Montenegro, my new favourite place

If you haven't already, please read my brother's excellent recounting of our night train from Budapest to Belgrade. As he mentions, we did not stay in the Serbian capital for long as we were only there to catch a connecting train down to Podgorica, in Montenegro.

Leaving Belgrade

This was the part of our trip we were least informed about. I knew I wanted to get to Montenegro - my favourite restaurant in Ixelles, where my dad lives, is run by two brothers from Montenegro. One autumn, when they had recently returned from their summer home, they showed me pictures that convinced me to visit this beautiful little country as soon as I had the chance. So I added it to the itinerary.

The thing about Serbia and Montenegro is that the trains do not run to a schedule. They arrive when they do, they take as long as they please, stop pretty much wherever they choose and pull into the final station at an undetermined hour...usually far later than expected. Our train journey was supposed to take 7 hours. In the end, I think we were on the train for just under 10. There is a very limited catering service on the train; this means plenty of booze with unfamiliar brands and very little in the way of food. At every stop, random people get on the train carrying rucksacks or sports bags offering you beer and mini liquor bottles. Great entrepreneurial minds in this part of the world!

Luckily, the countryside we were going through was absolutely stunning. Southern Serbia looks gorgeous, lush leafy valleys that seem completely untouched by the pollution that has affected a lot of Western Europe. The train went across bridges that were high up in the hills, meaning the view to either side was of a sheer drop, against a background of greenery. If you love the outdoors, this is the place for you. It was absolutely stunning.

Serbian hills and valleys

When we pulled into Podgorica just before 10pm, our journey wasn't over. There is hardly any budget accommodation in the Montenegran capital, and very little to see there to boot. So we hopped on the bus (very frequent and very uncomplicated) heading to Kotor. This was the best decision we ever made.

Kotor is a little town right at the top of Kotor bay at the southeastern end of the Dalmatian coast. The Old town is surrounded by medieval walls, in a similar fashion to Dubrovnik. The difference here is that there are far fewer tourists. And the tourists that do go tend to be Serbian, Croatian or Bosnian, making for a very different, but very friendly and laid-back ambiance.

From the bus station, we made our way to the hostel, at the center of the walled old town and were greeted by pumping techno music... It was Saturday night after all, and the crowds were still very much in holiday mode. We were completely exhausted from our sleepless night on the train to Belgrade and our 12 hour journey to Kotor, so we found our beds and crashed.

The next morning, I awoke to this:

This was the view from the hostel's reception. Kotor is nestled in between the mountains along the coast which are stunning in the morning light. To the other side of the town is Kotor bay, which we didn't get to explore but which provided absolutely gorgeous views as we walked around the harbour.

I found a bakery selling croissants and stuffed my face. The train ride the day before hadn't been too vegetarian friendly so, understandably I think, I was completely starving. When Sean woke up, we sat on one of the terraces and soaked up the sunshine. We had finally made it to the SUNSHINE! Later on, we took a little tour of the old town with one of the other guys from the hostel who introduced us to 'cat square' which was populated, not too surprisingly, by cats. I don't think that this is the actual name of the square, it's actually a plaza near St Mary's Church near one of the bridged entrance points to the town. But there sure were a heck of a lot of kitties around. It's the thing about Kotor that you won't learn in guidebooks. It is a city full of cats.

I love cats, so I found this to be a good thing. I'm guessing you wouldn't feel the same if you were a dog lover. In any case, one particularly fierce cat stood his ground, despite being surrounded by a guided group of tourists. He was sitting where he was sitting and nothing would move him. I felt very proud of this stubborn little feline. That was one tough little dude. Or lady. I didn't check.

We were leaving that afternoon, so we didn't get a chance to walk up the hill that overlooks Kotor to the fortress above. Apparently, it takes about an hour and a half and the views across the fjord from here are breathtaking.

We saw the church in the main square, whose bells had woken me up that morning.

I will definitely come back to Montenegro; after all, we only saw Kotor and the little bit of the coastline between this town and Dubrovnik, our next destination. There's so much more to see and do in this country. But I can highly recommend it to anyone wanting to visit the Montenegran coast on the cheap. Our hostel was just 13 euro a night and we were in the heart of the old town. Get here quick before the prices go up!

Sean emailed a friend...

My brother's friend asked for advice about planning a trip to Europe. This post is Sean's response--the pictures are what I felt corresponded:

If you want my personal feelings about the trip, listen up... or read up.

I started by moving to London, so that doesn't really count as a stop on the trip. Although, if you want to go there you should. It's pretty cool, but the weather is rough, and unless you have a lot of money, you're going to end up drinking wherever you are staying. (there is a bar near Oxford Circus called The Cock (not making it up), which is actually really cheap, go there!). The picture is of Little Venice, where my sister lived.

Things to see in London if you are touristy are Buckinham Palace, Parliament, the London eye, Covent Garden,  etc. Otherwise just take the Tube around the city and you'll find some cool places. Again, VERY expensive.

