Many a tourist guide will detail the gorgeous coastline that spans the western side of Montenegro (Crna Gora or Black Mountain as the natives call their country). It is about a 3 hour trip from Tirana to get to some of the mid-coastal cities along a first class highway.
Peter and I decided to take some smaller roads, parallel to the coast highway. Steep mountains to our west and Lake Skhodra to our east made for a gorgeous 90 minute drive. Lake Skhodra, a very long dolphin shaped lake, is often overlooked in favor of the famous sea towns. Most of the lake is in Montenegro (the spectacular part, I might add). The southern end is in Albania.
The lake has amazing bird life, clear water and floating meadows of lilies. The mountain towns around the area are hidden gems of historic churches, Tito monuments and tidy homes.
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| Above and below are the roads that make Peter's palms sweat but he always elects to drive them! |
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| The Lake has small islands. I loved the pink cloud reflection in the water. | |
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| Above and below are examples of the colorful floating plants and lily "meadows". |
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| We did cross the mountain range to the seaside city of Budva, an old walled in city. |
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| Ever seen this German bus/hotel system? You don't have to unpack your bags!! |
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| In our typical good luck, we arrived in Budva to the Fish, Wine and Song Festival. It was VERY local. You can see the somewhat bored faces in the parade but many parents cheering on their offspring. |
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| These are photos of mountain towns, on back roads, quietly elegant. |
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| During the time of Yugoslavia, a symbolic red star and soldier in the center of each town. |
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| Grape harvesting time was in full swing when we were there. Below is a wine maker taking a break from making his wine (notice his shirt) to have us taste some raki and wine. Afterwards he invited us back the next day for breakfast! |
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| Here is the raki maker with his "still". Peter is enjoying the "brew". |
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| One night we stayed at a hotel on this pristine river feeding into Lake Skhodra ahead of you. Amazing bird life. |
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| Eating dinner with a great bottle of Montenegrin Chardonnay at sunset. |
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| Beautiful final evening to savor the lake, the mountains and sunset. |
