As many of you may know, this year has been my #TouchseGoesEurope year. Why? Well, I felt it was time to get to know my own continent more as lately I've been traveling mostly in Asia.
So I decided to do a tour in Balkan countries in August-September.
At first, I flew to Split, Croatia, stayed there for a few nights and then took a bus to Bosnia-Herzegovina - Dubrovnik-Budva. It took quite a while to get there by bus, due to some technical problems, but finally, I made it, besides those views from the bus were unforgettable!
This trip to Montenegro was not about hotels, it was the holiday part of my little "Get to know Europe" journey, I just wanted to explore places and photograph beautiful sceneries.
MONTENEGRO
Everyone always speaks so highly of Montenegro that I felt it's finally time to check out this place.
Montenegro is in the Balkans, on the Adriatic sea, its official language is Montenegrian and the currency used is euro. The country got its independence for the first time already on 1878 but after the World War I, it became part of the kingdom of Yugoslavia. Now, only less than 12 years ago, on June 3, 2006, it got its independence back. Approximately 662 000 people live there.
Its capital is Podgoriga (which was the place my flight took off when I left the country).
This was pretty much all I knew about the country when I exited its border.
BUDVA
Budva is probably one of the most popular tourist destinations in Montenegro and after seeing it, I don't wonder why. It has been named by some visitors as "The Montenegrim Miami" Miami of Montenegro due to its beaches and vibrant nightlife.
Budva has many stunning beaches and its nature is truly breathtaking, not to mention its many historic buildings. It is such an interesting place, much more than I ever could have imagined. To my great surprise, I found out that the Budva coast is 21 km long with 17 beaches, considering how small the actual town is that sound sensational.
Old town
By the way, the old town is called Stari Grad (old town), in case you hear locals talking about it.
Oh, and some people say that citizens of Montenegro are the laziest people in Europe, but I have to disagree, based on my experience, everyone worked very hard and I got excellent service everywhere in the old town area, not so much outside the old town though. There is a local saying polako, polako which means take it easy, take it easy, and according to some sources, there's a saying a man from Montenegro was born tired and they need to get some rest during the day so that they can get proper sleep at night. Again, I totally disagree with this, at least based on what I saw in old town area. This is just something I learned when listening to the stories of the place.
The city of Budva was severely damaged on an earthquake on 1979, but it has been built stone by stone to look very much like its original look.
Arriving to Budva
I arrived at the city of Budva's bus station late at night, around 10 pm. I was supposed to meet the owner of my old town's Air BnB apartment's lovely owner, Danka, at the bus station, but the bus was about 1,5 hours late and for some still unsolved reason my brand new mobile phoned just died in the middle of the last bus ride, so I was not able to inform of the delay. Once I got to the bus station, I realized that there is no way I could find her there and since I couldn't use my phone, I started to wonder, what's next. Then I asked from some local girl if she spoke English "A little" (which, turned out to be a quite common response there, to said question). I explained the situation and asked if I could call my friend and she was kind enough to borrow her phone. I got in touch with Danka, and she kindly got back to a bus station to pick me up.
Since it was late, I had had a long day with some (many) technical issues, haven't had a proper meal and it was very dark, already, I was feeling somewhat uncomfortable and was just looking for getting into bed.
Don't get me wrong, I was very happy to be there, and in a hurry to get to the apartment. Sweet Danka drove me as close to the apartment as possible but since the apartment is actually inside the oldtown's city walls, there is no way to exit the area by car, so I had to roll my (giant) suitcase on cobblestone streets for quite a bit, which was a struggle.
Here is one lesson I learned that night; if you are heading to Budva, get a backpack, getting around is so much easier - unless you are a heavy lifting champion and carrying 20+ kg suitcase is not a problem. Further, do not wear high heels, you will most like twist your ankle. Oh, but not to worry, wedge heels are just fine (luckily I had two pairs of such shoes with me!).
I do have to admit though, those cobblestone streets are beautiful!
My home in Budva
Anyway, finally, I got to the apartment and to my great surprise, it literally was INSIDE the city wall. It was quite modest, nothing like a 5-star hotel, but this trip was not about luxurious things, it was more about new experiences. Besides, the apartment was clean, it had almost everything I needed (except for a toaster) so I was quite happy with it. Its location was absolutely fantastic, couldn't be better!
I was so tired that on that first night I just had some bread and I got to the bed. I was able to watch people walking through the small alleys of the old town from my windows, which was quite charming and entertaining. Also, there was a live band playing somewhere nearby and when I opened the shutters I was able to listen to their music.
On two nights there was this street performer, a female, a very talented violinist playing underneath my window and boy did she play well. I was mesmerized by her playing and truly enjoyed having some late night snack, reading a book and listening to her beautiful playing. Free entertainment without even having to leave the apartment, how handy!
MY BUDVA EXPERIENCE BEGINS
My first morning was quite eye-opening. I went for a walk and realized that I've ended up to one of the most beautiful cities I've been to, if not ever, at least for a long time.
