2022 World Tour – Montenegro
Hello from Montenegro, my twentieth (Podgorica) and twenty-first (Budva) stop on the trip and my 55th country.
Below is the standard summary:
– Cool Ranch Doritos: No
– Thai ATM Card Works: Yes
– Thai Debit Card Works: Yes
– Thai Internet Purchase Works: Yes
– USA Credit Card Works: Didn’t try
– Worldwide Telephone/Data/SMS eSIM Works: Yes
– Spanish SIM Card Works: Didn’t try
– Magic Jack Works: Didn’t try
– VPN Works: Didn’t try
– COVID Compliance Chronicles: No Requirements
– Internet Works: Yes
– Drone Flights: Registration, Insurance, Prior flight plan approval, …
– Cost of Living: $$
– Currency: ⬠Euro = USD $1.01 (and falling)
– Language Issues: None
Your Short History Lesson:
As with the other countries along the way, Montenegro went from ancient times through the Romans, several Kingdoms and then the Ottoman Empire, while parts were under the control of Venice which was very powerful at the time. At the end of WWI it was incorporated into Yugoslavia and in 1941 the Kingdom of Macedonia was created via the influence of the Queen of Italy who was Montenegrin, but still run under fascist control. Tito declared it as one of the six republics of Yugoslavia in 1944. When Yugoslavia fell in 1992, Montenegro split off but remained under a Communist-style government and joined forces with Serbia to create the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). The FRY attacked Bosnian and Croatian towns during the 1991-1995 wars, leading to violations of human rights, torture and executions. Montenegro declared independence in 2006 and joined the UN and later the EU and NATO.
After the chaos of finding the bus routes and checking out a day early, I got a taxi around 4:30 pm to the bus station and got on, awaiting the adventure. We headed southwest and actually did cross into Albania as one of the bus ladies had said, with all of us on the bus doing the whole immigration thing. Then we went almost to the Adriatic Sea coast, then headed north. The bus stopped at a bend in the road in the middle of the night and I was directed to move to a small shuttle bus going northeast, and then we crossed the border into Montenegro. This is an insane route, compared to just going nearly west and across one border. I arrived in Podgorica about 7am, exhausted and pissed off at the inefficiency. I rolled my bag about a kilometer to the home of my host. They were expecting me and let me into the ground-level apartment where I laid down and slept for 6 hours. This is way, way too difficult for a bus from the capital of one country to the capital of the next country over.
After my nap and drop in blood pressure, I discovered that the Wifi was one of the fastest I’ve encountered so far. Wouldn’t have guessed that from the looks of the town. I paid my Bangkok-based American tax preparer and they e-filed my tax return. Paying US taxes while living overseas is bad enough, but dealing with the IRS when there’s an issue is worse. Far worse. Just don’t even ask.
I headed the few blocks into the Old Town of Podgorica, which turned out to be all residential and no bazaar. Heavy bombing during several wars have left little of any old charm that may have existed. There’s a clock tower and two impressive bridges across the wide river. A girl was at one end, taking a thousand selfies. I stopped at a farmer’s market and bought cherries and peaches, absolutely delicious. For dinner I went to the famous restaurant next to the clock tower called Pod Volat, chicken kebabs stuffed with ham and Trappist cheese, a local beer and baklava for dessert.
The next day I walked across the river and to a very imposing looking church. You might think from the photos that it’s very old but this is the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, built between 1993 and 2013! The style is a mixture of Romanesque, Italianate, and Byzantine, and the inside is even wilder, with part of one of the large frescos depicting Yugoslav communist leader Josip Broz Tito in the fires of hell with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Yikes! Check out the photos.
Podgorica is a small town for a capital city and while conveniently located for a stopover, there’s not much going for it for a special visit.
After this quick visit, in the morning I got an easy 1.5 hour bus to the Adriatic beach town of Budva. The apartment I booked is a short 4 blocks from the pretty (yes, pretty) bus station. Wow, this travel leg has been easy, I wonder what disaster awaits? I put on my bathers and walked down 10 minutes to the beach, along with thousands of other people. It’s peak holiday season on the Adriatic and this is what I have to look forward to for my next few stops along the way. The town beach is a very long curving arc with a small marina and fort/castle at the north end. The best sunbeds are â¬20 (!) for the day and directly opposite a thunka thunka music bar and I can’t handle that in my ear for hours, so I walked all the way down the boardwalk to the marina and back, found a quiet section of beach and had a Montenegro salad for early dinner – cucumber, tomatoes and very hard cheese plus bread with oil & vinegar and a large local beer for â¬6.50.
The next morning I woke to the news that the Supreme Court strikes down Roe v Wade. Motherfuckers. I went back down to the beach, only went thigh-deep in the water to cool off because the bottom is rocky and the water is *cold*. A rain shower swept through, causing about 90% of the people to run back to their hotels. Aah, peace & quiet! Dinner was chicken Caesar salad, a large local beer and baklava. Seeing a pattern?
Another beach day, another section of the beach with mid-priced lounge chairs and umbrellas. Early dinner of fried local cheese (a little too fried) and caprese salad, and a local bottled beer. Went back to the room and had a nap because I just can’t get enough naps after being out in the heat and sunshine! Walked the boardwalk after sunset amongst the throngs of tourists, through the narrow stone passageways of the old castle. Bought a Montenegro fridge magnet to add to my collection.
Budva is the classic throngs-of-family-summer-holiday towns and ya just gotta accept it and go with the flow. Eat, drink, lie in the sun and walk the old stone pathways at night.
Next Stop: Dubrovnik, Croatia. And, wow. Just wow.
