After a very hot night in Kolasin, Montenegro we woke up to a cool, rainy morning. Why was the night hot? Once the temperature is cool for about a week, hotels in the area shut off the AC and only heat is available.
We slept with the windows open even though it was in the 40’s overnight. Aside from the temperature issue, the hotel was nice and relaxing and the cool mountain air was quite refreshing.
From Kolasin we started the journey toward Croatia, driving through the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica and then with a stop in the ‘royal capital’ of Cetinje.
Centinje was THE capital until 1946 but due to the rich history in royalty it remains the royal capital. We saw only a small bit of the town on our way to King Nikolai ‘s Museum, but what a neat little town with lots of buildings made of stone.
Here are some pictures from Centinje:
Leaving Cetinje and nearing the town of Budva, we arrived at the Adriatic Sea. We were still in the mountains mind you, as the mountains appear to come straight up from the Sea.
The coast lines are beautiful and it is surprising how many buildings can be squeezed between the mountains and the coasts. We had so many amazing views from the bus as we drove down the switch-backs to get down to the sea!
Here is a picture looking down at Budva from the bus / switch-backs:
Here is another view of civilization, nestled in-between the sea and the mountains:
Our final official stop was in Kotor, which is an old town with an impressive city wall that’s built up into the mountains purely for defense. Over the span of several centuries the town was attacked by many groups, though chiefly the Ottomans.
The old Mediterranean port of Kotor (the old town) is an entirely walled City (reminiscent of Dubrovnik) that is generally a pedestrian area and is somewhat reminiscent of Venice; not because of canals as there are none, but due to the architecture and the set up of alleys, piazzas, and such.
There truly is a Venetian influence to the architecture, as the Venetian Republic ruled Kotor for four centuries, ending in 1797.
Here are pictures of the beautiful walled City of Kotor:
Leaving from Kotor we headed to the border crossing. Leaving Montenegro was easy – perhaps our bus driver has quite a bit of charm as the police didn’t even look at our passports.
Heading into Croatia was nearly just as easy, but we did have to give up our passports for inspection by the police. It took maybe 15 minutes for both border crossings with about another hours drive to arrive in Dubrovnik.
Driving down the coast to Dubrovnik, the sun set, and night fell on us… here are some parting shots for the day by the sea, the mountains, and the beautiful sunset… oh, and some mussel traps…
