Visit to Montenegro - part 2

Left Tuz at dusk, heading toward Cettinje, once the capital of the country, and then onward to Budva, a resort town on the Adriatic coast, where my hosts had made a reservation for the night at a 5 star hotel. While driving westward toward the sea, along the winding roads, up and down the mountains, all of a sudden we found ourselves facing a gorgeous sunset. Not to stop, I tried capturing this beautiful scene through the windshield, and this resulted unfortunately in a not too clear and breathtaking view, as it was in reality.



We arrived at destination at 8pm under a light rain. I was assigned a beautiful room on the 6th floor, with a balcony overlooking the beach. My friends were planning to use the wellness center and the inviting indoor heated pool, but we all ended up resting a bit in our respective rooms.



At 9:30pm we took a very short walk along the beach to dine at a cozy and busy restaurant, where we enjoyed a great fish dinner and an excellent red Montenegrin wine.



The owner treated all of us with a dessert of home made apple strudel. At midnight, we took a longer walk to return to the hotel, and we went to take a peak at the casino on the top floor. It was a crowded and smoky place, full of tourists, most of them Italians.

During dinner I contacted a local couple, related to some cousins of mine in Michigan, whom I had met almost 4 years ago in Tuz when I organized a well attended and televised conference for an Albanian audience. They had invited me then to be their guest for a vacation in Budva, which I never took, but this was an occasion to say hello, at least. Excited to find that I was in town, they rushed to the hotel to see me the next morning.

My hotel room was excellently furnished with all amenities, including a well stocked bar, hair dryer, magnifying mirror and bathrobes in the bathroom, and cable TV.



I woke up early, anxious to see the sights from the 6th floor balcony of my room, overlooking the beach and the entire bay, and I watched the sun rise and light up the entire coast, while the hotel staff was uncovering the outdoor café’s furniture on a huge terrace below.











The local friends, whom, I found out, lived not too far away from where I was staying, waited for me at the bar while I was having breakfast with my hosts. Aware of their presence, I did not take much time to enjoy the buffet breakfast with its incredible variety of dishes for every taste, ranging from waffles and eggs, to meats, and fish, from fruits – fresh and cooked - to many choices of sweets, and freshly baked breads and croissants. I wanted to spend a bit of time with this sweet couple that was disappointed about my short visit. They repeated their original invitation giving me clues on how to reach Budva by air through a local nearby airport, whenever I decided to come back.


the hotel we stayed at


reflections in the outdoor hotel's pool

This was early Sunday morning, and my hosts had a full day of sightseeing planned ahead, which I’ll cover in part 3.