Travels with Nigel

Don't Cry for Me Montenegro...

2009-10-11T18:33:00.004+02:00

At the fortress overlooking Herceg Novi town, the Boka, and the Adriatic

...we'll be back!

The summer has ended and the rains have arrived again, which means it's time for us to be on our way. For two years we were lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth and experience some amazing first for newly (re) independent Montenegro. The first post-referendum elections, the passage and promulgation of the Constitution, and the first shopping mall. It has been a privilege to watch the country grow -- quickly! -- right in front of us and to share these historic moments with our Montenegrin friends. Truly a country of "wild beauty," from sunny days at Gradska Kafana in Herceg Novi, hiking incredible mountain peaks from Durmitor to Prokletije, wandering historic old town Kotor, and lounging on the sandy beach at "Velika Plaza" beach in Ulcinj, there will be lots to miss... and lots to look forward to seeing again. Hvala i vidimo se Crna Gora.

Kayaking Montenegro

2009-09-24T21:12:00.003+02:00

Montenegro is filled with loads of adventure or soft adventure tourism activities. One that we had yet to try was kayaking on/ around Lake Skadar, so as part of our long goodbye to MNE, we gathered some friends and spent a lovely Sunday afternoon kayaking from Rijeka Crnojevica towards the lake. Kayaking is a great way to see all the beauty Montenegro has to offer without impacting the delicate eco-systems. We had a ball and totally recommend it! Check out our all the fun we had here, and if you're in Montenegro and keen to try it, contact our friends at Kayak Montenegro and enjoy!

Tour O.... Transylvania, Romania

2009-09-22T21:12:00.010+02:00

Nigel in front of our cottage at Count Kalnoky's Estate

Eastern Europe, as it once was. Welcome to Transylvania.

After our whirlwind tour of Budapest, we headed for Transylvania, Romania. We'd booked five days stay at the Count's Estate. Count Dracula?? No, but even better. Count Kalnoky's Estate in the tiny village of Miklosvar in the heart of Transylvania, perfectly situated between three cities we knew we wanted to see -- Sibiu, Brasov, and Timisoara. The Estate offers daily tours of the region, highlighting the beautiful countryside and its diverse history, homemade meals using locally grown produce, and overall seemed like just what we were looking for in order to have a full Transylvania experience. The one downside.... not quite as easy to get to as we'd imagined. Actually the directions were fine, only problem "a day's drive through the Romanian countryside" really was a full day's drive. Meaning well over 12 hours. Our naturally quick driving pace was no match for the traffic and distance so we arrived at the Estate around 1 am. Thankfully one of the Estate's kind staff members had waited up for us, so we were guided to the parking area and quickly settled for a wonderful night of sleep.

We spent the next five days eating breakfast in the garden, dinners in the wine cellar, and exploring Transylvania. It is not often I find myself in a place which surprises me as much as Romania did. People often associate "Romania" with legends of Dracula or stories of Ceausescu's tyrannical rule, but in fact there is so much more to the country. The region we stayed in has a more rich and complex history than I'd even imagined, where old meets new around every corner; a place where its old Saxon traditions are evident in much of the architecture, but the traditions struggle to survive, where a mix of Hungarian and Romanian people and cultures blend, and where you can tour an amazingly autentatious castle (Peles), see an old city that retains its historic fortress walls.... but also has a McDonalds downtown (Brasov), and walk back in time a few centuries in old town Timisoara.

Peles Castle

Old Town Timisoara

Traditional life in a Transylvanian village

All and all we had a smashing good time in Transylvania and we now highly recommend a visit to friends. And we took loads of amazing pictures - check them out here and enjoy!

Tour O.... Budapest

2009-06-18T21:38:00.007+02:00

We made a short stop in Budapest (less than 24 hours sadly) on our way to Romania. With the limited time, we still managed to squeezed in a lovely stroll through the castle district, a stop at St. Stephen's Basilica, and of course the requisite goulash, before heading off for the small village of Miklosvar/Miclosoara, near Brasov in Transylvania. If we'd know the drive would take more than 12 hours we may have left earlier...

