.......previously, our wonderful time on the Adriatic Coast on Montenegro's unique beaches.........
* Firstly, can we start off with the interesting fact that Montenegro (Black Mountain in Italian) is the name given to the country by Venetians in ancient times. The Montenegrins themselves call their country Crna Gora, which also means Black Mountain.
As much we enjoyed spending time on the beaches in Montenegro during June and July, the prices were starting to skyrocket, and we decided to try our luck at exploring a different side to the country and head inland.
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| All aboard, train from Bar to Podgorica, Montenegro |
The extreme tongue twister town of Niksic ("Neek-sheetch") was our destination goal, and to arrive there involved taking two trips on quite contrasting styles of trains. The first was from Bar on the coast, and was the long distance route that eventually ends up in Belgrade. This train was a little rough around the edges, and featured the same graffiti on the outside that had confused us on the Albanian train. It was, however, perfectly comfortable, and we looked forward to catching it in a couple of weeks when we headed back to Serbia. This time, however, we disembarked at Montenegro's capital, Podgorica. The train was already running late- it has a reputation as being painfully slow. At Podgorica, we changed to another train, this one more of a commuter type that would take us the one hour to Niksic. This train was very speedy and modern, and reminded us of the sort we took during our travels around Serbia last year.
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| Empty train, Bar to Podgorica, Montenegro |
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| Super clean toilet (start of the trip!) |
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| Fellow passenger, Podgorica to Niksic train, Montenegro |
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| Old engine, but still in use, Montenegro |
The scenery on the second leg, in particular, was stunning, with the train following a green, clear river for some time, before climbing into the hills and providing a spectacular view of the majestic Bjelopavlici Plain far below. Red roofed cottages sat in little clusters, most with orchards and neat rows of produce growing in small gardens surrounded by stone walls. Despite some stations consisting only of a tiny open shed in what looked like the middle of nowhere, some passengers did alight and embark.
Although Niksic is Montenegro's second biggest city, in a country of 620,000 residents, that's not really saying much! It was a pleasant, spacious town, surrounded by mountains, and without much interesting architecture left over from the long time occupying Ottomans. But the ubiquitous cafes around the town square, small castle and shady parks made it a pleasurable place to hang out for a few days. The area in which we were staying was particularly agreeable, with huge older houses most with sizeable gardens growing produce, plus walnut and cherry plum trees, and of course, the ever present figs. The look of the gardens contrasted with those along the coastal areas we had come from, as did the evening and early morning temperatures, which were much cooler. Running out of time to visit the brewery on the edge of town producing the most famous of Montenegrin beers, Niksicko, we did ponder how many beers it would take to actually be able to pronounce the name.
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| Onogost castle, Niksic, Montenegro |
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| Street art tribute, Niksic, Montenegro |
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| Spomenik to WW2 soldiers, Niksic, Montenegro |
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| Catholic church of St Basil, Niksic, Montenegro |
Besides the train ride, our main incentive for travelling to the area was to visit the Ostrog Monastery, the most important pilgrimage place in Montenegro. In a way, it was lucky we didn't know beforehand what was involved in getting to the monastery, or we probably would not have attempted the trip, and missed out on an epic day. From the isolated and peaceful railway station in the middle of the forest, a rocky path climbed steeply up through thick trees, Although we started the day at 5am, the humidity was high, and the hike was arduous. Two hours later, we looked up and we relieved to see a small community with some farm land, a few houses and a church. After a rest in the shade and a look inside the modest church, our relief turned to dread when we realized this was only the lower monastery, and the main attraction was high up on the side of a cliff and another couple of hours of vertical walking. Looking pathetic by the side of the road, we were picked up by a holidaying family, who drove us with them to the car park of the upper monastery. We were glad we had made the effort- the situation of the monastery on the cliffside was remarkable, and the throngs had yet to pour in on day trips, so we could visit without too many crowds. The tiny cave rooms decorated with faded paintings and a long haired priest quietly intoning prayers were atmospheric but claustrophobic. Rich was underwhelmed by the place, but it was interesting watching people going about their religious business, buying and lighting candles, crossing themselves at various points, kissing icon pictures and donating to big piles of old clothes. Everyone was extremely respectful, and many women wore scarves on their heads.
