Montenegro 2026, Part Two (Part One was in June)

I drove to Kolasin and spent a couple of nights, but in an apartment so not nearly as fancy. But the sweet lady taking me to my room brought me cake and coffee as a welcome (and spoke no English). The monastery on the way is truly so peaceful and beautiful. If you end up eating in town, Restoran VODENICA is a really cute place.

Hopefully i end up eating fish.

3 Sept Thursday. Departure and Podgorica

Taxi arrived 5 min early. Yes, I whimped out and took a taxi. From my front door by the Opera to the Departures Hall, after security, was about 50 minutes. But I didn't have to check a bag.

Ate a late breakfast / early lunch while I waited for a gate number. Finally got tired of waiting so I went through passport control. No one in line in front of me, took 45 seconds. The tourist lines were about 30 people long and moving briskly. A few agents working the floor helping people.

Okay, if one wants to do something to help humanity, for goodness sake
get organized before you get in the security line. Everything you
cant have on your person should be in a bag before you get out of the
taxi! Even a paper lunch bag, doesn't matter. There are hundreds
behind you.

1:15 to flight time. Hope i am near the right gate.

1:00 till filgt time, I guessed well. But i've done this a few times.

The Wizzair Flight left on time anf arrived on time. My guide for the day, a history professor, was waiting and we were off to check out Podgorica. The largest orthodox cathedral in the Balkans, the 1000 year old (in part) of St George church, the Millennium Bridge a bar in the forest and another with craft beer in a nice new residential area.

Then it was time for the Winery Visit. A husband and wife owned and operated winery. He spoke serb, she translated.

The group was 5 English youth whose behavior and manners exceeded their age by at least 15 years and myself.

A tour of the fermentation room the a tasting. Excellent wine mostly from uniquely Balkan grapes. Incrediable local cured meats, chresr, olives fruit and an atmosphere thst can't be replicated by a larger winery. [Remember the family theme.] I bought 3 bottles of wine to give to my upcoming evening host as is proper for a guest to do.

Next stop was Balabani Local Stay where my host [a previous aquaintance from prior trips], her sister-in-law and niece had prepared dinner. The guide I had all afternoon turned out to be the brother-in-law; he joined as well as the hosts brother and her young son ..... and me. We ate, drank very special wine from the heart and talked until 10pm. Wonderful cooks and everything grown or raised on their farm.

The rooms are perfect.

Tomorrow to the high country for a little fishing with a guide i have used a couple of times, and enjoy very much.

4 Sept Friday. The high country and fishing

A home cooked breakfast and Turkish Coffee and then the driver arrives and we head north to the high country.

One stop at a 13th century monastery. https://youtube.com/shorts/RbxtN5UqYAA?si=5A7EK570RCYYxgcX. Very beautiful. Lunch in the cute town square in Kolacin then check into the hotel. Surprise upgrade to a suite ... not too shabby: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1EpqfHXsus/

Then off fishing with Boris. This is my 3rd time to hire Boris to guide fly fishing in the region. Unfortunately like the rest of Europe there hasn't been rain in months and rivers are way down. . But we gave it a brave attempt and I did get some strikes.

The incrediable dinner buffet is part of the room cost so dinner was with the others in the hotel and every over 50 local woman or couple in northern Montenegro.

I havent seen a native English speaker all day. Love it.

A side note.

The first night i asked the host where her mother was and she pulled out her phone, did a litte googling and showed me a tiny fishing village composed of ancient stone buildings. She said, not many left in the village so they rent the old stone houses to Montenegrin and Serbian tourists. Some have been coming for multiple generations. No website, you have to know someone. I have my first stay for my spring trip now.

But this screams at those who's plans are 3 nights in Split then the bus and 3 nights in Dubrovnik, then the bus and 3 nights in Kotor. The heart and soul is inbetween those stops and most fly past them.

Slow down, get local help and find the back doors to the back doors.

