Balkan hospitality

I briefly mentioned the incredible Balkan hospitality in a past post. It was very striking: anywhere we checked in, we were asked to sit down and relax and enjoy some food and drink. The hosts then took the time to get to know us.

Another cultural surprise was the high-trust environment. At one place we stayed, we were asked to leave the money for 2 nights’ stay on the table as we left. Everywhere we went, there was a presumption that bills would be paid, things wouldn’t be stolen, and so on. At our beach house, the family had always left their snorkels and other swimming stuff outside at the ponta for years without trouble.

I was impressed both by the culture and the nature of Montenegro.

-Hendrik

Turkish Coffee

During our visit to Montenegro, we discovered Turkish coffee. It is the most popular coffee beverage there, a holdover from when they were part of the Ottoman Empire. (By the coast, they also had more espresso-based drinks, presumably from the Venetian/Italian influence.) 

Some of the apartments/Airbnbs we stayed at had kitchens equipped with Turkish coffee pots so we learned how to make it too!

We got a rotation going to satisfy our morning coffee needs.

The coffee grounds are added directly to boiling water. Foam forms at the top and is then removed. The coffee is brought to a boil again and then​ served, unfiltered. Then you must wait for the grounds to settle. You also have to remember to leave the last sip or you get a grainy surprise. Yum!

Lake Skadar

Our last stop in Montenegro was Lake Skadar, a giant lake on the border with Albania, which is now a national park. 

Hendrik and Nancy at Lake Skadar.

We stayed in a tiny village called Karuc at a small hotel run by a family who has lived there for 200 years. They welcomed us with pomegranate juice, rakia, kiwis, and dried figs, all homemade or homegrown. 

Hendrik and Amy, enjoying the boat tour.

Then they took us on a private boat tour of the lake, which has a unique geography, 50 types of fish and 280 species of birds. We enjoyed our evening with a giant meal of fish from the lake and their homemade wine followed by sitting by the lake watching the activity of the wildlife at sunset. There were some very excited frogs giving a concert! They also had an adorable puppy so Amy made friends again.

In the morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast by the lake and then made a quick visit the the nearby town of Rijeka, which was recommended by the guidebook but turned out to be nowhere as interesting or beautiful as where we stayed in Karuc. Then it was back to Podgorica for our flight back to the Netherlands.

And back home again

We arrived in Maastricht again around 8pm, and did the only sensible thing there is: went straight to our favorite Thai restaurant. During dinner, we had a friendly chat with the owner, who was badly hungover from his birthday the night before.

The trip to Montenegro was amazing, but it’s nice to be home again. A Croatian coworker told me that the extraordinary hospitality we experienced is typical Balkan.

More stories from our trip still to come!

-Hendrik

Three-in-one day tour

In order to spend more time relaxing at the beach house, we decided to combine all of our planned half-day trips into one long day. 

Kotor: We started with Fort Giovanni/Ivan/John (this region has both Slavic and Italian influences) on the hill above Kotor. Then we wandered the alleys of the Kotor Old Town, occasionally stopping for ice cream, lemonade, and espresso. The panoramic view from the fort was lovely and the Old Town was nice but a little too touristy for us. 

Hendrik with a view of Kotor and the Bay of Kotor on his way up to the Fort.

Lovcen: Next we went to Lovcen National Park, which involved a scenic and steep drive up the side of Lovcen Mountain. Lovcen Mountain is the Black Mountain that Crna Gora or Montenegro is named for! At the top we climbed to the top of the Mausoleum that is on the mountain peak for another panoramic view. 

Nancy at the top of Mount Lovcen with Cetinje in the distance.

Budva: Then we headed for the Old Town (Stari Grad) part of Budva for a nice seafood dinner. The cuisine did not disappoint but it was also the most expensive meal we had in Montenegro. Budva is a coastal resort town known for its nightlife. However, clubbing isn’t really our scene so we contented ourselves with wandering the streets for a while after dinner and watching everyone else get the party started before returning to our quiet seaside retreat.

Amy soaking up the evening ambience by the marina and Stari Grad in Budva.

