Montenegro is known for it’s beautiful high mountains, gorgeous rocky coastline, and infamous Kotor Bay. Coming from Croatia, I spent a lot of time traveling down the coast stopping in different cities along the way. I’ve met a bunch of people who travel to Montenegro and it’s not uncommon for people to only travel the cities on the coast as well as Kotor Bay. But noone ever talks about the capital city, Podgorica, formerly known as Titograd from the 40’s to the 90’s.

When I told my hostel owner in Ulcinj that I was headed to Podgorica, she was like “Why would you go there? There is nothing there” Well, as expected she was right. I arrived by hitchhiking with a really kind older Montenegrin man that dropped me off right on the edge of town. Getting out of the car it was as if the city was established and created several years ago. The streets are in a perfect square grid and the not so exciting looking buildings have the same shape. Many apartments resemble the socialist bloc apartments that now all have multiple personalities on each terrace.

It was an insanely hot day walking around the city because I had to wait two hours until my couchsurfing host got off of work. It was the longest two hours of sweat and direct sunlight. Meanwhile there are maybe three or four things worth seeing in the city. Clock tower, old bridge, modern bridge, and river. If i was trasiting through and asked myself if I should stay a day or see it in a few hours, I honestly would not feel bad avoiding the city.

However, since I did not couchsurf at all during my time in Montenegro, I felt like Podgorica would be much more worth just going. As always couchsurfing makes any experience anywhere very personal. While there was not much sightseeing to do with my host, we had a good time grabbing a drink in a local pub with some football on TV, something I probably wouldn’t do on my own. At the end of the night we went out into the “center” where there is a two block radius of bars and music to have more drinks and meet up with friends.

Speaking with some of his friends, they asked me the same thing, “What are you doing here?” If I was alone, I probably would have had a less appreciation for the city. But because I was hanging out with locals, it felt nice to be a part of their city which they certainly are proud of. They felt good that I am enjoying there little capital city being around them. So in conclusion, Podgorica may not be a great place to vacation and good for a stopover, it’s certainly worthwhile if you have the opportunity to stay with and or spend some time with locals. 🙂

“Open your eyes and see the beauty!”

 

Most people who come to Europe check out the commercial destination in the west, missing out of the insane beauty of the Balkans. My first visit to Europe brought me to Central Europe. Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Czechia. How’s that for traditional. My return did bring me to The Netherland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, a choice made for my ex-girlfriend and turning out to be an incredible choice for me. But the Balkans is where I spent most of my time and my god, I couldn’t get enough. Spending two months in all of the former Yugoslavia means I did spend some time in Montenegro, and that is what I did.

For those who know about Montenegro, the first thought may be Kotor Bay, a destination I would have regretted missing journeying throughout the Balkans. This place is INSANE! It’s a sight that is hard to take in. Majestic is word that pops up in my mind every time. If anyone has traveled the fjords in south New Zealand or Norway will find that the geography here looks very familiar. Minus the snow, Kotor Bay is a beautiful mashup of history with it’s historic town of Kotor, touch of the tropics with a refreshing swim in the bay, all surrounded my high mountains that shoot straight up into the sky.

I stayed in two places in Kotor Bay but rode throughout 80 percent of the bay. Here is what I did and is a must do when traveling here.

 

Perast

 

 

Hands down one of the most memorable stays in my travels so far is my one night stay in the picturesque town of Perast. In the center of Kotor Bay is this tiny historic village with views of just about most of the bay including the inlet where the occasional cruise ship will pass. Although there are many restaurants and cafes in town, I enjoyed cheap ham and cheese sandwiches at the vendor in front of the town church, sitting at the edge, and taking it all in. The reason why I stayed here was:

1) I wanted to experience something other than just Kotor town.

2) The islands at the center of the bay were a short boat ride away.

