Month: March 2024 (Page 1 of 3)

Yup, pretty sure we are the smallest boat in this marina…

It was Sunday, so stores were closed and we couldn’t run errands even though we still had the car. We were tired from the weeks excursions, but still wanted to explore a bit locally, so we drove out past the airport to the church of St Michael the Archangel.

The church was built in the 12th century, though Orthodox Serbian monks were believed to have lived here since the 6th century. The Venetians came to rule in the 15th century, and it was believed that local politicians poisoned the food here, killing all 70 monks that lived in the monastery at the time. The building was abandoned, and it wasn’t until the mid 1800’s that the new church was built. The current church is modest in size, but beautifully decorated and even contains the relics of the the martyred poisoned monks.

The belfry (now I know where the bells are tolling from that we hear in the marina) is huge, given the size of the church.

The graves are particularly interesting. Land here is all rock, so people really couldn’t be buried in the ground. Crypts were built (in this case they did dig through rock, but most are above ground). The irony rings and tabs with holes are used to lift the top off for a new body to be added to the tomb.

From there we headed up into the hills to visit a restaurant recommended by fellow cruisers – Pečenjara Gostiona Nadoveza. It was completely packed with locals and we luckily scored one of the last remaining tables. Over beers and the typical Montenegrin ‘meat fest’ (delicious!), we watched more and more cars arrive and park with no thought to how others would come in and get out. Crazy as it was, there was no honking, no yelling, and everyone figured things out. A lovely end to a long week touring Montenegro!

Driving home from Nikšić, we realized we would be passing through Kotor at night, and with no wind, so flat water in the bay. This is the making of a great photo that we had seen others capture. The lights of the fortress above the city reflect on the water, forming a sideways heart…..

We have no idea why they had fireworks, other than it was Saturday night!

We had spent the morning in Nikšić with Peja, Milanka, and their younger son Nikola. We were then met by their older son Vojo. Now it was time for all of us to make our way to the Ostrag Monastery. Founded by Bishop Vasilije, the monastery was originally three caves in the side of the mountain, serving as a church, sleeping quarters, and finally a chapel to hold religious artifacts. The story has it that seven years after he died and was buried, a local Abbott opened up the gravesite (after seeing this in dreams) and found the body completely intact and smelling like basil. He was anointed St Basil and his body remains at the monastery today.

The drive up is a series of switchbacks not for the faint of heart (like all the roads seem to be in Montenegro). I was grateful that Peja’s son Vojo was willing to drive, and Vojo was thrilled with our car (a new Skoda sedan).

The upper monastery was rebuilt 1923-26 after a major fire, but two of the caves were spared. Though you are not allowed to take pictures inside the chapel, the painted walls of the caves are still in amazing condition. Absolutely remarkable is the grape vine growing directly from the rock (no other substrate whatsoever) that continues to produce grapes annually.

Ostrag has truly been one of the highlights of our journey in Montenegro, made all the more special by new friends showing us their homeland.

Back in November, we began daily chats with Peja, one of the guards at the marina. I had expressed interest in visiting Ostrag Monastary, ranked third in the world in terms of religious pilgrimages. Peja was proud to tell us that the monastery was close to his hometown of Nikšić, and that you didn’t have to be religious to feel the spirituality of the monastery. When we came back last month, he immediately made plans for us to visit with his family.

Early Saturday morning we met Peja at the gate and headed off into the mountains toward Nikšić. Our first stop was Lake Krupac. At 600 meters above sea level, surrounded by mountains, the lake is popular with both locals and tourists. We strolled the causeway and Peja told us of all the memories he had visiting the lake over many decades. As we were walking back, Peja’s wife Milanka and son Nikola joined us. They generously greeted us with flowers and gifts (earrings, home made sausage and raki (apple and quince brandies)!

We headed off to their favorite restaurant for a breakfast of fresh local raspberry juice, fritters with butter and cheese, and a full Montenegrin grilled breakfast of eggs and meat. What was amazing, though, was everyone that came up to greet Peja and Milanka. Having lived in Nikšić their whole lives, they had connections everywhere and were like rockstars.

After breakfast it was a quick stop by Milanka’a shop to see where she and her colleagues cook takeaway seven days a week. If I only had more time I’d be back for lessons in burek (rolled philo pie) and kacamak (potatoes)!

