Italy, Montenegro, Serbia and Austria

  • Thread starter Thread starter RB
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
June 5th-Visit to Budva- used bus there and back with mixed success. Reviews/info/conflicting advice saw us walk back & forward between bus station & old town before buying a ticket at the bus station & leaving from there. You travel on the bus line according to when you buy the ticket-some trips go via Tivat which adds time. From Budva station to Old Town Budva is a couple of kilometres- much more high rise & generally more developed and busy than Kotor- maybe the impact of Russian money.
Budva wiki info: Budva - Wikipedia
Old Town Budva is much more compact than its counterpart in Kotor. Budva apparently dates from the 5th century BC. It was very humid so lanes near the water were more crowded. Some nice churches to view, plenty of shops & food outlets. We walked between Old Town & Morgen Beach-takes you past the Ballet Dancer statue and some nice sea views –very nice think we are spoilt by living on the coast in Aust. Our bus ride back ended up being by Alba Tours- a real milk run of what could be 22km-took 65 minutes but did get good views of Kotor via road P22 after again going via Tivat. Looking at parking in Budva and overall traffic, the bus ride is still a pretty good option. The bus drivers are very skilful, they can smoke, talk on a mobile & drive a manual bus on a tight road all at the one time. Sit down dinner at Pronto Pizza- a good choice. After dinner we had a bit more of a walk around the Old Town & made sure of the spot where we were going to start our walk tomorrow.

177232

177233

177230

177231

177234

177229
 
June 6th
As per the forecast a much clearer & warmer day. We had read several blogs re climbing up to St John’s Fortress/Castle of San Giovanni. Taking into account our fitness we decided to take the Austro-Hungarian route rather than the main hike that clambers the 1,350 steps up 400 metre. We ended up high above the Fortress at 520 odd metres ascent then descended back down our path, climbed through the stone window & met up with the masses that had taken the steps. Our route was excellent-steady switchbacks as you ascended, out of the crowds, great views at all times and a bit more shade. We had encounters with goats, donkeys, dogs, cats and a cow that had convinced an American that it was a dangerous bull!
How is it that you can look at people in the distance & know in advance they are going to be a pain in the butt re sharing access to the narrow stairs & pathway-some on the forum would not be surprised to know the French were the worst numbers wise!
It was great to still be able to complete the physical challenge of the climb after not doing such hikes for 4yrs or so.
The number of times the "Marella Discovery" appears in our photos of the day reflects the shape of the harbour & the route we took

Our starting point
177429

177430

177433

177434

177435

About all the land is good for
177436

177437

The menacing cow
177438

Ruins along the back track
177440

Stone window leading to the main stairs
177439
 
Back in the Old Town after about 3hrs we celebrated with our first gelato of the trip.
We then wandered some more of the Old Town & had a lazy afternoon.
For dinner at Tanjga-a couple of minutes downhill from our apartment. Every night we had seen long lines. Must have timed our run well. Got a seat out the back & then lined up inside to order. Honesty system where you help yourself to drinks at the fridge out the back. Ordered the 2nd smallest meat option in mixed meat with grilled vegies-plenty for the 2 of us-chicken kebab, sausage, steak (pleasantly surprised by it) eggplant, peppers, tomato, salad & some great sauces. Plus 2X 500ml cans of cold beer plus 2X small bottles of chardonnay & then you walk around to the main service area & asked what you drank- all for 23 Euro!
This is a link to various reviews for the 2nd rated restaurant in Kotor
TANJGA, Kotor - Updated 2019 Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Phone Number - TripAdvisor