Next stop on the Tour O Balkans... or more correctly Southeast Europe

2009-06-15T20:37:00.006+02:00

Nigel at the Schonbrunn Palace

Finally we were back on track. New battery installed, Bailey was feeling better so we headed off to Vienna... not quite the Balkans, but some would argue the hub of Southeastern Europe, so close enough. As the capital of the Hapsburg and then Austro-Hungarian Empires for centuries, the beautifully designed parks, tree lined boulevards, and magestic buildings were no suprise, but the amazing diversity and mix of cultures that blend in the streets just outside the Ringstrasse were something that I had not expected. We enjoyed the wonderful cafes of the city, tried the traditional "Melange" coffee, and discovered an amazing Asian restuarant (Japanisches Gasthaus Hidori -- 89 Burggasse). We also reveled in the fact that Vienna -- despite its longstanding cafe culture -- has a Starbucks. Frankly, as a coffee lover (and one who lives without Starbucks currently), I deemed both a cafe stop and a Starbucks stop as entirely fine. Lovely weather provded us plenty of oportunities for photos here.

Tour O Balkans, the saga continues

2009-06-15T18:48:00.002+02:00

Bailey getting lifted onto the truck on her way to the doctor

...So we arrived in Zagreb and bailey died right outside the Sheraton. The nice concierge men helped us push her into a spot across the street and we waited for Monday to arrive so we could have her towed to the MINI dealership. It took a few more days than planned, but by Tuesday afternoon we were off again...

Tour O Balkans - Part 1

2009-06-01T21:12:00.005+02:00

Korcula, local wine and lovely views

Day 1: On Wednesday night, May 27th, the gang and I left Podgorica to start our 16 day road trip around the Balkans. We have stops planned in Orebic, Croatia; Mostar, Bosnia; Zagreb, Croatia; Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungry; Translavia, Romania; Belgrade, Serbia before finally coming back home to Podgorica. We left after work and made record time to Dubrovnik, right at 2 hours. We got to Orebic around 10 at night and checked into our apartment there. There was a storm rolling in off of the Adriatic Sea just as we arrived. The lighting with the storm as awesome to watch over the sea... Or so we thought. That night, the storm hit and knocked power out at the apartment. It came back on, but the worse was still to come.

Day 2: In the morning we woke up to a bright sunny day, with a lot of wind. Over night the storm kept us awake with crazy thunder and lighting. After breakfast, we wanted to go to the beach and enjoy the sun. Well, that didn't happen. You see, my partner in crime, Bailey got struck by lighting and wouldn't start in the morning. Poor Bailey, she was all alone in the parking lot behind the small apartment building and didn't stand a chance in the crazy storm... still suffering from a bit of disbelief and with no one around and nothing to do on our own, we walked to town to catch a ferry to the lovely island of Korcula (birthplace of Marco Polo) for the day, hoping that with a jump the following day, Bailey would be all better...

Poor Bailey...

...Day three -- Hoping it was just a battery issue, with the kind assistance of our apartment's owner, we got Bailey jumped and then drove around for over an hour -- toured the end of the Peljasac peninsula -- to ensure she was properly charged and then as the wind let up, we headed to the beach. Parked Bailey under some big tress, with a lovely view of the sea, and went off to soak up some sun and some swimming. Lovely beach, lovely weather, perhaps our holiday was turning a corner...

Bailey parked at the beach, complete with lovely shady view of the sea (see more pics of Orebic here)

...After a couple hours we deemed it time for lunch and went back to get Bailey and go to lunch. But sadly she wouldn't start. Again. Well it seemed that her battery was in much worse shape than we imagined initially. We started making calls (to MINI dealerships around Croatia mostly) and crafted a plan -- jump her again the next morning and drive her to Zagreb and hope the MINI experts there could help her...

Flora and Fauna! Springtime in Montenegro

2009-04-07T21:52:00.006+02:00

As many guidebooks will tell you, Montenegro has an abundance of unique flora and fauna. In fact it is home to dozens of rare, endangered, or species just otherwise not found in Europe. It is so often touted, that we sometimes laugh about it, but... spring has sprung which means its a brilliant time for admiring the flora and fauna... and it really is worth admiring. Wild flowers are popping up everywhere and within a few weeks the hills will be a bright chartreuse green as the trees bloom as well. Montenegro even has its own version of our DC cherry blossom trees -- some of which have even adapted to growing on the side of the steep mountains here!

Me on the Kotor fortress walls... quite a hike, but the views are worth it!