5 Sept. Saturday fishing day. No one wants to hear about it.

Tgen the evening walking the square and sudestreets downtown.

In tge afternoon 2 bus loads of Brits showed up at my hotel. I dont want them here. I complained to the maids. They promised to short sheet the beds. The Brits are "of a certain age" and most have walking sticks. No idea what they are doing here.

Good news, tomorrow I am on the morning train for the coast. I get picked up in Bar, then down the coast to Ulcinj . A night in Ulcinj ... wish it were two :( then we go to Albania for 2 nights. Excellent holiday.

6 Sept, Sunday. Train to the coast

Okay see this: https://img.lonelyplanet.fr/s3fs-public/styles/wysiwyg_800px_/public/import/sites/lonelyplanet/files/media/wysiwyg/belgrade_3_0.jpg.webp?itok=DwzKkL8- the graffiti covered train carriage from 1970-something.

Now see this: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/%C5%BDCG_461_039_with_IC_Beograd_-_Bar_at_Lutovo.jpg?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=index&utm_content=original.

There are similar experiences in Europe, maybe better but this ride from the high country of Montenegro took 3 hours, was wonderfully scenic for more than half the duration and cost less than 7€. And the train wasnt packed full og tourists. Mostly commuters.

On the coast, in Bar, my guide picked me up and we went for lunch at a restaurant on a lake you will never find if you didn't know about it.

We sat at a table, the waiter came over and I said WTF but in full ... he was wearing a maroon Aggie logo polo. Turns out he worked in my home town in Texas last year and had good taste in Universities. I loved it. The guide got a quick lesson in University cults. Food was perfect too.

Next stop was the old hilltop fortified city of Ulcinj. I picked the hotel because i've walked past it a few times on other trips and wondered how it would be. But my travel agent negotiated the price and made the booking. I wish i could find a photo of the view from the private patio down on the bay and ocean and city. Spectacular. I have a video i made. I'll post it. Some of you know where to look.

Here is what makes it remarkable; its all anything but Western European, so facinating and new to most Americans. No I'm tired of church syndrome on this trip. And my 8 days here with 3 nights in top end 4 star hotels and 4 nights in the most memorable local hotels imaginable plus all the transfers costs about the same as 8 nights in a 4 star hotel in Vienna with no entrance fees or transportation.

The Maghrib call for prayer has begun ... which for me means dinner time. Then enjoy the lights of the bay from my patio. Tomorrow we go to Albania.

I may quit reading when you get to Albania, since I am itching to get back - and it’s going to be a while.

TTM, I got to Albania, sorry. This time .... well, in order ...

7 September, Monday - Welcome to Albania

The driver/guide arrived about 9:30 and after a golf cart ride down from the Ulcinj old town to the nearest road we boarded her shiny blue MB and we were off. My guide the same as yesterday is the type that will do her job quietly and professionally or tell you every secret of the Balkans if you prompt her. I prompted a lot and what I learned could fill a book. This is exactly what I enjoy, and she was excellent.

We reached the border in 30 minutes, then 30 minutes more to cross it. An EU agency was checking car papers but neither the Montenegro nor Albanian border guards looked twice at passports. Another 30 minutes and we were sitting in an outdoor Cafe along the banks of the Albanian end of Shkodra Lake. Look on a map to realize the size of this thing. And its beautiful. 1 espresso and 1 local beer <3€

After an hour of chatting we headed into the center of the city of Shkodêr to drop my bags at the hotel and find lunch.

My agent had made a reservation at maybe the most popular traditional restaurants in town. Well worth it and the prices continued. Way too much food for two, in a bit of a tourism restaurant 22€ including beer and Coke.

Then we walked the pedestrian areas in the center near the massive mosque. This is a Muslim majority country, this city I think is half catholic. But there is little if any extremism from Christians or Muslim.

Mother Teresa is a big deal here. She was Albanian and apparently spent time in this city.

