nu. Waarschijnlijk ondertussen terug afgebroken en volgebouwd. Schiereilandje Sveti Stefan ligt er nog ongerept bij. Stoppen voor foto echter onmogelijk. Bij een stop onderweg sprong F plotseling van een wegritselende 50cm lange slangerati... read more

MONTEGRENO 2 The French Riviera was along time ago. Ah – those balmy beaches of St Tropez Frejis and Cannes. Bodies laid out on those funny deck chairs. All in columns and rows along a rocky shore, with an azure blue sea and patches of turquoise where snorkelers swim. Well here we are at Ulcinj on the Montegreno Riviera. Not as big as the French show. Not as flash- Indeed markedly downmarket compared to Monaco– like dropping down from Little Cove Noosa to Beachmere instead. Except that Beachmere has year round warmth, grassy foreshores, and sand. Sand sand – glorious sand. No sand sighted yet on the Mediterranean, Adriatic or Ionian seas. Here at Ulcinj its big rocks, little rocks, big pebbles, little pebbles, and sharp edged grit. Not much of a surface to promenade on ... read more

Hello my fellow travellers! I left Cleon early this morning and I must admit that I was quite tired from all the beers last night, I'm getting old I guess. Well, I took the 7 am bus to Shkodra where I would take the 4 pm bus to Ulcinj. This plan gave me a good six hours to check out Shkodra and on the top of the list was of course the impressive Rozafa Castle located only a couple of kilometres from the city. Before I set out for the castle though I took a peek of the Great Mosque but to be honest it didn't really strike my fancy so I didn't linger there for long. It actually turned out to be quite a hike to get to the fortress anyway because the locals actually ... read more

Gelato flavour of the day – Kiwi (this one not particularly true to its flavour but the right colour) For some reason we thought we had forgotten we had purchased items for our lunch today and as we needed fresh bread we planned a walk ‘down the easy road ‘to a pekara (local lingo for bakery) after breakfast. The rangy young cat that has walked by a couple of times and also last night got a couple of pieces of chicken from our dinner was back again this morning and this time with a female friend who was either his sister or mother as she had almost identical markings, a ginger head and tail with a white body except she also had a couple of ginger bits on her side. They looked well fed, in relation ... read more

We did something today we haven't ever done in 41 years of marriage and travel together................we decided to share a suitcase!Now you probably don't think that this was a MAJOR decision but think about it,male stuff in with female stuff!However,we hope that the need for our winter clothes has passed with the prospect of fine ,warm weather ahead as the adventure takes us further south and there is not much point at carting in and storing those clothes as we change our accommodation.So combining the packing cells with the winter stuff into one suitcase and leaving it in the boot of the car was the obvious answer.As it turned out we were pretty much on a 50/50 basis when it came down to the space the summer clothes in their packing cells took up.So we shall ... read more