My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
The adventure continues. Our bus ride today from the capital of Montenegro, Podgorica to the capital of Albania, Tirana was supposed to take a little under four hours. All was going according to plan when we crossed the border.
But then shortly after we crossed the border our bus had a flat tire and we spent two hours waiting while the driver got it fixed.
The bus jacked up to change the tireDuke waiting for the tire to be changed
About 4:30 we arrived in Tirana and walked to our hotel. After changing some money we went up to the roof top bar for a drink and a snack.
We had an excellent dinner in the hotel.
My pork with apples and ginger Duke’s beef slices
At the end of the meal they brought us some Rakia, the Albanian National drink.
Montenegro is a little bit smaller in area than the state of Vermont with a similar population. Today we checked out of the wonderful Lazure Hotel in the coastal town of Herceg Novi and took a bus inland to the capital of Montenegro, Podgorica.
At the bus station
The bus ride took three and a half hours. The scenery was stunning. Much of it along the coast reminded me of the fjords of Norway. Unfortunately the bus windows had some kind of a film on them so it was impossible to get good pictures.
The view through the bus window
We walked from the bus station in Podgorica to our hotel. The area around the bus station was, as in many cities not the nicest. Our hotel, Hotel Viya is a in a very pretty area.
Walking from the bus station in Podgorica Near our hotelOur hotel room
We rested a bit and then went out for a walk.
Independence Square in Podgorica Millennium Bridge across the Morača River
For dinner we went to a nearby pizzeria, Pizzeria Calabrian.
It is great to spend two nights in one place again. When we woke up this morning it was raining. We had a great breakfast buffet at our hotel, the Lazure.
Part of the breakfast buffetMore of the breakfast buffet
The rain stopped and we walked the mile and a half down the coast to old town Herceg Novi.
The walk to old town Herceg NoviThe church in the main square of old town Herceg NoviHerceg Novi FortressHerceg Novi Fortress
When we got back from exploring old town we went for a short and refreshing swim.
DukeWe took turns taking pictures.
For dinner we had appetizers and beer in the restaurant. We didn’t want a big dinner like last night but still I am very full.
When we arrived in Dubrovnik Duke booked the bus for today that would take us on to Montenegro and the seaside town of Herceg Novi. We decided to walk from our hotel in Dubrovnik to the bus station since it was a flat walk of a little more than a mile along the coast.
We left the hotel 55 minutes before our bus departure time so we would have time to spare and could have a leisurely walk. Unfortunately we soon discovered that the coast road was closed and we would have to climb up many stairs and go around the long way. We hurried and made it to the bus station with only 5 minutes to spare. Each of us was dripping with sweat but we made it!
On the bus!
The distance we had to travel today south along the coast was only about 40 miles. But everyone had to get off the bus at the border to go through Croatian exit control and then again a mile down the road at Montenegro entrance control. So all in all the trip took about 2 hours.
Leaving Croatia. That’s Duke at passport control.Entering Montenegro
The hotel we are staying at in Herceg Novi is magnificent! We will be here two night. The setting is idyllic and as we arrived the sun came out even though the forecast was for rain. After checking in and taking a nap we went for a walk.
The view from the hotelOn the beach at the hotel
Then we went back, got our Kindles and read in the bar while having local beers.
Relaxing
We ate dinner outside at the restaurant in the hotel. we started with the Montenegro antipasto plate.
Then Duke had prawn pasta and I had beef short rib past. Each of them was excellent.
After dinner we walked out to the Marino to get a nice night view of the hotel.
We had a lovely relaxing day today. We had originally thought we might take the gondola to the mountain overlooking Dubrovnik but it was shrouded in clouds all day.
So instead we spent the morning reading and relaxing. In the afternoon we went for a walk over to an ocean viewpoint west of out hotel.
Walking west from our hotel towards the Adriatic coastAdriatic Sunset beechAdriatic viewpoint Adriatic Viewpoint
On the way back we walked through forest and then stopped at a grocery store to pick up snacks and water.
Start of the walk back to our hotel. View from the walk back to the hotel. Grocery store
For dinner we ate at Peppers near our hotel. Duke and I both had the Pulled Pork Sloppy Joes. Duke says there is no such thing since a Sloppy Joe is made with ground beef. In any case our sandwiches were very good.
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