Blogs from Montenegro, Europe - page 25

Ostrag Monastery & Budva days 9-11 (July 6 - July 8) Leaving Sarajevo we took a bus to our next destination, Ostrag Monastery. The road from Sarajevo through the nearby mountains was very narrow with some lovely sheer drops, but this of course meant great views. Especially initially we were on a narrow country road with not much passing room for the oncoming traffic. You can see why this area is spoken of in the same breath as Switzerland. We were met at the roadside stop by a local mini-bus for the rest of our journey. If we thought the previous roads were narrow then this last part had us all holding our breath. The road snaked up the side of a mountain, with loose edges that one more than one occasion we had to move ... read more

Today we caught a bus to our next stop Montenegro, we were not originally going to come here but have heard such good reports we wanted to see for ourselves. We caught a bus to the town of Kotor. Montenegro is a relatively new country as it used to belong to Serbia. It is just as beautiful as Croatia, in some places even more. The coast line changed slightly to mountains diving straight into the turquoise blue waters of the Adriatic. Kotor is an amazing bay and like many towns along this coast line has a typical old city wall and an amazing fort high up behind the town. We were staying in another apartment €40 a night plus the added extra of G getting bitten a little bit more, this time by bedbugs (although we ... read more

Before sending away my passport to the UK Home Office for six weeks, I decided to take one last holiday for some fun in the hot sun along the Adriatic coast. I only organised the whole trip about two weeks before leaving and so my first holiday since Krakow came a lot sooner than expected. It also gave me the chance to visit the second newest country in the world - Montenegro. Having gained independence from Serbia in June 2006, Montenegro only relinquished it's title as the world's newest country in February 2008 to it's Balkan neighbours Kosovo, who also gained independence from Serbia. Therefore I was intrigued to see what I would discover and experience in this new land. Montenegro also marked my personal three-o - the 30th country I have visited. Now, only 165 ... read more

I've never had hot chocolate quite like this. I stared down into my cup, not exactly sure whether to be amused or bemused. Both seemed strangely appropriate. Isn't hot chocolate supposed to be drunk? Not...eaten? I stirred up a spoonful of the fragrant concoction, noting how it refused to spill over the sides of my spoon...like proper liquids were supposed to do. Or so I thought. We took our breakfast at the Podgorica central bus station -- adjacent to the train station where we were dropped off -- where I was able to sample a traditional burek with sir and meso (puff pastry with cheese and meat)...and also where I spent a full half-hour grunting and sawing at said burek with a knife and fork. Somehow I gathered that these things weren't ever meant to be ... read more

It wasn't until about 2 weeks in that I realized that something was missing: American fast food chains. I kid you not -- this is actually quite unusual, and consequently slightly disturbing. Even in Kuwait, I clapped eyes on a slew of American-based food joints: Applebee's, Chili's, TGI Friday's, and lots and lots of fried chicken. But here, none of that. Kaput. Zilch. Nada. Pick your language. Since the golden arches managed to extend its tentacles to as far as the Middle and the Far Easts, I naturally came to expect to see the same, here in Montenegro. Well, other than the weighty presence of burger joints and pizzerias (the latter which I suspect is a consequence of the Italian influence here), the American touch doesn't seem to be felt here. Kind of refreshing, but very ... read more