holidays 2012 - day 08: coast, lake, riverside

most of the night in our austrian corner (there are three other austrian parties in this part of the campsite) at camp maslina is sleepless for me: it is so windy that my side of the tent is occasionally pushed right into my face, and of course it's noisy, and i am rather cold as well. it isn't until well into the small hours that i actually fall into a deep sleep. it doesn't exactly help that our newly bought mattress seems to have a hole somewhere and therefore it's no longer quite as cosy in the tent ... still, we wake up in montenegro and not oz. unfortunately, we wake up to an overcast and still very windy morning - so much for the "eternal sunshine" promised to us repeatedly after the big rain. therefore, instead of spending a lazy morning at the beach, we decide to pack up and do the highly recommended monastery route along the western shore of lake skadar.

before we leave, we chat with the people at the campsite - the owner used to live in germany. friends of the owners from žabljak are visiting, mina and his son novica, who run a campground and rent out rooms in durmitor national park's main town. mina also used to live in germany, and he's a very talkative, genial guy. he hands us his business card, since we are going to žabljak soon anyway. eventually we say goodbye and drive towards vladimir, which we are, of course, already familiar with. sometimes, however, it is not quite clear where to go ...

road to pretty much nowhere


of course we cannot pass by without another sign enhancement. this time it's the albanian name of vladimir, katerkollë, which reminds us of kater carlo (the german name of disney's black pete):

vladimir aka kater carlo


past vladimir, however, we take a different route. we are once again close to the albanian border, but then turn away from it to follow the road along lake skadar. however, the road is not actually next to the lake, it's (of course, this being montenegro) several hundred metres above the lake. it's definitely a very lonely area, rather poor, too. the road twists and turns, all around us there's macchia and trees, and to the left the mountains tower above us - between lake skadar and the sea, the highest peak nearly 1,600 m above sea level!

at one point we find ourselves driving along an avenue lined with old chestnut trees - kind of unexpected, and very beautiful. there are various moslem graveyards, some of them barely big enough for half a dozen graves - it almost looks as if everybody had a family graveyard out back! we stop at an older, bigger one to take a few pictures. most names are albanian, not surprisingly, as albanians are the majority in this part of montenegro. i've never actually seen headstones quite like these. i love visiting graveyards when i travel, there are such differences between cultures and religions!

grave with chimney?


our route offers gorgeous views of lake skadar glittering in the sun that has come out around midday. the guidebooks say there are only two places where you can actually access the lake, and when we spot a godforsaken village somewhere at the foot of the mountains, we think this might be one of the places, and drive down the patched-up road. a few inhabitants curiously ogle us - i'm pretty certain that austrian cars are rather a rarity here. it turns out that it is impossible to access the lake here. strange - to live so close to it and yet to be unable to get to the shore! so back to the main road, and very soon we find the turnoff to murići, which splits into several streets, then unites again further down, only to split once more ... but all these roads seem to lead to the lake.

big lake, big sky, little village


donkeys and mules are parked next to cars, goats block the road, a mosque greets us with a simple minaret, elderly inhabitants nod or wave, and some baby clothes on a line are the only sign of young life in this place in the middle of nowhere. there is no shop, the guidebooks say a van comes a few times a week to sell essential things. the area must be very poor - that is confirmed later in conversations. what kind of work would one do here anyway?

parking


by the lake a few people want to sell us a boat trip to the monastery on a small island just off the coast, but we know that we don't really have time for such a trip this afternoon. and this is about all there is of murići as the monastery route's touristic centre. sitting in the café down by the shore, we bump into our campsite neighbours from camp maslina, two girls from stuttgart, one of whom is based in kitzbuehel, austria. we chat for a while, tell them of the campsite in žabljak we're heading to, then watch some crazy puppies at play, walk along the shore for a bit, and then make our way back up to the main road.

off with its head!


more gorgeous lake views are in store for us along the sunny way to virpazar - whenever we think "this is the last time we're stopping and getting out of the car", we're wrong. and is it any wonder?

blue-greem beauty: lake skadar



wetlands and mountains


my mind's made up to do a lake skadar boat trip next time i'm in the neighbourhood, i would so love to see turtles and pelicans and get views of the surroundings from the lake.

