Today I jumped out of bed to pack for MONTENERGRO! No big deal, time to go to another country…just kidding, it’s a big deal! Our trip was originally supposed to leave at 1:30, but it got moved up to 10:15. We got all packed and headed to the Union to have our passports checked and get ready to go. When we were all set, we got boxed lunches and went down to the bus. And we were off!
Now, in the trip description it said Montenegro is just an hour drive Dubrovnik. What they forgot to mention is that the BORDER is an hour away, and the actual places we were going were much, much farther in. We did SO much driving. After getting our passports checked and stamped (YAY!!) at the border, we made our way to Kotor Bay (after about 3 hours of driving) and the city of Kotor. We got a walking tour of Kotor and a little bit of free time. After that we got back in the bus and drove an hour and a half, through crazy mountains, super high, on the “Road of 25 Turns.” Let me tell you, there are a LOT more than 25 turns. There are hundreds. What does the 25 mean, then? It means that on that very narrow, mountainous road there are 25 180-degree-or-more turns! Here’s a little detail so you can make more sense of it: when we had to pass cars, we’d have to BACK UP (on the TINY, steep roads RIGHT on the edge of a very, very, very high cliff), the car would have to drive up ON the bank, and we would slowly pass. The road is so narrow, buses are only allowed to go certain directions at certain times of day. It would be DISASTER if two buses got stuck trying to pass each other. Even the “tough” guys on our trip were freaking out about this experience. It was that crazy! The next day, we found out that our bus driver is the 3rd best in Europe- yes, there is a bus-driving contest! That means he is the BEST in Croatia, and went onto Nationals and placed 3rd. It would have been VERY good to know that before we were getting off the bus to end the trip! Finding that out on this road would have been very encouraging. After an hour and a half of THAT road, we finally got to the top and drove into this TINY little town with population like 5. No, not that small but you get the point. Tiny, tiny! We stopped and ate ham, cheese, and wine, and then headed toward Cetinje, what used to be the capital of Montenegro. That was another hour and a half away. Well, earlier in the trip some girls were late getting back to the bus by ten minutes. We were supposed to get to Cetinje at 4:45, but because of the delay we got there at 4:55. By the time we got off the bus and made our way into the little city (very little), it was 5 and the two museums we were supposed to see were closed. Greatttt. We drove all that way just to see the museums, too. Oh well, we got free time and saw the happiest man alive. He was this adorable blacksmith (who looked like Santa) who danced and sang as he worked and made bells. He was so cute! He put on a little performance when we all gathered around him. That old man was SO happy, it made us all happy just seeing him!
We left Cetinje and headed for our hotel in Budva. We stopped to get a walking tour of Budva, then finally got to our hotel and ate dinner. Apparently Budva is the most visited city and is growing like crazy. It’s the “Miami” of Montenegro. After dinner, we got ready to go out and all of us SASers gathered to head out. We took taxis (they were sooo cheap there!!) and got dropped off at the city walls, in the heart of the city. There was a huge open area of bars and nightlife. There was a stage set up, but the performances were earlier in the evening I think. We hung out in that area for awhile and mingled and met some nice people. We were looking for an ATM, so we asked a waiter and he brought us to one. He was so funny- on the way, he kept telling us he was going to steal us, then when we were getting money out he snuck up and told us to give him our money- being a goofball, of course. He was quite the character. He and the other waiters told us we had to go to the best club in Budva at the top of this hill. Any guesses as to its name? Yeah…Top Hill. They’re clever there. It didn’t open until 1, so we waited around but when 1 came we took taxis up there. Well, we were the very first ones inside. It was hugeeee! And so cool! There were tons of levels and lights and the ground was lit up and there was a gorgeous nighttime view of all of Budva. There were big huge lights that could be seen from the city of Budva and all over. It turns out they were from Top Hill! Later in the night, the light beams shot fire! This place was legit. We met some Norwegians who showed us how to take flaming shots (only, we just watched and did NOT take them). It was interesting to observe people at the club. In the US, everyone would be dancing on each other and going crazy. Here, the club was treated as more of a bar. People were dancing to themselves a little, but standing at the tall tables and socializing more than anything. It was really cool! Quite the experience. I don’t know how long Montenegrins can last, but we were exhausted right away and left after about an hour. We took taxis back and went to sleep.
On another note-
** To all of my single friends looking for TALL, good looking men (and very polite), Montenegro is the place to look! Just make sure you bring them back to America because I’ll miss you if you stay there. :) But really, all of you who complain about not meeting nice guys, go there!