I walked only maybe 20 meters outside the apartment and I was able to see the port, stunning!
Some restaurant recommendations
Below the apartment, there was an excellent Chinese restaurant and also this incredibly nice Italian restaurant called Spaghetti Montenegro. I ended up eating there several times, due to its convenient location as well as because of its lovely staff. Nevene, one of the waitresses spoke quite good English, which I really appreciated as I got to explain her my food allergies and she managed to make my all-time favorite dish; pasta Gorgonzola. Many of you probably remember that I tend to test out that dish pretty much in every destination I go to, and this was for sure, in Top 3!
There was a supermarket only maybe 300 meters from the apartment which provided me all the basics I needed - although, no gluten-free products that much, so if you are really gluten sensitive, I'd stick to restaurant foods.
The actual city of Budva isn't all that big and in my opinion, its charm is in its old town. Some may say that it's really touristy (considering that probably closer to 1 million tourists go there every year, I guess it is a bit touristy), but I'd say it's more about the attitude. When you keep an open mind and open eyes, you see little gems everywhere.
Get lost and find...
My favorite thing to do was just wander around. I loved watching people exploring the old town. One day I noticed that the walls have some type of walking promenades, as I saw some people walking by /above my apartments (2nd floor) window. Oh, good thing I kept those lovely colonial style shutters closed during the night time...
Inspired by the thought of being able to walk around the old town and to see it from another perspective I decided it was time to find out how to actually do it.
It did take a while before I ended up to this beautiful square with a church and absolutely beautiful ocean views.
Suddenly I noticed a little booth and a girl sitting there, I figured it must be some kind of information point or maybe even an access gate to some unseen place - after all, I had wandered around days already.
It turned out that this was the place where the tour around the walls begins. I think it cost 1,5 euros to enter and I got to walk around the town by myself. It took a while to walk through the entire route, there was no one else there and I could literally feel the history surrounding me.
Me being someone who loves the ocean, I felt I was in paradise when walking those old city walls, feeling the history while watching that lovely ocean view. I ended up to this viewing point, "Citadela Fortress" which provides you with fantastic views to the ocean as well as to the beach.
Well, at least you now know as I'm telling you, so if you have not yet visited this place, I can warmly recommend to do it now, before everyone wants to go there!
Weather
The weather was quite pleasant the entire time, somewhere between +25 - +30 C, perfect for me.
There were some thunderstorms almost on daily basis, but mostly at night, which for me is only a good thing as for some reason I sleep like a baby when it rains and the thunder is rumbling.
However, during wintertime nights can be quite cold, as low as +7 degrees.
Mogren
Since the oceanfront of the city looked so inviting, I wanted to explore it a little more. There was this maritime paseo along the shoreline to the beach called Mogren, whereto, apparently, like I later discovered, EVERYONE seemed to be wanting to go to whether to sunbathe or just have some drinks.
That paseo was breathtaking. In the beginning of it I was a bit skeptic as it was paved with concrete, which for me, who loves nature and wants to explore things in natural surroundings was a little offsetting but the further I walked, the more I understood why it was paved. Waves crashed over the pavings at times and those rocks would've been deadly slippery without pavings.
In the beginning of the paseo, there is the famous Statua Ballerina. Many people wanted to take a photo of themselves next to it, however, since I was traveling solo, I settled to a selfie.
I finally made it to beach, Mogren, and quite soon I realized that it was not for me. It was beautiful, don't get me wrong but it was so packed that I couldn't even find a footstep in order to get to the water line, the music at the restaurant was so loud that my ears literally hurt. However, the view was so mesmerizing and I got so many lovely photos that this was a perfect reminder of a lesson I had already learned on my journeys: It's not about the destination, but about the journey.
Port and boats
There are luxurious yachts at the port, there were big ones and then there were giant ones. I sat there for hours just watching their crew taking care of them, and their owners (or whoever it was that was on board). I've seen some stunning yachts for example in Australia, but never this many, right next to each other.
Once you turn right at the leftside's end of the port's promenade, you can see tens of little boats offering tours around the area. I was, at first, a bit hesitant to go anywhere as they looked really tiny, but then I reminded myself; First of all, I'm an excellent swimmer, I'll be fine, and second of all, this was meant to be my little adventure, so no regrets, just say Yes.
This mantra - Just say Yes, don't overthink - has taken me to amazing places, and this was one of those things I had on my Things to do list. So I asked the first boat's captain/owner which of the places he'd recommend based on what I like. I told him what I was interested in and he said that tours can be done however I want if I rent the boat to myself.
So I asked the price. It was only 20 euros! I wanted to see other beaches and sights so badly I was ready to pay 100 euros, but turns out that 20-40 eur was more than enough.
No hesitation there, I was sold. The owner of the boat was a very kind local man called Nicola.