Typical of the stalls outside the Old Town

177489

Few general scenes from within the Old Town
177490

177491

177492
 
8th June-Last full day in Kator and a great weather day. Some walking around Old Town & then a 3hr speedboat ride-plenty of options, touts everywhere & we managed a good discount on the 30 Euro fare. We ended up travelling with Seamount. A near new boat with 4 adults & 3 youngsters onboard (they group you up). A 140hp Susuki on the back meant we covered ground very quickly-all boats seem to go flat-out all the time around the Bay of Kotor/Boka Bay. The Blue Cave, Submarine Tunnel/Base, Our Lady of the Rock & Perast were all stops offered-great view of the Bay & its villages & life on the Bay. Saw Mamula (Fortress/Wartime Concentration Camp from a distance). Also saw a fish farm on the way out-had no knowledge it existed but apparently they raise Sea bass, Sea Bream & assorted shellfish & mussels. We had no hassles getting on & off at the stops & a had great look around. The harbour was pretty busy today-Le Lyrial, Sea Cloud & MSC Magnifica were all visiting. Noticed the heat when we got back to the Old Town in Kotor-one thermometer was showing 33c. Dinner at Ladovina-receives good reviews and was a good meal-pleasant outdoor setting, extremely polite staff & good food. Kotor has been a step-up for food!

Distant View of Fish farm
177580

Entry to the Blue Cave
177581

177582

177583

Mamula
177584

Entry to one of the submarine tunnels
177585

Inside the tunnel
177586

Island of St George near Perast
177587

Church of Our Lady of the Rock
177588

Bit of Info re Our Lady of the Rocks Our Lady of the Rocks - Wikipedia

Approaching Perast
177589
 
9th June-Kotor to Zabljak by Bus

About a 2 minute walk from the apartment to the station and the bus is in early so we pay the extra 1 Euro to put the bags under the bus. Only 7 passengers. A fantastic viewing ride via Niksic. First 30 minutes is along the bay then a climb. The road surface is excellent except for around 20 minutes of roadworks. There has been a lot of rain in May so it was either green countryside or rock. A few spots where radar was set up. We had a bus change at Niksik to an older bus but again a safe conservative driver. From Niksic to Zabljak included a nice lake area, more livestock around and rock fences in play. Saw a small wind farm at one stage-1st evidence of alternative energy. We were met at the station by our host-the rental house is only about 5 minutes walk.

The Magnifica as seen from our balcony on the morning of our departure
177702

All the following photos are taken out of the bus.

Looking back down on the Bay
177703

Great road surface & very little traffic
177705

177707

177708

I understand this to be Slansko jezero 617m above sea level
177710

Some of the rock fences
177711

Our 2nd bus. Hotel in background is operating but incomplete-quite a lot of construction happening here but we were to find nowhere near the scale of Zlatibor which was our next stop
177712
 
Turn business expenses into Business Class! Process $10,000 through pay.com.au to score 20,000 bonus PayRewards Points and join 30k+ savvy business owners enjoying these benefits:

- Pay suppliers who don’t take Amex
- Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
- Earn & Transfer PayRewards Points to 8+ top airline & hotel partners

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

TG 940-A350-900 15A & 16B BKK-MXP

Our plane was apparently late in, so boarding was delayed. Fairly orderly with no extra security check carried out at the holding gate-this extra check had been a total pain when we travelled previously as the area where it is done becomes a shambles . Boarding was very rushed in an attempt to makeup time. Departure was supposed to be 00.40am, we pushed back at 00.55am. The cabin was sprayed as we taxied. Amenities case is Mandarina Duck-something I was not familiar with. Mrs RB immediately regretted opting to take a B seat-very exposed to the aisle. Seatbelts are a shoulder style & a nuisance & the cabin crew overooked explaining how to unlatch for the lying position. I was very unimpressed by the sleeping position of my window seat. I am around 188cm & rubbed both my head & feet when in the sleeping position. The pillow is a mini ( asked for an extra & it improved things) and the footwell is very small (Ok my feet are larger than average!). Overall the seat is not suited to a side sleeper. Exiting the seat area is also narrow & uncomfortable. I did appreciate cabin crew making up the bed. Food for dinner was Ok, continental breakfast very enjoyable- no photos of menus, I was pretty weary by then. Got some great views coming up from the south & the moon still visible in the morning sky.
We made up no time & landed at a remote stand that seemed nearer to Terminal 2. What followed was a very long bus ride then only 4 working at immigration & no priority luggage. The pattern continued as the ticket machines for the trains at the airport were down. The coughulative effect was we ended up on a train that was a bit of a “milk run” to Como San Giovanni station. From there it was the familiar No. 10 bus to Argengo. From there our long-time friend (we met on holidays in Malaysia in 1991) drove us up to the hamlet of Pigra.-you soon forget the little challenges when you finally get to settle after a long time on the move. We have been very fortunate to enjoy a dozen or so visits here and it is a wonderful part of Lake Como-none of the glitz & glamour but relaxed living in an old village with it's lanes and stairways and some fine hiking in the surrounds.