Now, in the trip description it said Montenegro is just an hour drive Dubrovnik. What they forgot to mention is that the BORDER is an hour away, and the actual places we were going were much, much farther in. We did SO much driving. After getting our passports checked and stamped (YAY!!) at the border, we made our way to Kotor Bay (after about 3 hours of driving) and the city of Kotor. We got a walking tour of Kotor and a little bit of free time. After that we got back in the bus and drove an hour and a half, through crazy mountains, super high, on the “Road of 25 Turns.” Let me tell you, there are a LOT more than 25 turns. There are hundreds. What does the 25 mean, then? It means that on that very narrow, mountainous road there are 25 180-degree-or-more turns! Here’s a little detail so you can make more sense of it: when we had to pass cars, we’d have to BACK UP (on the TINY, steep roads RIGHT on the edge of a very, very, very high cliff), the car would have to drive up ON the bank, and we would slowly pass. The road is so narrow, buses are only allowed to go certain directions at certain times of day. It would be DISASTER if two buses got stuck trying to pass each other. Even the “tough” guys on our trip were freaking out about this experience. It was that crazy! The next day, we found out that our bus driver is the 3rd best in Europe- yes, there is a bus-driving contest! That means he is the BEST in Croatia, and went onto Nationals and placed 3rd. It would have been VERY good to know that before we were getting off the bus to end the trip! Finding that out on this road would have been very encouraging. After an hour and a half of THAT road, we finally got to the top and drove into this TINY little town with population like 5. No, not that small but you get the point. Tiny, tiny! We stopped and ate ham, cheese, and wine, and then headed toward Cetinje, what used to be the capital of Montenegro. That was another hour and a half away. Well, earlier in the trip some girls were late getting back to the bus by ten minutes. We were supposed to get to Cetinje at 4:45, but because of the delay we got there at 4:55. By the time we got off the bus and made our way into the little city (very little), it was 5 and the two museums we were supposed to see were closed. Greatttt. We drove all that way just to see the museums, too. Oh well, we got free time and saw the happiest man alive. He was this adorable blacksmith (who looked like Santa) who danced and sang as he worked and made bells. He was so cute! He put on a little performance when we all gathered around him. That old man was SO happy, it made us all happy just seeing him!
We left Cetinje and headed for our hotel in Budva. We stopped to get a walking tour of Budva, then finally got to our hotel and ate dinner. Apparently Budva is the most visited city and is growing like crazy. It’s the “Miami” of Montenegro. After dinner, we got ready to go out and all of us SASers gathered to head out. We took taxis (they were sooo cheap there!!) and got dropped off at the city walls, in the heart of the city. There was a huge open area of bars and nightlife. There was a stage set up, but the performances were earlier in the evening I think. We hung out in that area for awhile and mingled and met some nice people. We were looking for an ATM, so we asked a waiter and he brought us to one. He was so funny- on the way, he kept telling us he was going to steal us, then when we were getting money out he snuck up and told us to give him our money- being a goofball, of course. He was quite the character. He and the other waiters told us we had to go to the best club in Budva at the top of this hill. Any guesses as to its name? Yeah…Top Hill. They’re clever there. It didn’t open until 1, so we waited around but when 1 came we took taxis up there. Well, we were the very first ones inside. It was hugeeee! And so cool! There were tons of levels and lights and the ground was lit up and there was a gorgeous nighttime view of all of Budva. There were big huge lights that could be seen from the city of Budva and all over. It turns out they were from Top Hill! Later in the night, the light beams shot fire! This place was legit. We met some Norwegians who showed us how to take flaming shots (only, we just watched and did NOT take them). It was interesting to observe people at the club. In the US, everyone would be dancing on each other and going crazy. Here, the club was treated as more of a bar. People were dancing to themselves a little, but standing at the tall tables and socializing more than anything. It was really cool! Quite the experience. I don’t know how long Montenegrins can last, but we were exhausted right away and left after about an hour. We took taxis back and went to sleep.
On another note-
** To all of my single friends looking for TALL, good looking men (and very polite), Montenegro is the place to look! Just make sure you bring them back to America because I’ll miss you if you stay there. :) But really, all of you who complain about not meeting nice guys, go there!
Boxed lunch
Montenegro
Montenegro
Qotor, Montenegro
Qotor, Montenegro
Qotor, Montenegro
So.......what does that say?!
Cute women's bathroom sign!
Too bad we had to pay to use it...
Qotor, Montenegro
Qotor Bay, Montenegro
Road of 25 Turns
Qotor Bay, Montenegro (from Road of 25 Turns)
Qotor Bay, Montenegro (from Road of 25 Turns)
Tiny town
Tiny town- see those dots in a line? Those are hotel rooms.
This is how close we were to the edge...in a huge bus...going a little too fast!
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