Paradise on the Adriatic

Next stop: the Adriatic coast. We rented an Airbnb for the week on the Lustica peninsula between Kotor and Budva. It is right on the sea and we have our own private ponta, a rocky outcropping that is perfect for sitting and reading or swimming and sunning. The yard is full of olive trees and a hammock, which is where I am sitting writing this post after a visit to Zanjice beach (much harder to pronounce than you would think). The Adriatic Sea is warm and even bluer than the Tara River, although it has been a bit windy so the water is rougher than we would prefer. At Zanjice, we caught a small boat to the Blue Grotto, a sea cave that glows blue from the sunlight reflected though the water. It was pretty cool and we enjoyed swimming in the cove behind it.

Hendrik sitting and reading.

Nancy and Amy sunning and swimming.

The house here is the quintessential beach house, decorated with stones, driftwood, ropes, brightly painted doors and walls, and local kitsch. We’ve been enjoying coffee on the balcony and meals under the pergola in the yard. Amy made friends with the neighbor dog and the local one-eyed, kayaking pirate. We also discovered the orange-peel flavored liqueur, Amaro Montenegro, which is actually Italian not Montenegrin but is delicious nonetheless. Down the road, there is a campground and another beach so we can enjoy watching the Austrians, Germans, and Serbians come and go. If only we could stay for another week.

Rafting the Tara

Next we ventured North to the Bosnian border for a rating trip down the legendary Tara River. On the way, the climate changed from nearly Alpine to what felt like a temperate rain forest. The gorgeous blue Tara River runs through the second deepest canyon in the world and has some lovely white water rapids! It also forms the border with Bosnia. In fact, now I can say that I accidentally swam an international border. When we stopped for rock jumping on the Montenegrin side, I ended up climbing out on the other side of the river. The water was frigid but mercifully the rafting guide company provided warm wet-suits and splash jackets. Hendrik enjoyed his first rafting trip even if it was a little scary.

Photo-op at the Crazy Waterfall.

We also continued to enjoy Montenegrin food which seems to consist entirely of enormous plates of meat and salads full of tomatoes. That and a lot of sugar in everything except the completely unsweetened, fresh squeezed lemonade. Perfect meals for lots of outdoor activity!

N.b. We went with a package from the Waterfall Rafting Center. We would highly recommend them in case anyone else is planning a visit to Montenegro.

Podgorica

Day 1 of our vacation started in Podgorica, the capital city of Montenegro. At dinner, we discovered that it is far too easy to order mountains of food. When the three of us couldn’t finish dinner, the waiter laughed and said the portion was lunch for two Montenegrins. We still aren’t sure if it was a joke. 

That, ladies and gentlemen is a pile of 1500 grams of meat.

We did a quick waking tour to see the main sights including the Millennium Bridge, the Palace, and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ. By now I’m more or less jaded by cathedrals in Europe so we almost skipped it, but it is actually quite spectacular. It is the first Orthodox cathedral I have seen and it was gorgeous inside and out.

Super-cool cathedral!

Durmitor National Park

After checking out Podgorica, we headed up to Durmitor National Park for some outdoorsy fun. We stayed in the village of Zabljak (easier to pronounce that you think) and commenced the hiking. We were originally planning to hike the highest peak in the park, Bobotov Kuk, but it was closed due to snow so we hiked to Crvena Greda instead. It was a beautiful hike with fantastic panoramic views from the viewpoints on the mountain massif. It was also delightfully isolated; we only saw 8 other hikers for the whole 11 miles.

Nancy and Hendrik chilling on the Crvena Greda viewpoint.

The next day we hiked around Crno Jezero (the Black Lake) and then summited Prutas (2393 m), the peak with the best view of Bobotov Kuk. Durmitor is a gorgeous park but also terrifying because the two way mountain road is only one lane wide. Then again that seems to be true of most of the roads in Montenegro.

Amy crushing Prutas (Bobotov Kuk in the background).

Amy in Amsterdam

I met up with Amy in Amsterdam on Wednesday and played tour guide to my jet-lagged little sister. 

Matching sunglasses!

We saw the Van Gogh Museum and then to wake her up, I took her peddle-boating through the canals. We learned the hard way about one-way canals and had to take an extra long route through the Keizergracht and Prinsengracht. 

Amy demonstrating her dominance over the peddle-boat after she conquered the canals of Amsterdam.

Hendrik met up with us in the afternoon and took over tour-guiding for the walking tour of the old city and red light district. We ended the evening with a beer tasting flight at Gollem, a Belgian beer bar. Then it was a train back to Maastricht before the real adventure!