This post sees us drive from the Capital Podgorica to Niksic in Montenegro via Manastir Ždrebaonik, Ostrog Monastery and the Carev Most (Emperors) Bridge.
When we arrived in Podgorica the day before this one we encountered two little newborn kittens on our doorstep wailing without a mother. Our collective hearts melted and we took them in. One was black and the other orange! Paris went off to buy them milk and we settled in for dinner – the four of us watching the movie FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE to review the bridge being blown up in the movie, which was the “Tara Bridge” in Montenegro that we will visit tomorrow…
None of us slept into this morning. The kittens ran riot, running around all night, scratching, climbing and in the morning I discovered they had PISSED on my top of my clothes !!! Those little biches !!! Lucky for me my trusty microfiber towel was doubled up and wrapped around my clothes and the cat pee did not reach my clothes.
After placing three bowls of milk in the doorway we farewelled our pussies and drove into the only second rainy day so far.
If any day was good for rain it was this day since we would be visiting two Monasteries and a bridge. The first monastery was Manastir Ždrebaonik. The female Ždrebaonik Monastery is located on the left bank of the Zeta River, in the tame Bjelopavlić Plain on the outskirts of Danilovgrad. It was located on a picturesque hill, surrounded by an ancient cemetery and a rampart.
It was built between 1252-1255. year by Stefan Vukano Nemanjić. It was burnt down twice during Ottoman occupation and rebuilt in 1818 and 1926. It contains the whole body of Serbian St Arsenij Sremac, the second Archbishop of Serbia appointed by non other than St Sava, the Patron Saint of Serbia.
Just 23km further north is Ostrog Monastery, one of the most visited in all the Balkans because of its permanent resident, Vasilije, the Metropolitan Bishop of Herzegovina who founded it in the 17th century. He died there in 1671 and some years later he was declared a Saint by the Serbian Orthodox Church. His body is enshrined in a reliquary kept in the cave-church dedicated to the Presentation of the Mother of God to the Temple. This Saint is a Miracle Worker having healed thousands of physical ailments and this is the reason thousands flock here from all over the world. We were overwhelmed by cars and people, even in the rain. A moving place.
Our final stop at the Carev Most (Emperors) Bridge was strange indeed. Just outside Niksic with not many cars crossing it is a piece of history in its own right. The Tsar's Bridge is named after the Russian Emperor Alexander III, who financed the construction of the bridge in the year 1894. It crosses the Zeta river and its valley. It is remarkable for its significant length (270 m) and many spans (18). The highest span measures 13 meters. The bridge is much wider than the modern river channel, this is due to the presence of a large backwater pool that existed in the past, which was drained in the 20th century. Nowadays, the river's channel is straightened and strengthened by concrete in the area, so only one span actually crosses the river. Under the highest bridge span exists a little pedestrian doubling bridge. This bridge was built by the Tsar to move munitions into the north of Montenegro to shoo off the Ottomans and later on was used by modern-day Montenegro to enable farmers to move their produce to the money laden south.
Enjoy our entry into the magical north of Montenegro…
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