Travel, 50+, Montenegro

Montenegro is a country with probably one of the top 3 most controversial names from American perspective, and one of the coolest flags that makes vexillologists go hubba-hubba. It's a country that usurped euro and a place that I like to divide in three parts. The skin scorching coastal region, the disappointingly tedious central part (despite the significance of many places there) and the wall of mountains (as if the whole place isn't largely mountains, anyway). Out of these, I got to visit two.

The coast is all touristy with most of the services for your desires. The views are nice, there are old fortifications and historical towns that are surprisingly well kept, considering. There are not all that many hotels and so I, among so many others, ended up in one of the less formal accommodations. Conveniently, it all happened during the sunset hours and by the time it was pretty black already, our little entourage was standing in the middle of some square trying to figure out how to find an address that does not, in principle, exist.

With good pre-arrival preparation, we found the correct street (if you can call it that) and a dubious dark alley. Chest pumped up and with utmost gallantry, we entered the darkness. We found a door that was tricky, but opened. We climbed the stairs in darkness, nearly stepping on a pool of piss in front of one doors. We found a place that seemed to be the apartment we were looking for. The door... did not open. There were no key boxes anywhere (along the way) and it had been very dark outside with close to no traffic. What did or do we do?

As luck would have it, a local drunk entered the building, singing in local. He was upbeat and well sauced. Most importantly, he was ready to help. We presented our dilemma, he said he would call the owner. Whipping out his own phone of all things, he gave a ring to some lady and said the situation has been solved. The guy even offered us a chance for coffee and cake in his apartment on top floor.

This is to say, despite uncertainties and risk factors, turns out Montenegro is a pretty safe place. At least Kotor is.

But then not. The bus station was one of the most hostile places I have ever witnessed. The service was underground level subpar, they refused to sell tickets and someone got banged up against the wall for some reason. Despite, we got to tour around the coast a bit, using other means. The views are nice, but I was not behind the camera so ... trust me bro.

Due to the bus station challenge, we ended up taking a taxi to the capital and oh boy... While the ride was great, our driver was amazing and we (not me, so trust me bro) took a few snaps of mountainous spots and the former capital, the arrival to the current capital and experiencing the place was something else. Imagine you have been to other capitals, so you kind of know how it goes. Imagine placing absolute zero expectations on your visit. Still, I have to say that Podrogica is the most boring capital I have ever been to. There was just nothing there. Somehow, less than nothing and a part of it was under wraps for renovation. The only good things about the place were the restaurants and the nature. Otherwise... don't go there. Unless you use it as a gateway to some other location in the country. Or as a location for some fiery football.

The Judgment:
It appears Montenegro is a bit of a greenhorn in what comes to tourism. It sort of shouldn't be so, but it is. The coastal areas are visually nice, unfortunately hot and sunny with somewhat pebbly beaches. In case you're into that, it's a heaven for you. Unless you hit the bus station on a bad day, I suppose. Euros make it easy for you to go around and you can combine the trip to eurozone in other ways, eg take a ferry to/from Italy or the bus to/from Croatia. The locations on the coast, while nice are very small and, may you be an active traveler, you will have to really work on your daily plans or just pass on through.

The capital and the former capital are not quite tapping into their potential. The transportation is not as convenient as you'd hope for (unless you are the driver, but note that the roads can be quite narrow, serpentine and mountainous). The food is good (especially in the capital while it otherwise might be a bummer for your senses). Most things, while not exactly particularly affordable, are tolerably priced. The more touristy coastal areas will rip you off, in comparison.

I don't know if I liked this place or not. It's nice, but... something is missing. Maybe I could find it higher up in the mountains, who knows? Hope you liked the mini episode well enough.

Would I go again? Maybe.