My Journey to Montenegro
The first thought that occurred to Maya Akisheva at the sight of the bay was, ‘is it even more fascinating there on the other side’?
MA
Maya Akisheva
Mon, 05 Jun 2023
Montenegro was the first Balkans country I visited and I had only known about it from the stories of my friend and from the James Bond films. The setting for ‘Casino Royale’ was Montenegro but the actual film shooting did not take place there at all. I did not really have very high expectations since my friend, either because she had travelled there for many years or just because of her modesty, only humbly said “it’s nice there; I hope you will see things in these places that I see”. I did not notice any ecstatic exclamation in her recommendation.
Boka Kotorska Bay is the southernmost fjord in Europe. The bay is so narrow that you can clearly see the opposite shore and the houses covered with red tiles. And the first thought that occurred to me at the sight of it was, ‘is it even more fascinating there on the other side’?
Montenegro (or Црна Гора / Crna Gora translated as ‘Black Mount’) has a rich history. It has witnessed the Romans, the Byzantines, the Ottomans and even Napoleon, but you could read about all that on the Internet by yourselves, so I will just share my impressions. Local nature is a crazy mixture of various landscapes in a relatively small area, which is the most delightful part. We stopped in a village called Dobrota, which belongs to the city of Kotor. Kotor is one of the pearls of a beautiful ‘necklace’ chain of towns scattered along the shores of the Boka Kotorska Bay. We arrived at night and leaving the house the next morning we gasped in astonishment: right out of the sea grows green (not black in the slightest) towering mountains. Sprawling flowers of osmanthus and wildflowers were blooming all over the place. People were riding bicycles along the coast and boats rested on the docks. At the mansion next door, a man pulled a chair outside, blasted old school rock music and immersed himself into it. What a fabulous scene!
On the first one, there is a still functioning Benedictine monastery dating back to the XII century and on the other one - the Orthodox Church of Our Lady of the Rocks. You can rent a boat and sail to the second island (the first one is closed for visits).
The beginning of May is a bit early for the tourist season and also due to the pandemic there were few visitors and we were lucky to stay for 9 days in a seaside town as if we were local residents. My husband worked in the morning, and in the afternoon we went out somewhere. Every city on the coast has an old town - a walled medieval citadel with cobbled streets, dizzying stone staircases, white stone houses, churches, chapels, museums, and restaurants. We started from Kotor: we wandered through the old town as if in a maze, then we came across a pizzeria that served out pizza in huge chunks right from the window. We also registered at the local tourist office for 20 Euros (no one asked for this registration at the exit by the way) while busy keeping an eye on and chasing our almost-three-year-old toddler, who was desperately eager to climb somewhere all the time.
Speaking of mussels, in Montenegro, it turned out, they have excellent shellfish. The mussels are just delicious.
Near Kotor, there are oyster farms where you can taste freshly caught oysters with local wine. We stopped by an organic farm called Skoljke Boke - an authentic, non-restaurant experience. Here there are no white tablecloths or waiters; instead they work with a ‘fresh from the sea’ approach.
Apart from Kotor, we went to Herceg Novi and Perast. Both cities, despite being similar in principle to Kotor, are noticeably different from it. In tiny Perast, I noticed many luxurious looking hotels and apartment rental ads. Not surprisingly, the city and the coastal restaurants offer spectacular views of two toy-like picturesque islands.
I found Herceg Novi to be more suitable for hangouts and livelier than Kotor. There you must walk around the old city, listen to opera chants beneath the windows of the music school, stop by the churches - there are several of them, although the medieval town itself is pretty small. You must also go down to the sea and the promenade to take a stroll, taste the local dish Ćevapi in the Three Lindens Café or mussels at a seaside restaurant.
In addition to the places I have listed, there are also places like Tivat, Bar, Budva, Ulcinj, Petrovac - we didn’t manage to explore their old centers since there was not enough time. But let me remind you of this, the Boka Kotorska cities are not alike; each one has its own charm.
We also went on a three-hour sea excursion that was offered to us in the center of Kotor. Everything in it was beautiful but especially the Blue Cave.
When we squeezed our boat into a small rift in the rock, a scene opened up in front of us, like from a movie - three young men in a canoe floated between the glowing milky blue walls of the cave. It was cold in May, but in summer it is full of swimmers there, so you need to take a swimsuit and towels.
It makes sense to drop by each of the cities, if you find it easy to pick up and go and, to boot; there are picturesque views along the way. Of course, it is better to rent a car. The distances between the cities are short; however, speed limits are low so the journey will take between 30 – 90 minutes. You will have to drive along the seaside serpentine - stunningly beautiful, but challenging to navigate, especially at night.
To balance the experience, we decided to dilute the sea landscapes with mountains. Living in Kotor, this can be done in two ways.
One way is to climb the walls of the fortress (it will take about three hours to climb and descend while admiring the views) or you can go to Mount Lovcen; to the mausoleum of the ruler of Montenegro, Peter II Petrovic-Njegos. It is famous for its observation deck (over 1600 meters above sea level), but I also liked the architecture of the mausoleum, built in the 70s of the last century.
One day we went to Lake Skadar. We were lucky again, and there was no one on the lake but us. This is a huge water reserve teeming with birds, a birdwatcher's paradise. Some of its parts are overgrown with sedges and reeds, but the most amazing thing is when you glide past a blanket of water lilies and the guide turns off the boat engine and you can hear only frogs, fish splashing and a cuckoo in the forest on the shore...
These are probably the main words that come to mind when you want to somehow define this Montenegrin beauty: wild and dazzling. A bold, dazzling natural beauty that is breathtaking and delicate in human footprints that do not break the charm of the place.
If you have enough time, they say that the north of Montenegro is no less beautiful: national parks, fortresses, lakes (there are about 40 of them in the country!), rivers with suspension bridges and even a canyon. Truly, I have a feeling that the difficult mountain roads lead to many places - be sure to study the route before going on your own, or find an experienced guide.
Practically speaking; prices are in Euros, although Montenegro has not yet joined the European Union. Petrol is more expensive than in Kazakhstan but the consumption is not very high, because the distances are also short. The seafood is delicious, all the squid, octopus and cuttlefish are caught right there in the Adriatic Sea. You will not avoid getting acquainted with cevapi (local cutlets) and pleskavica, Montenegrin steak (pork stuffed with ‘kaymak’, the sour cream), but the delight of aivar - a Serbian appetizer made from grilled peppers and eggplants may pass you by. So, make sure you buy a jar labelled "homemade" in the store and try it - it's delicious and unlike any other appetizer.