Hotel Dvori Balsica Ulcinj

... and wool blankets. So we all got to sleep during the ride. (Well, Andre and the two guys got to sleep.) The train was really loud for some reason (between the tunnels we went through and the loud rail itself) so I didn’t get to much sleep. Also, we got woken up by police once at the Montenegro border for customs and then twice more at the Serbian border for passport checks and visa stamps and customs. It was a long night.

Ulcinj is a very odd city. In the medieval years it was a haven for pirates who would capture passing ships in the Adriatic. They would steal the ships and cargo and ransom off the captives and all those that wouldn't pay up, they would sell into slavery. There still remain the prisoners cells within the fortress and the slave market in the center of town. <br><br>With today's tourisms seeking new ways to distinguish ...

17/8-18/8 Montenegro is a lovely little country and is now separated from Serbia. They are also in Euros which surprised us a little, and really it feels and looks like it is part of the EU, I would not be surprised if joins very soon. We have settled ourselves down for the last two days in Ulcinj, camping in a nice little camp site right near a ...

... the biggest in Montenegro), the price jacked up to triple what it would be normally. Greediness must have set in as the taxi driver ruminated how to rip off an obvious tourist during the 40 minute drive. I negotiated and for double the price, I went 2 more kilometers. I didn't take this cab across the border. Yaya and Homer were there at Milena Canal waiting, uncharacteristically quiet due to the heavy vodka drinking the night before when they arrived. Milena Canal was nice with ...

... Novi was an absolute zoo. There were people everywhere and the only real road in town was the two lane highway that was practically pedestrianized. Cars were all backed up but we eventually got through. My next segment was to Bar. My nerve pain had finally started to subside so I was able to finish The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Matt made the recommendation and it was a terrific book! I don't know how ...

... I only saw four women. They were Roma and were getting short shrift from passers by as they begged in a park. Every table in the many street cafes was full of men chatting away happily and enjoying the national "Full Albanian" breakfast. This appears to consist of 2 very strong espressos and 14 cigarettes... As a non smoker I opted only for a half Albanian start to the day! The route back out of Albania to the Montenegran seaside resort of Ulcinj was ...

... and it was evidently the old town that got hit the hardest. Oddly enough, they still haven't finished repairing the place. While mildly interesting, the area seems completely forgotten and large piles of rocks and rubble line a number of streets. I didn't see a single other tourist while walking around it, although the beach across the way was packed to the gills with people. It looks like the residents are just waiting on a Renaissance, probably ...

We arrived in Kotor, Montenegro by minibus (similar to the Samonsky Wag-o-van) sitting behind a rowdy 60-year-old drunk Brit (no kidding, every 15 minutes the guy took sips of beer from a bottle with a twist-off cap hidden in his backpack, yelling "Montenegro! Doesn't that mean 'Black Mountain'? Why are the bloody mountains all GREEN?"). Kotor, Montenegro is another stunning walled sitting on a bay (or "Fjord" as they call it ...

What a mission! Covering Sofia to the Montenegrin coast via Belgrade in Serbia was always going to be a challenge and it didn't disappoint - turning into a long and (in oh so many ways) precipitous 24 hour odyssey. The first leg was a 10 hour train ride from Sofia to Belgrade, including a midnight border crossing with some gruff, bull-necked ...

Ah the beauty of this historic site. A natural harbor at the south end of 1200 islands along the Dalmation coast. Calm, sunny weather in the 70's. The whole area is open for tourists May-August. And clean, immaculate! Our guide told us the story of the many tragedies which have befallen the small ancient city. Earthquakes and wars always occurred on Sundays or holidays. If you go, the ...