what we do spot, however, is a dog turned to stone :-)

stone dog


we drive north, past the capital podgorica (also something for next time), towards nikšić, home of the local beer. the road cuts across the central lowland plain here - a geographical feature that strikes us as odd in this mountainous country. i also spot monastery ostrog far, far above the plain, a white toy tucked into the sheer face of rock. not quite knowing where to stop for the night, we decide to keep our eyes open for any signs of rooms for rent or a campground, though we don't really expect to find one here. but we do - and it's a chance discovery of a real gem. it's called "riverside", and is located by a quiet little creek just off the main road from nikšić to žabljak, near gornje polje.

it's a tiny little campground - and a dutch couple are the only guests apart from us, there beside the black water, under the apple trees. we spend quite a while talking to the incredibly friendly employee, both this evening and the next morning, as his english is very good and he seems to enjoy a good conversation. he answers a lot of questions about montenegro, its politics and development, and he tells us of the "riverside" project: the restaurant is all wood and rocks and has existed for a little while, but this is the first year the campsite is open. the next step is to make changes to the restaurant building in order to be able to run the restaurant all year. as it is now, the restaurant is open to one side. it is such a cosy place, with sofas and colourful throws, armchairs, mismatched chairs, an old typewriter on the long wooden bar, album covers on a wall, old tools on the walls ...

essential: bar with typewriter


outside there's another little building under weeping willows and a single table on a platform, which reminds me of a tree house. the owners are planning to develop the site, make room for more tents, extend the facilities, step by step. it should be interesting to see what becomes of this gorgeous little place.

"riverside" restoran


we are instant fans - and that is even before we have had our dinner. there is no menu, but we are told there is "fish, beef, veal, lamb, pork" and we can just tell them how we want it done. we both go for the fish with potato salad - and get two delicious trout each, with a generous portion of potato salad and bread. for a mere €8 each! i can't finish my portion, and even heinz is so full that there are leftovers on our table for once. outside, it's clear skies with lots and lots of stars - and no wind.

photos of day 08

holidays 2012 - day 06: some serious mountains, some serious rain, some seriously old place

when we get up at 7, it actually isn't raining. once again our timing is spot-on: the moment we're done packing, cleaning the tent as best we can, and are about to get in the car, guess what? yep. the sky has more of that wet stuff, and we might not know it yet, but there is way, way more to come.


freshly showered citrus fruit


we drive along the road to kotor again, but then on to new territory. despite the dismal weather, we have our hopes up that this will stop some time soon. we are not sure we'll be back this way and therefore decide to take the spectacular road to mt lovćen, the black mountain that gave montenegro its name. it's a winding road with some challenging hairpin bends, and due to the weather there is lots of gravel and even rocks on the road. we are lucky in that the fog clears occasionally, and the rain even ceases a few times, so we stop and get out to enjoy breath-taking views of the bay of kotor and its surroundings, as far as the open sea. stunning, and made all the more dramatic by wisps of white and grey clouds floating around both above and below us, by thick curtains of fog being lifted for glimpses of mountains opposite us, by the grim sky never allowing the sun to break through clouds completely.

dramatic landscape, dramatic weather: bay of kotor


after a while heavy rain sets in again, and we decide to wait out the worst. parked at one of the many passing places/vista points, we play a couple of games of settlers of catan, rolling dice and eagerly building roads, towns, and cities in an imaginary country where it doesn't quite rain so much.

eventually we drive on to the pass and decide to turn right onto the even narrower road to the famous and popular njegoš mausoleum. the closer we get, the more it rains. but - true explorers cannot be detained by mere rain and wind, right? right. but maybe they should sometimes be. or maybe a rain dance before getting out of the car might have proved helpful. anyway: we are not quite sure how far it is from the carpark to the actual mausoleum. more information would have made us stay in the car and turn around, no doubt.