From Lake Krupac we drove up to the Trebjesa Forest Park. High on a hill, we had views of the entire city, the lake, and the mountain ranges. We sat for a coffee and visited with yet more of Peja and Milanka’s friends passing by. Then it was down to visit a local church, and Saturday being Saturday, it was wedding day!

We had such a good time at Radovan’s konoba the day before (and I was getting the hang of driving Montenegro’s crazy windy roads), so we decided to drive down the Morača canyon road again and stop for breakfast. Local nana (mint) tea, nuts, dried fruit, and Google Translate allowed us to pass an hour with our new friend. He invited us back to fish with him next time, and I told him I fly fish. He raced to his backpack and proudly pulled out flies that he had tied himself!

Bellies and hearts full, we wound our way down the canyon road through Podgorica and then to Cetinje, the former royal capital of the country. The town has several museums, but one in particular has the best display of Montenegrin historical artifacts. And unfortunately we arrived only to find out that it was closed for renovations.

Compared to the glitziness of Tivat and the touristiness of Kotor, Cetinje is absolutely charming, and it’s designed for walking. One end of town features the Monastary of Crnojević, built in 1484 and named for a royal who had returned after having been exiled in Italy.

We wandered around town a bit more, grabbed a quick lunch of Caesar salad and grilled sausage with chips, then it was time to head back to Tivat, as we had errands yet to run that day. Of course, this meant the drive down the mountains to Budva, another one of those drives which require two hands on the wheel and eyes straight ahead so as not to look at the edge of the cliff you’re next to!

Aside from seeing the mountains up close rather than from sea level, the food has been one of the highlights of our visit to Kolašin. This part of Montenegro was Turkish for centuries, and farming was one of the main livelihoods. The food, even today, reflects that influence.

I mentioned the trout and the kajmak in an earlier post, as well as the Kolašinski Lisnati Sir (leafy cheese). But we absolutely fell in love with the kačamak – like polenta meets potatoes meets a lot of cheese. Hearty food was needed to sustain work in the fields back then, (and long hikes today). We’re appreciative of the chance to try it all.

Some of our best excursions are unplanned, just like yesterday. We thought we were going for a hike in the mountains near Kolasin. However, we came to a tunnel that was blocked and under construction, with no other easy route to the trailhead. We wound our way up the mountains past the closed ski resort (not enough snow 😢), only to get stuck in crunch, icy, unforgiving snow. (We do have chains for the car tires, but wasn’t sure the walk was worth the effort.)

So we decided to head down to the Morača Monastary. The drive winds itself down the mountains into the canyon overlooking the Morača River and is absolutely breathtaking – one of those drives that requires two hands on the wheel at all times!

Believe in reincarnation? Check out the photo above (13th century orthodox monk) and below (Nick Offerman, actor).

The Serbian orthodox monastary was built in 1252, and is still today considered one of the best medieval monuments in Montenegro. Burned by the Ottomans in 1505, it was restored later in the century thanks to a mild political climate. Unfortunately photos are not allowed inside the building, so we had to stash our phones while walking through the ornate chapel.

We continued down the road and stopped at the Konoba Meduriječje for lunch. Radovan Šćepanović-Rambo, the owner, came out to meet us and welcome us to his restaurant. As Rambo speaks no English, and we only knew a few words of Montenegrin, thanks to Google Translate and pantomime we spent the most delightful afternoon here. But first we played with the dogs!

Then we sat for a lunch of fresh farmer’s cheese, dates, walnuts, bread, and kajmak (a local tangy cream cheese). Then Radovan presented us with trout that he catches himself in the river every day. We finished lunch with a local chiffon type cake and Turkish coffee, only to be presented with a bottle of his homemade raki to take with us. His friend Milo and I are now Facebook buddies.

Montenegro is home to the largest temperate rainforest in Europe. King Nikola Petrovic first put it under protection, and it was formally declared a national park in 1952.

We decided to hike up to and around Lake Biograd, situated in the middle of multiple mountain peaks. The drive from Kolašin followed the famous Tara River. Crossing over a small bridge, we left the car near the gate (closed since out of season) and began the walk up.

Other than two caretakers, we were lucky enough to have the entire park to ourselves.

The vibrant green of the moss was everywhere, and we started catching site of spring flowers in bloom too.

The park is home to some twenty-six habitats for: 220 plant species, 150 bird species, 350 different types of insects, and, of course, bear, wolves, rabbits, etc. Many of the trees we saw were well over 300 years old.

I can only imagine how busy this park is come summer. We felt lucky to be the only ones visiting this day.