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Montenegro (Part 2)

Never in my life did I imagine going to such an exotic country- Montenegro.

My Russian colleague says it literally translates to "black mountain". I certainly didn't see it that way.. and I am not sure if there are black mountains there. My only impression of this country is from what I remember in James Bond's Quantum of Solace movie, where it was filmed in then Serbia & Montenegro (they split up again 3 years ago, so now it's just Montenegro. See, told you history is still evolving here.). Thus I have always thought of it as very "James Bond-sy", if there is such a description. Or maybe espionage is a more suitable word. Not a very favourable picture I'm painting here I think, but definitely exciting to me!

M recommended doing a day trip out and so we did. 3 places we went to- Perest, Kotor and Budva. We did feel that it is a poorer country than Croatia, and they use Euros even though they are not part of the EU. It is a beautiful country though, with fjords and amazing mountains and clear blue waters. All of us had to bring our passports and just 20min pass the border, we were in another country.. wheee!

A common sight in Perest: women selling their handmade lace tablecloth in all shapes & sizes

Peaceful and clear waters

The man-made island

Waiting for our tour in the cathedral

We went to Perest for this man-made island where this cathedral Our Lady of the Rock was built many years ago.

Presents from brides who got married here


The second place which I really like was Kotor. It's like this fortified city. Once you step in thru the thick walls, past the gate and you are brought into this maze of cobbled streets lined with cafes, restaurants, cathedrals, shops, everything. People sipping coffee at midday, chatting... really nice ambience here.


The fortified wall

Typical outdoor cafe


Lastly we went to Budva, which is a pretty town by the water. It's a quiet town, not as bustling as Kotor. We took a short walk by the beach, and then towards the old town where again, another maze of cobbled streets. Interestingly, it was here in this ulu place that Jos got her sunglasses repaired because one of the tiny screws dropped off. haha I bet she will remember Budva fondly in years to come.


Something funny worth mentioning... we were at this gas station with a small supermarket for one of our toilet stops just across the border, and I thought I'd get something for my colleagues. Something local from Montenegro. So I picked a small box of biscuit rolls that caught my eye.. something similar to our Julie's brand we have back home except that they have more flavours such as hazelnut, which was what I got. It was so cheap, and I wondered if it would be good.
Back in the office, my whole team and I loved it so much and even Clara who usually doesn't snack, took a spoon and scooped up all the crumbs because it was too yummy. I told them it's from Montenegro and then I examined the box closely. Actually it wasn't from Montenegro but it's from Serbia. And everyone agreed they are pretty sure this would be the one and only time they taste this because no one they know, well except me, would go to such places hahaha... and yes they did try to tempt me to go Serbia just for these biscuits! Being curious, I tried to google for it online. Surprisingly, it is actually available from this particular online supermarket. Based in Macedonia, that is. And also if you can read their language coz I needed the google translator for it. Aiya if I knew it was this yummy, I'd have definitely bought more boxes back!

Although a short day trip, Montenegro is another beautiful country to go to. Not too touristy as you can definitely imagine, and you can consider this exotic country to see fjords if you don't want to spend too much by going Norway. Or if you want to explore even more exotic Serbia, or maybe go for the biscuit rolls hahaha, you can actually do a day trip too from Croatia. But that would be from the other side of Croatia. At the end of our trip, my initial impression of Montenegro was overwritten with the beautiful sights we saw. James Bond? Espoinage? Nah.

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