so we find out that 1560 m above sea level combined with a very chilly, very strong wind and pouring rain makes for some not-so-pleasant outdoor experiences. instead of the expected 2 or 3 staircases up, there are countless stone steps, some in the open, some in a freezing, draughty tunnel. within about half a minute i am soaked to the skin anyway - at least from the hips down. the rain stings my face like needles. i run so fast that after about 2/3 of the way breathing becomes painful and i feel on the verge of a panic attack. i am too hot from running upstairs to feel cold, which seems weird.

eventually we reach the top, where they explain that there is no electricity - and no panorama, ha ha - and hand us a tiny flashlight. we are in no mood for long exploring anyway, so we just take a couple of photos of the mausoleum - a couple of dark, solemn statues in national costume and the grave and statue of montenegro's national hero, petar II petrović njegoš - and turn around for the way back, which is somehow even worse than the way up. it is so dark in the tunnel, and our glasses are so wet, that we have to be really careful with the slippery steps, which slows us down.

couple standing guard over petar II petrović njegoš


we grab some dry clothes from the car and rush into the restaurant. there is no light except a tiny little lamp in the ladies' restroom, and by that light i towel myself dry and change into dry clothes. quite an interesting pastime, if you ever get bored. some hot tea and bowls of delicious, steaming soup warm us up. and we do our best to imagine the panorama that is hidden behind walls of rain and clouds.

sad substitute for a panorama


thank goodness for heating in cars, too, as we drive down the other side of the mountain towards cetinje. more rain. on to the coast near budva. more rain. sveti stefan, the famous picture-postcard montenegrin island just off the coast, looks a lot less alluring in this kind of weather than under a brilliant blue sky, so one picture of it set against a grey sky and grey-green sea is all we take home. every time we think the sun might finally win the battle against the clouds - nah, more rain.

sveti stefan in the wind and rain


in bar (that's the name of a town, not a place to go for drinks!) i drop in at the tourist info, but contrary to what the lonely planet guidebook promises, the guy there barely speaks english and isn't very helpful. i pick up a small brochure of private accommodation in/around bar, and heinz and i find something that looks promising, in stari bar (old bar), where we want to go for sightseeing anyway. by the time we arrive there, the miracle has happened: the rain has stopped and the much-longed-for sun is out! what a difference that makes! the room we get is very communist era, but spacious, with a big, firm bed, a nice bathroom and a mini balcony - and: it's DRY! very soon, however, many surfaces inside and outside are also covered with damp clothes ...

our hotel is situated right beside a simple mosque as well as next to the old city wall and the entrance to the once big town that lies in ruins a few kilometres inland from modern-day bar. so off we go exploring - and there is lots of that to do: ruins of houses, churches, turkish baths, walls, streets, and a miraculously intact aqueduct await us.

ottoman aqueduct, outlasting even disastrous earthquakes


vines strangle many walls, intact or broken, grass and wildflowers grow in abundance. what a project they've got on their hands there, trying to reconstruct this place! a few places have already been done, but this is something that will take immense amounts of time and money. i love such places - imagining the lives of the many people who lived there, under slavic, venetian or ottoman rule, how elders might have met in the bath house, young girls whispered behind the church after mass, watchmen run up and down steep staircases bearing good or disastrous news.

the ruins of stari bar


i also find a church dedicated to sv veneranda - which is interesting as my father's grandmother's name was veneranda, the only veneranda i've ever heard of. to one side of the old town, olive groves cover the hills, many trees old enough to have seen the rise and fall of this place. it only drizzles for about five minutes, although dark clouds hang threateningly over the hills just behind this place lost in time. this makes for rather gorgeous light though, and the sky to the east attracts attention with ever-changing cloud formations that stir the imagination.

bird or dolphin?


dinner at our hotel's restaurant turns out to be a marvellous affair: grilled calamari for me, and about 5 tons of food for heinz (ražniči and peppers stuffed with cheese), and just when we think we're finally done, they serve figs and watermelon, on the house. a little walk around the block, so to speak, is perfect before retiring to our room.

and just when i'm about to turn off the light ... thunder, na na na nah na! just in case, i move some of our stuff from the balcony to the room. and just when i'm falling asleep ... rain! even heinz wakes up, and for about two minutes there is crazy hail, really big hailstones! after that, it rains for another 15 minutes, and that's that. at least we've got a real roof over our heads!

photos of day 06