Boat tour
I jumped on board and we took off. I felt so happy, so free and was absolutely mesmerized by the beauty of the ocean surrounding this place. Nicola drove to this little cave at the end of Sveti Nikola island, which I enjoyed so much and already at this point, I regretted not having my swimwear on. That was such an interesting place to see and the water was so crystal clear, I wish I could have gone swimming there! By the way, Sveti Nikola is the largest island in Montenegro.
Then we drove across the ocean, heading to Sveti Stefan island. While we were driving, Nicola told me stories of the area and things he had experienced there. He told me about the earthquake that hit the city on 70's and some fishing stories etc.
While we were driving through the waves he also told me that with some luck we might even see dolphins there, which got me so excited, would love to see them! I had my hand on the water while we were driving... dolphins, wouldn't that be something! ..but, wait... It's an ocean! So I quickly asked him if there were sharks there as well. He replied with a wide smile: "It's an ocean if there are dolphins, and fish there, of course, there can be sharks as well!"
I don't think I've ever pulled my hand off that quick from anywhere! I prefer keeping my fingers as I still need them...!
We got to Sveti Stefan island. It was quite impressive. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. Nicola told me that the entire island is all hotel area and that hotel is called Aman Sveti Stefan, which is one of the most exclusive hotels, all kinds of famous folks, such as movie stars and royalties spend time there. The hotel was built already on Yugoslavia time. It sits along Montenegro's magnificent stretch of coastline, overlooking the Adriatic Sea.
I didn't even dare to ask if he knew prices to stay there. But a girl can dream, right? Maybe one day...
On our way back to the harbor we drove by some beautiful beaches, coves, and rocks. Wow, this place really rocks!
At least this year (2017) his boat had a spot first on the row, not sure if he has the same spot next year, but if you do go there and want to go boating, I can warmly recommend his services!
Everything ends sometimes
My week in Budva went by way too fast! I actually wanted to stay a little longer but unfortunately, my laptop's screen got shattered, for which reason I had to figure out how to get home as soon as possible so that I can get it fixed before my next journey, which was going to be my 4 weeks' adventure in Asia, and it was only 3 weeks away.
My taxi ride to the airport - another lesson learned!
My lovely host, Danka, arranged me a ride to the airport. Here comes a story that should teach you guys a lesson as well, at least it did that for me.
I consider myself as a very experienced traveler but this time they got me good.
On the morning of departure I went to the meeting point in front of the supermarket, and a man approached me asking me if I was on my way to the airport, I said yes, and then I asked if his name (I don't want to say what it was here, so let's just call him Vladimir) was Vladimir, and he said yes. (I should have just asked his name without saying any names myself!)
This was a rookie mistake from my part. Then he took my suitcase, guided me to his car, which was an official taxi. After driving maybe for about 20 minutes I noticed that he had a meter on and it was running, fast! So I sent a text message to my host asking, didn't she just tell me that the taxi ride to the airport would be 30 euros. She now calls me and asks me where on earth am I.
Well, I said, in a taxi, of course with the man she guided me to.
At this point, I'm realizing that I've been hoaxed. I ask the driver what's the price to the airport and he says 70 euros. I was astonished! What? So I tell Danka, on the phone, what the man just said. Danka wanted to talk to him and turned out that this man is not who he said he was when we met.
However, he agreed, after some discussions and calling to his boss etc., to drive me to the airport for 50 euros.
Soon after the incident he suddenly lost his (poor) English skills and once we got the airport, he didn't have enough money to give me back, from 100 eur, so I ended up paying 60 euros, which I knew - obviously - was a scam but since I was in hurry to catch my flight to Rome, I let him go. But, I did tell him (as I was sure he'd understand, even though he pretended not to), that if I wasn't in a hurry, I'd call the police and that I let this go this time but my host knows his name and register plate's number so he better not scam anyone else.
(Well, to be honest, my host probably did not know that, but how would he know!)
Hopefully, at least I saved someone else from the same scam. I found out later that official set price from Budva to the airport is 40 euros, and that my host's driver and my hosts have a deal for 30 eur. So this man managed to get 20 extra euros, which for him was probably quite a big amount of money. Not for me though, but this was a matter of principal.
I'd give that money if I saw someone on the streets really in need for it, but this type of behavior I do not accept and from now on, I demand every driver to show me their ID in order to be sure that he/she is the person they say they are.
But hey, these things happen when you travel. Incidents on your journeys are the salt and pepper of traveling. You just need to keep the positive attitude. Whatever has happened, is by gones and just learn from it and move on towards new adventures!
My stay in this fantastic town was unforgettable and I really hope I get to return one day.
Thank you for reading about my experience in this wonderful country, a true gem of Adriatic sea. 😍
⭐✨⭐✨⭐
My next blog posts are stories of my 4 weeks' of island hopping in the Philippines, that trip was unreal, so make sure you stay tuned!
My friends, I also want to thank you for sharing links to my blogs, you've done a great job! Already about 4500 readers here, each and every one of you matter, thank you!
Have a wonderful day everyone!
Remember, dreams can come true!