Next we went to Brussels, Beglium to see my dad. If you go there on a good day (weather wise) it is amazing. Great night-life if you know where to go (I recommend O'Reilly's, an Irish bar which also has a mini 'club' next door called Nua O'reilly's.) Cool people, good vibe, and you can sit on the terrace and look at some epically old architecture. I grew up there, so I love the place, but again, it's more about who you go with and when you go. Beer capital of the world!!!! Must see's are La Grand Place, Mond des Arts, and the maniquin pis... all spitting distance from each other.

Next stop was Berlin. Go with friends, and go to clubs, otherwise the place is BORING and not very scenic. I was there with my sister and was bored out of my mind. Avoid commercial hostels at allllll cost. Go to private ones, they're funner and better value. (That goes for everywhere if possible)

From there we went to Prague, which is pretty epic, has a nice Bridge and river, but again... not toooo much to do. (see blog for more details).

Budapest, Hungary is pretty sweet. First real fun I had on the trip since Belgium! Stay at the Maverick Hostel... it's AMAZING! I would live there if I could afford it. and go out to Buda (across the river) and see the old town... pretty stunning. At night, there is plenty to do, but I recommend a bar called Szimpla. It is the sweetest bar ever...trust me, if you are in Budapest... go there.

DO NOT GO TO SERBIA... (see my post on sister's blog)

There is a place in MonteNegro called Kotor which is beautiful and has a surprisingly good night-life, though I don't know if it's worth going to because it is out of the way. If you go, stay in the Old town. That's where its all at.

GO TO DUBROVNIK!!! It's in Croatia, and it's friggin sweet. Nough said. It is the most beautiful place on earth, and everything is dirt cheap.

OK, now I will go into some of the places you might actually go to haha.

ITALY:

Rome: go there. It is overwhelming, and go on a pub crawl... you will have the time of your life (they're illegal, but just meet at 9pm at the bottom of the Spannish Steps. EPIC.) Everything you see is older than time, and is still unbelievable. See the Vatican.. see the Sistine chapel... see the Colisseum. Trust me, it's a must see.

Florence: Unless you like art a LOT... skip it. It's only fun if you do what I did; find a group of Aussies, a group of Irishmen, some pretty girls, and roam the city at 4am.

Venice: Go. Don't argue, just go.

Now back to some more obscure places...

Milan is the fashion capital of the world, which means everything is very stylish, and too expensive... not my thing. Bologna is the food capital of the world, but be careful where you eat, because everyone there is competing for business, and we ended up somewhere rather disappointing.

Next, I went off with a bud to Nice, on the French Riviera. I was there two nights and it just kept getting better and better. Whoever claims that it is boring and filled with old people is an idiot. By that logic, avoid Florida while you're at it. I had an amazing time, both at night and during the day... it's awesome.

From there, we went to Toulouse to see some friends. It's kinda ugly, it's kinda dirty, there's not much to see, but I had a good time. I think the prettiest people in the world got collected up and thrown into Toulouse for an experiment... maybe to see if an ugly city could produce ugly people despite the best genes available.

Paris is Paris. I didn't go on this trip, but I've been before. Just ask anyone and they'll tell you you have to go. So listen to them, because my opinion is skewed by prejudice.

I went to the countryside in the South of France next. This was more of a necessity than a choice, because we have some family friends there that we had to see. It's really nice and quiet, but that's not really my thing either...

Spain! Spain is awesome and full of Spaniards... they don't speak English, they don't even speak French, and they don't like people who don't speak Spanish (understandibly... being from Florida where it's the exact opposite.) Just make an effort and they'll be nice enough. Didn't see Madrid, heard it's great, but it's landlocked... which is fine, unless you've heard of Barcelona.

BARCELONA! Go to Barcelona. I had never heard a bad thing about it, and I don't think I ever will. Go, stay wherever... best bet might be the Surf Hostel in Barceloneta, purely due to location. This is where I live, and I wake up with a smile on my face every... afternoon. (Living hours are rather strange here... wake up at 12, siesta at 2, then work til 11, go out at about... the next day). I love this city... walk around, it's not too big... see everything, or don't. Whatever, it's the chillest place on earth.

Places I didn't go to on this trip but have been to before are... well, several. I'll just mention Amsterdam because that's what you probably want to know about. It's ok. That's right I said it. If you're a pothead, you'll just appreciate the legality, not necessarily the quality of the weed. If you're not... well there's not much else to do. Drink... avoid hippies on their bikes, and try and find an umbrella to deal with the crappy weather. Night life is fine.

Umm... other places I would recommend  are Edinburgh, Scotland. It's really old and dark and scenic and I love it. I personally like Glasgow, but mainly because I have family there. Never been to Scandinavia... so I can't help you there. Dublin is cool... OH GREECE! Never been, but desperately wanted to. Shame, looks amazing. Haven't been to Portugal either, but I imagine that Lisbon is nice.

That's about it. If you have any questions, let me know. Have fun! Go with friends!