Aleksander Hotel Budva

... in a different kind of place.<br><br>We had at least 6 hours to kill before our night train left for Belgrade so we decided to wander around. While we were walking to the downtown area, I kept thinking to myself, "How is this country a part of the EU?" It was really dirty, with litter everywhere. The shops and stores seemed kind of &#8220;ghetto.&#8221; We eventually found somewhere to eat (after what seemed like a really long ...

... off at Ulcinji bus station from where I had to wait 45 mins to get another bus to take me to Bar, where then I waited 20 mins to catch a bus to Budva my final stop. After leaving at around 9 from the backpackers I was finally there at around 5:30, it is a long time to go such a short distance. The journey along the Montengro coast was really beatiful and I am definatley going to go back that way tommorow to do some hiking and some swimming along the coast it is beatiful. I might ...

... for better understanding wherefore people behave as they do. Mladic first seated himself across from me, in a separate chair the right of Darko. The waitress returned asking Mladic what he preferred to drink; he ordered expensive wine saying jokingly it was "two hundred dollars a bottle," smiling. I was already drinking an alcoholic beverage of some sort I can't remember along with Bojana. Darko rarely drank and sipped on something non-alcoholic. Extolling me to Mladic, Darko ...

... a bit unfair to label Kotor smelly. I'm just sayin'. If you're headed to Budva: 1) Stay at Hippo Hostel! The owners were so friendly, and they have a great lounge with a huge DVD selection. (We watched Real Genius, and the owner said we were the first to watch it, aside from him - guess the youngsters aren't as interested in 80s movies.) 2) Go to Acapulco - a little restaurant/bar/swimming spot, a bit far from old town and the main drag ...

... we all held our breath until he had filled in the forms and given them back to us. He did have a good look out the window to see what we were driving, but must have been feeling generous.We got talking to the English guy and he was a little worried about travelling through Montenegro and Albania on his own, so we invited him to stay with us for a while. We headed to Kotor, a walled fortress town on ...

... at the beach. Followed the Lonely Planet Guide and got dinner at a local restaurant by the marina. Consisted of fried calamari, local mussels, mixed meat platter, and stuffed pork. Followed dinner with the digestive alcohol *grappa* brought to us by the waiter which tasted like rubbing alcohol and was highly flammable. Came to the decision to book a flight out of Tirana ...

... old fort at the top. The reward for the slog was stunning views of Kotor fjord, and the huge mountains looming over the fort. We spent some time here, gazing out over the incredible vista and simply laying in the sun. Kotor was to be our longest stopover on the trip, with three nights to be spent there, however we planned to do a little exploring the following day in the touristy city of Budva, which we passed on our journey from Bar, and to the ...

... deep turquoise further out to sea. Halfway through the journey sits Kotor, a small hamlet situated at the very head of Kotor fjord, the deepest in southern Europe. Its waters are translucent blue, and it is surrounded by a towering circle of cliffs of sheer verticality. The drive rivals any coastal foray we've ever made, and it certainly beats Highway One in California, hands down. Modern Budva splays out along a huge stretch of pebbly crescent beach, and, as it has expanded away ...

... not noteworthy, but because of that we treated ourselves to a second sweat of the day at a café in town - some hot chocolate and cake.] We will soon retire for the night, with a long drive ahead of us tomorrow to Zagreb (Ziggy). We'll backtrack on the scenic road through Split, from where we will be able to take the new superhighway of which the Croats are so proud. It will be a big day for Sparky, taking us from Dooby to Ziggy! We hope to have a bit more to say in a few days or ...

... you could easily imagine yourself in Romford, if you know what I'm saying. The old town is gorgeous. I had such a good time exploring little stone alleyways - sweet shops, pleasant cafes and a really interesting museum. In one cafe overlooking the sea, they serves frozen strawberry maragaritas. If you ask me, that's reason enough to let them into the EU. All that fuss over missing war criminals and relicencing of ...