Basically a wonderful day walking streets and looking in churches turned mosque, turned church, turned basketball court, turned church again.

Kind, beautiful people as is the norm along the southern Balkan coast.

My day isn't finished. More to come.

Read about the hotel in the first post. It lived up to expectations.

Well, I'm enjoying this. Albania is in the back of my mind, and I'm thinking I need to push it forward a bit. That sounds like a great itinerary and I'm sure you're having a wonderful time. Thanks for the report!

I did a more proper Albania tour a few years ago. This is just a quick duck across the border to see something i missed. Your buddy TTM is the do it yourself Albania pro. I think they are putting up a statue of her at the Tirana bus station.

8 September. Tuesday

New day, new guide. This gentleman was previously the curator of a local history museum so he knew his stuff.

• Private boat ride across the lake to the Montenegro border.
• Morning coffee on the lake front.
• Tour of the oldest Mosque.
• Tour of the Iryllian / Albanian / Venetian / Ottoman fortress over the city.
• Exhibition of the works of an Albanian photographer that emigrated to the US in the 1920's. In no time he was the go to for many famous Americans. Great stuff.
  
• Amazing lunch. Maybe the best risotto i have ever had. Do to locadtion and military occupation at times of war, Albania does Italian very well.
  
• A visit to an ancient ottoman bridge.
  

Excellent day wuth a lot of discussion of history, current affairs and language, followed by dinner at the reportedly finest restaurant in town which was indeed excellent.

LANGUAGE

Most of the forum knows that Hungarian isn't related to any other European language except very distantly to Finish and little or nothing remains in common with Finnish.

From a conversation with the guide:

Albanian is the surviving branch of the Indo European line of languages that shares nothing with any other European language. It's the modern survival of what the ancient Iryllian people spoke before the Roman invasion and occupation.

And its a monosyllabic language where the fundamental building blocks of meaning (morphemes) predominantly consist of a single syllable. Thunder is boom boom - something.

ALBANIAN SERVICE

Noticeably more attentive than the European average. Certainly more polite and abut more old style professional. That's held true from ticket takers to waitstaff. (Among each other maybe not so much).

MONEY

Cash has helped. Probably less than 25€ in 2.5 days and mostly for tips and small charges and roadside vendors.

Take the Albanian lek and move the decimal two places to the left and you are very close to euro. So that 300 lek beer is about 3€ (more exact is 3.25€). All I had was euro and it wasnt a problem.

Tipping happens.

One of the least expensive places I have ever been.

9 September. Wednesday

New MB taxi came for me at 9:30 for the ride to Montenegro. Something less than 1:30 to my accommodation near Podgorica.

Passport control 10 minutes. No EU vehicle owner inspection. I guess stolen cars dont head north.

Delivered to accommodations on time. Cleaned up a bit then headed off to a tour some caves. Really enjoyed it.

Then up the side of a mountain to an outdoor restaurant with one of the most spectacular views in the Balkans. Range after range of mountains beyond and a river valley far, far below. A repeat for me, but i asked. I love it that much. A beer, a snack and time to return to the accommodation.

Now homemade wine and conversation with an Italian doctor/sommelier and his Irish wife and the proprietor of the Inn, followed by s walking tour of the farm while dinner was being prepared. Lamb soup, and lamb cooked in an ancient massive clay pot under a layer of goat cheese which disolves in the cooking process into a sort of cream sauce. Served outside at a large family style table. Unbelievable and a Balkan classic. Then more homemade wine.

10 September. Thursday

Return to Budapest. I moght write something if something unusual happens.

I dont think the average tourist using Google or AI could put this sort of trip together as well as a local in the business can. The cost to do it, I think is worth every cent. And I get an in-country representative i can call for problems. Last year when I was in the mountains and the rain hit, that was a life saver.

The Italian/Irish couple just needed a reliable rental car and a plan. So that's what they paid for. I went further because I dont want to drive and got transfers. Its so affordable here, just makes sense for me.