Mandarina Duck
View attachment 175564

Very uncomfortable feet position
View attachment 175568

View attachment 175565

View attachment 175566

View attachment 175567

It's becoming a full time job trying to write a TR and keep up with everyone else's :D this looks great so far!
 
I have posted a review of our Zabljak rental house here Macondo House Zabljak Montenegro

First night dinner was at Mali Raj-well cooked simple food, good service & free sweets given to us. This is around a 5 min walk from our house.
9th June-The Durmitor Ring.
We teamed up with a Spanish guy (we paid 40 Euros per person) to do a circular drive of the main peaks, gorges & lakes. Day trip organised through the main man at Car Camp Razvrsje A couple of schnapps before starting then around 85-100 km covered over about 6hrs(Koomot app said we did 100km). Absolutely top class viewing and plenty of photo opportunities offered by our driver( brother of organiser)-he had limited English but as a local he knew all the spots. He is a guide & climb leader in summer & a ski instructor in winter. A fantastic day (highlight of the trip so far) topped off with a great fish meal at the finish. We travelled in a Mondeo station wagon-there were a few motorhomes(wouldn't want to be driving one of those, plenty of motorbikes, sedans & 4WDs. If have snipped a few web pages as a bit of summary of what we did.
Tara Canyon- It is the deepest gorge in Europe and the second deepest in the world after the Grand Canyon
Mala Crna Gora- means "Little Montenegro". The village is known because there is no access during winter months and its inhabitants are cut off from the rest of the world for months.
Sušica Canyon-The panoramic road crosses the Sušica Canyon, which is 15 kilometres long and up to 700 metres deep.
Lake Sušica- dries up completely during summer time.
Durmitor National Park and Nature Park Piva-The Durmitor National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the country's most important natural treasures. The Durmitor Ring also passes through the Piva Nature Park - the first nature park in Montenegro. Along the route you will see the highest and most impressive peaks of the Durmitor Mountains, such as Prutaš (2,393 m), Bobotov Kuk (2,523 m) and Sedlena Greda (2,227 m).

I have gathered our photos from 2 sources so some will be out of order & perhaps a bit repetitive
A good start a couple of minutes out of town
177897

177898

That is our road on the left
177899

177900

For perspective, those are houses over on the right hand side
177901

177902

There are matresses in the huts in the foreground
177903

177904

177905

Prutas
177906
 
Day 3 10th June. Black Lake Walk. Wiki link here Black Lake (Montenegro) - Wikipedia
3 Euros in a cab gets us to the entrance to Black Lake (best known, largest and deepest of 18 glacial lakes of the Durmitor range). We already have our National Park tickets (6 Euros each for 3 days). From the entry there is a flat paved walk of around 700 m to the edge of what is 2 halves-Big & Little Lake. Today is virtually wind free so reflections abound. Again signage is great and for the most part footing is pretty good. We start on the 3.5km circular track before we branch off to see Lake Zminje- that track is muddy in parts but pretty goods overall & well worth the effort with less people and the spruce and other conifers form a close barrier to the edge.
Back at Black Lake the numbers have increased a bit but still plenty of chances for photos and to read the info boards. Not mentioned in any reviews that we had read but at this time of the year the waterfalls/springs/celine cut the path in spots (or it did for us) so it is wet sandals for me & wet socks for Mrs RB). The water is bloody cold!
178034

178036
There are also sections of steep old stone steps so the walk around is not for everyone.
178035

Prior to this trip we bought a subscription to Koomoot to help plan our walks & to reduce the chances of arguing/getting lost-today it says we covered 11.4km between entering/exiting the National Park control area. While we waited for a cab back to town a group traipsed past-they were instructed they had around 700 metres to walk each way to reach the lake & were to be back in an hour-many were not going to see much- there were around a dozen coaches parked on the approaches as we returned to town, not sure what numbers are like in peak season.