 

In the center of the lake are two islands both with churches, one being artificial made of rocks. For $5 Euros you can take an amazing boat ride to these islands with incredible 360 views of the entire bay, on or off the boat. Had I spent more time and made friends with locals, I could have maybe gotten lucky to enjoy a brew, music, and cannonballing into the bay on a boat. Hey, there is always next time. 😀 For US standards, lodging is dirt cheap in Perast. Ranging from 15 Euros and up, you can have a nice and decent room, some with a great view of the bay. For me, I paid 40 Euros in a really nice room, with a small kitchen, spiral stairway up to a bed and bathroom, a small dining room table a window that opens up to half of the bay including the islands I mentioned. Amazing!

Kotor

Hitching a ride from a friendly Serb from Belgrade, I arrived in Kotor post storm with clouds hugging the mountains above town. Coming from Perast, I was dissapointed in the hordes of tourists flocking off of buses and a cruise ship, otherwise Kotor is a beautiful town. Roaming the maze of the streets gazing at the evolution of architecture from the changes of rule throughout the centuries. Venturing away from the noise, I proudly lost myself in a seemingly secret path to a small valley leading up to a tiny waterfall, with many places to take a cold dip. I called this my happy place!

Above the town is a fortress that overlooks Kotor and part of the bay. But If you have the courage, motivation, stamina, an leg muscles, GO FURTHER. Aside from being cheap (financially strategic) in paying to enter a fortress, I decided to have my own few for only the cost of sweat, heavy breathing and my Ipod on shuffle. Zig zagging up for about 2 hours brought me to my second happy place. After setting my bag down and catching my breath, I took a seat and took in the view of a lifetime, overlooking the surrounding mountains, the tiny dots of tourists at the fortress who thing they have a great view, all of Kotor town, and half of the bay. And due to perfect timing, I caught one hell of a sunset.

 

 

A Taste of Crna Gora

 

I am proud to have seen so many incredible places so far on this grand journey, but Kotor Bay is surely up there on my seemingly endless list. It’s not all Montenegro has to offer. You can voyage down the Adriatic coastline down to Ulcinj like I did. OR, head inland and get a taste of heaven in the mountains, what I need to do next time. Anywho, Kotor Bay was surely one hell of a highlight during my time in Montenegro, and for those who visit Montenegro, if you miss out of this, you will surely regret it. 😉

First thing you might ask yourself when you see the title is, semi-hidden? Ulcinj is certainly not unknown, but also not bombarded by mass tourism. How I discovered this place is exactly how I learned about 90% of the Balkans, curiosity. At my former work desk, there was one day where I scoped out the Montenegrin coast via Google maps and at the southernmost point I discovered the city of Ulcinj.

Several years later, here I am travel savvy of the Balkans, enjoying the Montenegrin coast, and fulfilling my curiosity about this incredible city on the sea. Although I was well aware of my intentions of being here, I really didn’t dive into what this city had to offer, let alone what’s here. Upon arrival, it took me by surprise. It’s quite obvious that Albania is only a few kilometers away, but this city felt more exotic than where I had been spending my time.

What I love about this city is it’s old town. The old town sit’s on a hill/rock (not sure what) and overlooks the sea, with a bar outside of the walls with music to have a drink…and go for a swim. The walkways like most other cities on the Adriatic are narrow with old grey bricks with the sounds of families chatting in their homes with open window panels. And nearby, is a cove beach with many cafes, restaurants, and clubs on the water. After spending a month on rock/pebble beaches (not that I am complaining), it was nice to finally walk on soft sand.

On my journey, I sadly did not spend much time here due to the fact that 1) I was racing to the Aegean Sea before peak season. and 2) Running out of my budget. But had I stayed here longer than one night, I would have stayed a few days. This city is incredible, but there is so much to enjoy in this region of the country as well, from Bojana island in the south to spending time on Lake Skadar. Well, there is always reason to return and give the region more time. As for you, check it out, you won’t regret it. 🙂