Montenegro 2011

Day 5

We started our by with a car ride to Cetinje (former capital), a lovely city in the shadows of Štirovnik mountain (1749m a.s.l.), in Lovćen National Park. This one mountain looks just awesome. We hiked a little in the area but didn't go all the way up.

Additionally we visited second highest mountain in the area, Jezerski Vrh (1660m a.s.l.). On top of it there is Mausoleum of Njegoš (Petar II Petrović-Njegoš), who was a prince-bishop (vladika) of Montenegro, a poet and a philosopher (died in 1851). It was his wish to be buried there, firstly in a chapel. Chapel was then demolished couple of times throughout the years, finally mausoleum was constructed in it's place by 1971, with actual reburial in 1974. You cannot go inside, but you can have a look through the gated door. The place is easily accessible by car, from parking spot it is a short walk to the top.

From both those mountain tops, in good weather condition, you can see almost whole Montenegro (it's not that big country :) ). And the views are trully stunning.

We finished our day in Virpazar, getting yet again awesome room with kitchen and bathroom for a very low cost. Guys even tried kayaking on Lake Skadar. The viccinity of the lake was a plan for next day.

Day 6

After leaving Virpazar in the morning, we continued to go South, towards city called Bar. The location of the city is absolutely stunning. Beatiful, although rocky beaches and mountains in the back. We walked around the city for a bit. What drew my attention, beside the location itself, was the great care that the city put into maintaining all the flower beds and various trees. Great job guys!

Our next stop was the city outmost on the South - Ulcinj, near the Albanian border. The city welcomes lots of tourists and it shows on the very crowded (this time sandy) beaches. We had a break and enjoyed our lunch with some fresh seafood. We even found menu in Polish in the restaurant, although the translator made few fun mistakes. ;)

After that we travelled back to Virpazar with different route, that led alongside Lake Skadar, which is shared between Montenegro and Albania. I highly encourage, if you're in the area, to use this P16 road. The fact, that the road was sometimes very narrow and in bad condition (maybe it is better now) didn't matter as the views were breathtaking. I must sincirely say, if I were to visit one of the places in Montenegro once again, it would be this particular area. Those small, "pointy" islands make for a very unique view that was new to me.

On the route we found Fiat 126p, which was a neat little accent. Those cars were mainly made in Polish factory in Tychy, between 1976 and 2000 and were widely used in Poland, becoming somewhat of a symbol of the 80s and 90s and a part of our culture. It's Polish nickname is "Maluch", which can be translated as a "Small one" or "Toddler". My family owned one as well, when I was a small child in the late 80s. :) Today it is very hard to spot them on the streets.

Day 7

Day 7 was lazy, our main activity was to drive from Virpazar to Žabljak and park on the Ivan Do camping site. Even though the route is not long, we wasted some time waiting, due to road being blocked by an acctident. The camping site itself was very nice. :) Fun fact, my car, that was being used on this trip, had an issue with the trunk door, they were very reluctant to open as the mechanizm inside was dying of old age. It only worked every once in a while and most times, to open it I had to dive in through backseat and open it from inside. ;) That caused some attention from bystanders, who were near to observe it.

Day 8

Day 8 was dedicated to hiking. How can you not in this country? :) We went from Žabljak to Terzin Bogaz peak, in the Durmitor mountain range. Day was cloudy for a change, not that it was cold. ;) We didn't make it to the top (it's quite high, 2303 m. a.s.l.), guys went a bit higher than me because I chickened out on one of the slopes as I didn't have proper shoes. In the end I don't really know how far we went, I think it was a little over half way up. The hike took us most of the day and we caught rain coming back. ;)