places to see in Montenegro

Except for the mountains, the resorts are also attraction. Really famous is Budva resort. Even Madonna comes here. The hotels there are quite expensive.

Montenegro sea resort

There is an old fortress leading to the beach and elegant restaurants from the other side. You could be offered sea food in any resort. In case you love see food, take the offer. It is delicious. Other famous resorts are Kotor with its medieval appearance, Herceg Novi, Perast with its baroque architecture and Sveti Stefan.

Cetinje is considered the historical capital of Montenegro. It is located at only 35 km from Podgorica and at 1 hour drive from Budva. There you can see the Monastery of Cetinje dating from the 12^th century, the Palace of King Nikola I Petrovic, Cetinje Art Museum. Some of the hotels here, unlike the resort, are part of the previous regime which is easily recognizable looking by their falling paint and facades.

If you decide to go to Kotor, you will see something very interesting – an artificial island made of men. It is called “Our Lady of the Rocks”. According to the legend, the island was built by the local fisherman who used to come and lay a rock in the water upon their arrival from a sea voyage.

The church in the island was built in 1632. One of the walls inside it is covered with silver plates offered by the sailors to the virgin. There are also magnificent paintings from a local baroque artist – Tripo Kokolja.

It is a unique experience. I wonder what a faith one must have in order to build an island in the water out of nothing.

Nis Fortress

Just across the river of the centre of town, there is a stone gate part of the medieval Nis fortress originating from the 18th century, a major tourist attraction. There is a park hidden inside the fortress.

Nis Fortress - Serbia

It reminded me of a performance I saw at Mezzo channel once. It was a young lady playing Mozart’s Fantasy. The white grand piano was in the middle of a centuries-old sequoia forest. The music was floating in the air bringing peace and harmony. That’s how it feels like in this park.

Serbians are emotional people, very patriotic, almost chauvinists. They went through a lot during the war in the 90ties. If you go to Beograd, you will still see buildings hit by the bombs during the war. I think they are kept that way so people remember what happened and what a dirty thing the war is.

When it comes to the language, Serbians have one of their own, which I would characterize as Balkan language. Practically, if Bulgarians, Serbians, Slovenians, Macedonians and people from Montenegro talk, every person in his own language, they will manage to lead a conversation and understand each other. Here is to mention that Serbia is maybe the only country which transformed its language from Cyrillic to Latin alphabet. Today inscriptions on both alphabets are still seen throughout the country.

Cuisine in Serbia, as in most Balkan countries, is very tasty and rich in meat dishes. If you go to Serbia don’t forget to order “pleskavitsa”. Pleskavitsa is easy to be described – it is just as if a very big meat ball was smashed by an elephant. It’s very delicious and could be found even as fast food. The atmosphere in restaurants however is another thing. In two word – Balkan atmosphere.

a break to Montenegro

Montenegro is a very small country, part of ex-Yugoslavia, located in Southeastern Europe. It has borders with Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania.

The name “Montenegro” literary means “Black mountain”. And if you travel inside the country, you will have the chance to see its mountains and understand why.

The country has a small airport at Podgorica, its capital and major centre. Montenegro’s population accounts for little more than 600 000 citizens.

The valley of Montenegro

The country might be small but its people are proud of its history. Nowadays all ex-Yugoslavian countries are going different ways with their cultural diversities and in fact their culture, traditions and history are so different that one wonders how they could have been united in a single country. But that is another story.

There are several things worth seeing in Montenegro. To start with its “black mountains” – the mountains in Montenegro are rugged and hard of access.

They are on the average above 2,000 meters and the highest peak is 2,522 m (Bobotov Kuk). There are roads trough the mountain area which are difficult as they zigzag up the mountain, challenge for any driver.

People usually chose them because of the panorama view of the resorts they offer. The mountains in Montenegro are really “black” meaning parts of them are life empty. The higher you go, the blacker they are. All you see here is rocks. Luckily high in the mountain there are places to stop and refresh for the way could make you dizzy.

a break to the fabulous city of Nis in Serbia

Nis is one of the biggest cities in Serbia. It is located in the Valley of Nishava River not far from the Bulgarian border. Nis is often referred as the bridge between East and West because of its strategic location.

Nis city

It takes an hour an a half from the Bulgarian border to the town by car. The travel is comfortable and fast. The road goes mainly through cultivated green areas.

I had to stay at hotel Ambassador in the centre of town. I expected something corresponding to the name. In reality the hotel appeared to be a remain from the communist epoch. Like many others, after the democracy, this hotel once symbol of town, was left to its own destiny. Nowadays it’s shabby and uncomfortable. By contrast with the hotel, people I met everywhere were most friendly and smiling.

In front of the hotel there is a statue of national hero which marks the very centre of town. It is close to the river Nishava where a bridge separates the central part from an open-air market where the bus station is. The market is of the kind that you could buy anything – new and used, including food, clothes and flowers. It is a little oriental with all colours and smells.