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| Arriving at Ostrog station, Montenegro |
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| Climbing the first bit, already knackered! |
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| Village on the way, Ostrog, Montenegro |
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| Rocky path to the monastery, Ostrog, Montenegro |
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| Looking up high to to the upper monastery, Ostrog, Montenegro |
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| Ornate church, lower monastery, Ostrog, Montenegro |
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| Ostrog Monastery in the cliffside, Ostrog, Montenegro |
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| Respectfully lighting a candle, Ostrog, Montenegro |
Ostrog is the most significant Orthodox site in Montenegro, and work began on the awesome location in the 1600s by the then bishop (later to become St Basil), and rebuilt in the 1920s after a fire. It's such an important place, and people come here for miracles. The most serious of the devotees walk the three kilometres between the lower and upper monastery with bare feet. As we walked back down the hill on a lovely sun speckled forest path, we noticed a few fellow walkers without shoes, and a great many pairs of discarded socks on the side of the path. Some of these were worn, some brand new. We tried out find out why people would just leave them there, but the language barrier proved a problem in discovering the answer.
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| Sign for the train station! Ostrog, Montenegro |
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| Beautiful pilgrimage forest walk, Ostrog, Montenegro |
Finally arriving back down at the Ostrog train station more than six hours later, we were completely shattered, and needed the following day to recover!!
Energized again (kind of!) the following day, we made our way to Podgorica, again on the train. We had booked a place on Air B and B that looked somewhat unusual, and we weren't quite sure what would be awaiting us. After walking 20 minutes from the station, we found an odd, yet appealing neighbourhood made up of tiny houses- something like post war pre-fabs, apparently built for government workers in the 1960s. Ours was miniscule and charming, everything we needed was there, but arranged in quite an unconventional way inside. Outside was a front garden area great for drying clothes and sitting in the evening when it became cooler. A welcome feature was the AC in the bedroom, with temperatures the highest they had been yet, reaching over 40 degrees on some days.
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| Our tiny Podgorica house |
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| Old fashioned furnishings, Podgorica, Montenegro |
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| Front yard, Podgorica, Montenegro |
Situated in the middle of the country, Podgorica is the capital of Montenegro, and a quarter of Montenegrins live there. This is comically tiny, with population numbers in the city at about 180,000. Continually inhabited since Roman times, including 400 plus years of Ottoman rule, surprisingly the city is not known for it's sights. It was intensely bombed by the allies during the Second World War, which destroyed much of the historic architecture.
Our exploration was on a Sunday morning, early before the heat of the day, and it was decidedly tranquil. We strolled around the narrow streets of the diminutive Stara Varos (old town), to the Ottoman-era stairs and bridge at the river. The confluence of the Ribnica and Moraca was slightly disappointing, as the lack of rain at this time of year meant the water level was low. A variety of picturesque bridges crossed the rivers, some pedestrianized, some ancient, and the views were attractive. The best thing about the city centre was the abundance of parks- mostly quite dry in the summer heat, but shady and cool, always with seats and a water fountain with cold drinking water.
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| One of many lovely bridges, Podgorica, Montenegro |
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| Looks like a Knight Templar? Podgorica, Montenegro |
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| Bridge over the dry river bed, Podgorica, Montenegro |
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| Montenegrin hero in the park, Podgorica, Montenegro |
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| Abandoned gaol, Podgorica, Montenegro |
Funky pedestrianized Hercegovacka Street with it's leafy plane trees and plethora of bars and cafes must be lively and busy at other times. Sunday morning, we found a couple of cafes open for a quiet wake up coffee, while some of the rest of the area started to come alive.
