This post sees us leave Croatia (Country 1) and enter Montenegro (Country 2) on this Balkan adventure of a lifetime. Croatia was my 99th UN Country and this makes Montenegro my 100th !!! My grand total is 103 including UN Observers and Territories. Montenegro is also the 94th country I have run it. We visit Montenegro twice since we need to hire a second car in the Capital to travel to Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo to be covered by insurance, which our current Peugot lease car does not cover. We will be back to Montenegro on 5 July 2022.
Montenegro means BLACK MOUNTAIN in Latin.
Montenegro (Pop 621,718) is a former member of Yugoslavia and declared full independence in 2006 as a Parliamentary Democracy under a President and Prime Minister and Parliament. It is 72% Orthodox (under the Serbian Patriarchate) and has its own variation of the Slavic Cyrillic Language called Montenegrin whose characters resemble the Russian Alphabetic. Montenegro is only one tenth the size of Greece but packs a punch, full of rugged mountains, medieval villages and a narrow strip of beaches along its Adriatic coastline. The Bay of Kotor, resembling a fjord, is dotted with coastal churches and fortified towns such as Kotor and Herceg Novi. Durmitor National Park, home to bears and wolves, encompasses limestone peaks, glacial lakes and 1,300m-deep Tara River Canyon. Like most of the Balkans, Montenegro was under the rule of the Ottomans from 1496 to 1878 and was liberated with the help of Russia, which explains its alphabet and language. In a nutshell, Montenegro is what is left of the Serbian Orthodox of the former Yugoslavia that lived in this geographical area.
Podgorica (Pop 186,000, Elev 61m, Founded 11th Century) is the largest city and Capital of Montenegro. Its rivers and bridges include the modern Millennium Bridge over the Morača River, and the stone bridge spanning the Ribnica River. The centuries-old Clock Tower, built by the Turks, dominates the old town. In the Zeta-Skadar valley south of the city, Lake Skadar National Park is home to medieval monasteries, beaches, and birds like the Dalmatian pelican.
The 190km drive from Dubrovnik CROTIA to
Podgorica MONTENEGRO was a eyeball buffet delight of the seaside towns of Tivat,
Jaz, Kosto and Budva. We had to use a ferry boat to take the car to Tivat. Tivat
is famous for visits by the rich and famous on their huge yachts. Kosto is
famous for its castle with steep walls crawling up a steep mountain that looks
like the Great Wall of China. Kosto is also famous for a bloke called Veljko
Uskokovic – National Water Polo champ who attended 3 Olympics in a row winning
Bronze in Sydney. Finally, Budva is the Montenegrin Monaco on the Adriatic – a
very fancy and polished place, which we believe will be the next big hit in the
Mediterranean – a hidden treasure. Budva is the alleged location of the latest
James Bond film Casino Royale which is now constantly denied. Budva has the Fort Mgren and an Old Town that is the best we have seen so far - very small, quiet, quaint and home to hidden cafes and pubs. We also passed thorugh Centije the old Royal Capital of Montenegro which is home to the President.
BORDER:
TIVAT:
CETINJE:
KOTOR:
The highlight of our drive was the iconic PAVLOVA STRANA VIEWPOINT a very narrow windy road that looks upon a huge bend in the river Rijeka Cmojevika as it winds around a prominent mountain. Apparently, this geographic scene is a world famous National Geographic photo. It reminded me of the rice fields of Vietnam and is easily the best panoramic scene we have encountered to date – the photo below says it all !!!
Podgorica is quite modern and well spread out and flat. It reminds me of Albuquerque in New Mexico, flat city surrounded by distant mountains and very hot and dry. A record 5 rivers run through the city along with 5 name changes and the city has been leveled twice by war. The Orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ is an absolute masterpiece - it took 10 years to build, opening in 2013 and is completely captivating of all human senses.
Brad Pitt starred in his first leading role in Montenegro when it was a "state" in the former Yugoslavia in 1988 in the movie “Dark Side of the Sun” which we all watched on our first night here.
Enjoy Podgorica and Montenegro, “the hidden gem of the Adriatic”…
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