General Photos from the day
178037

178040

Lake Zminje
178041

Again the vegetation under water
178042

178043
 
More photos from Black Lake walk
178044

178045

178046

178047

178048

A different corner of the lake
178050

View from near where the entry/exit path meets the lake. Happens to be a food outlet here & I think it is as far as many of the bus tourists get
178051
 
Day 4 11th June-
Last full day in Zabljak a more "mundane day" but still great scenery. Some washing then walking short distances in various directions from town. More great weather. Had a great pizza at Pizzeria Balkan for lunch-had a conversation with a couple of young Czech guys who disappeared to their car & came back with a couple of cans of Czech beer as a gift to us!

Country lane walk heading south178055

Busts that surround the Spomenik in the centre of town-pretty epic views in background-this webpage looks to be very educational Spomenik Database | The Monumental History of Yugoslavia

178056

Inside the Church of the Transfiguration-dates from 1870- the church is a monument to Montenegrin victory in battle against the Turks. Apparently it was the only buiding not destroyed during WW2
178057


178059

Fairly particular about their veggie gardens
178060

Street side stall-owner assured me some of the produce had aphrodisiac properties
178061

Not sure what has prompted the Europeans to offer ketchup with their pizzas

178062
 
Zabljak (Montenegro) to Zlatibor (Serbia) by bus
First real hiccup of the trip. The planned morning bus was cancelled-unexplained but it was suggested there not enough travellers. Killed time walking around town. Caught the 2pm bus with Marco Tours. Travelled over the famous Tara Bridge-an absolute zoo, people just walking wherever they pleased. Had a 45 min stop after 1 hr-Pljevlja where there is a thermal power plant that supplies 45% of Montenegro’s power & a coal mine that is 100% of Montenegro’s coal (power plant too big to photgraph from bus) and eventually dropped on edge of Zlatibor-bit of confusion finding apartment-no street names or numbers & no outside signage for apartment.
In between some great scenery, lush growth, the power station, big open mine and big timber yards. the border crossing wasvery easy & efficient-we didn’t leave the bus but passports were taken as a group and came back stamped. Road surface was again generally excellent and the Serb drivers seem much more aggressive on the highway.
Not a good day for photos, all taken from the bus
Countryside near Tara Bridge
178258

Uvac
178259

178260

178261

178262

One of the many large hotels in Zlatibor-town is promoting itself as a spa retreat
178263
 
Zlatibor
Bit of info here Zlatibor | National Tourism Organisation of Serbia
and here ISTN - Mountain Tourism

This was a big change from Montenegro & unexpectedly busy with massive apartment construction happening. Huge numbers of young people-a sports tournament was on & the town is heaven for young kids-permanent kids rides like an Aussie Country town show, Dino Park. The whole place “seems” more affluent than Montenegro. English is not widely spoken but we are received well & some places have an English menu.
Day 1 12th May-later than expected arrival. We found one of the many ATMs & ballpark 1000 Dinar=$14 Aust is not an easy conversion on the brain. There is a well stocked supermarket where we stocked up on beer & wine, coffee & fruit for breakfast- we noted the locals don’t bring bags, Had a burger & a few drinks & an early night.
I have posted a review of our Zlatibor apartment here Onyx Apartments Zlatibor Serbia


Part of the main square-plenty of construction happening with massive apartment buildings
178272

178273

These "pop-up" look shops are permanent-plenty selling cheap junk to kids
178274
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.
Back
Top