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| Cafes galore, Podgorica, Montenegro |
We had passed Skadar Lake on the train from Bar the previous week, and were mesmerized by the beauty of the area. As distances were short and train fares low, a day trip from Podgorica seemed a must, again starting out early to try (unsuccessfully) to beat the midday sun. The village of Virpazar was surprisingly touristy, twee and cute, a few old buildings set around a park, and buddleia bushes all out in spectacular purple flowers around the village. A series of rivers lead to the giant Skadar Lake, which straddles Montenegro and Albania, and is the largest lake in southern Europe. We had seen the lake from the Albanian town of Shkoder, but not had much chance to explore there. Many tour boats were coming and going, as bus loads of tourists started poring into the village, most seemingly on tours. We walked out of the village to some scenic spots and enjoyed the spectacular views quietly on our own.
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| Arriving at Virpazar station, Montenegro |
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| That's something to live up to! Virpazar, Montenegro |
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| Ready for the tourists to come, Virpazar, Montenegro |
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| A quiet spot on a hill, Virpazar, Montenegro |
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| An abandoned house, Virpazar, Montenegro |
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| View of the splendid Skadar lake, Virpazar, Montenegro |
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| Backwaters, Skadar Lake, Virpazar, Montenegro |
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| Home again on the train, Montenegro |
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| Hillside village from the train, Montenegro |
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| Pretty Skadar Lake from the train, Montenegro |
As much as we had loved our summer "holiday" at the beach in Montenegro, we were looking forward to returning to friends and city life and spending August in Belgrade, Serbia. The famously scenic railway from Montenegro to Serbia got us there eventually- a stop in Uzice broke the long journey. The heat and crawling pace of the train between Podgorica and Uzice made the eight hour trip about all we could take- with of course, the upside being the constantly changing terrain outside the train windows. It was a varied voyage of never ending beauty, the train clutching the sides of mountains, dropping away meters from the track into deep enclosed gorges and valleys and plunging into tunnels (254 of them) every couple of minutes. Other areas featured green rolling hills with the always present red roofed village houses speckled about. It was long, but worth it.
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| Mountain scenery, taken from the train, Bar to Belgrade train, Montenegro and Serbia |
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| Strikingly situated church, view from Bar to Belgrade train, Montenegro and Serbia |
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Our route through Montenegro
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Prices were comparatively high in Montenegro. They use the euro, and as a result the accommodation, food and transport were all much more expensive than in Serbia, North Macedonia and especially Albania. Having said that, we did choose to travel there during the high season, so perhaps we would notice a difference at another time of year.
Food costs weren't so much an issue, as we were happy to buy lovely in-season produce and cook for ourselves, we made sure we had access to a kitchen in our accommodations for this reason. We were happy to try many Montenegrin wines to accompany our food- at less than two euros a bottle, it was hardly going to break the bank! We also took full advantage of the summer fruits, usually having piles of plums, peaches and raspberries around.
The distances during the first part of our trip in Montenegro were so short, the transport was hardly an issue. Buses ran along the coastline regularly, and although the fares were pricey, the transport was easy and convenient. If we didn't speak up in time, it was expected we would store our bags in the luggage hold for an extra one euro each. Usually, we were able to bring them onboard with us and hold them on our laps. That's one bonus when travelling with not too huge backpacks for short distances! A common occurrence was for official or unofficial taxis to stop while we were waiting for a bus, and offer to take us to our destination for the same price. This was great for both parties- they were empty and going in that direction anyway, and it was quicker and easier for us.
Later when we left the coast we were able to take advantage of all the train lines in Montenegro. As discussed, the train system in Montenegro is as excellent as Serbia. All the trains we took were cheap, clean, cool, and pretty punctual (with the exception of the long distance Bar to Belgrade line, which is apparently famous for never being remotely on time!). The brilliant scenery of the Montenegrin countryside was a huge added bonus, and Rich, in particular, absolutely loved gazing out the window for hours at the ever changing stunning country side.
The biggest killer on our budget was the accommodation. Prices were high- sometimes as much as double what we had been paying elsewhere in the Balkans, and not just on the coast. It was actually more reasonable in the busy touristy places on the beach, as there was a wider choice of places to stay. We simply had to bite the bullet, and do our best to find smaller family run places. Similarly to other Balkan stays, most of our rooms were mini apartments with an attached bathroom, balcony and some kind of small kitchen- at the very least a fridge.
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| Podgorica street scene, Montenegro |
.......next up, some back and forthing between Montenegro and Belgrade......