The beautiful spring greenery has been giving me a bit of a sniffle, however, the nice weather was perfect timing for our friends Ed and Geske's visit (especially nice for them coming from chilly Copenhagen). Check out all our pics from a wonderful weekend here.

Skiing Kolasin

2009-03-15T17:46:00.009+01:00

Just look at all the snow!

A few weeks back we had a winter wonderland of snow here... We even got snow in Podgorica! So that weekend we headed to Kolasin, about an hour north of Podgorica, to see if the slopes got some snow too and to relax at the spa at the Bianca resort. The snow was better than we even imagined, the kacamak (tasty potato and cheese dish) was as wonderful as ever at our favourite Kolasin restaurant Savrdak, and a great weekend was had by all.

With our favourite hostess at Savrdak

It must be spring...

2009-03-15T11:37:00.010+01:00

Road work,

election campaign posters,

new flowers breaking through on snowy hills,

and baby sheep...

spring has arrived in Montenegro!

We celebrated by spending some time in one of our favourite coastal towns, Herceg Novi, and then driving back to Podgorica on the new -- though only partially complete --road from Risan on the Boka (Kotor Bay) to Zabljak in the far north. We took the new part until it ends and then followed the old road to near the Bosnian border and back through Niksic. It was a lovely spring day, perfect for an exploratory drive. The new road, though far from complete, does afford incredible views of the Boka all the way to Lovcen mountain and is worth a see even if you turn around and head back to the bay when the new road meets the old (and construction). Check out all our pictures here.

Happy New Year 2009... South to Bari

2009-01-21T21:04:00.017+01:00

After four lovely days in the Bologna and environs, it was time to head south and start the end of our round the Adriatic journey...

Lunch stop in San Marino - where buying a gun and a handmade apron in the same store, tax free, is possible. Pretty snow capped hills with a lovely castle and government building. A gondola transports one from the old town down to the main road/shopping strip.

And finally to Bari—A surprisingly quaint, cute city. When approaching the hotel at night through the fairly seedy streets on the outskirts of town, it was easy to see where Bari gets its rough reputation, but in the light of day and a small stroll across the railroad tracks to the center of town, Bari began to grow on us. Bari ‘centro’ is a good sized downtown area made up of a “newer” area, 18th/ 19th century architecture, which is the modern heart of the city and the major shopping district (and happily for us many of the shops were having brilliant post holiday sales!) and a closely built, charming old town, most of which dates back to the 11th century, laid out along the peninsula between two modern harbours—one which was where our ferry departed from. Some of the highlights of the old town include the Cathedral of San Sabino (1035 - 1171), the Castello Svevo of Frederick II (a tour costs just 2 Euro), and the splendid Basilica of Saint Nicholas (a perfect spot to mark the end of our Christmas/New Years trip!) Beyond a good deal of shopping, including stocking up on lots of cheese and wine, we also sampled some local fare at a really wonderful restaurant -- Terranima. We had a potpourri of local Puglian dishes, including the freshest, most amazing ricotta we’d ever tasted. If we ever find ourselves back in Bari, we’ll definitely be back to this phenomenal family owned restaurant if just for the ricotta!

Sailing from Bari to Bar...Our commie chic ship (actually to be fair, it’s more 70s chic than commie per se) was surprisingly comfortable ...though that was probably largely due to the fact that there were roughly 15 other passengers on board. Seriously. And five cars. On a ship built to hold roughly 700-1000 passengers and with two levels of available parking. Unfortunately, maybe because there were so few of us on board, there was a severe lack of amenities... the bar was open for about an hour and half while people boarded and when we set sail and then again for another hour and half at the end of the trip. Beyond that, nista (that’s nothing in Montenegrin). Note to other travelers, if planning to take this ferry, one really should pack snacks, drinks and some sort of entertainment - nine hours is a long trip and you can never be sure what, if anything, will be open/available!

Home sweet home. The seas calmed and we were treated to a beautiful sunset as we neared Montenegro and after a long, glorious (though cold) two weeks, we were home.

Srecna Nova Godina iz Crne Gore! Happy New Year from Montenegro!

More New Years 2009 - Tour 'O Adriatic, on to Italy

2009-01-20T21:31:00.015+01:00

Leaving snowy Ljubljana behind, we headed for Venice. Thankfully no longer flooding, Venice was, however, cold. Very, very cold. So cold that on one hand we often had some side streets to ourselves (a pro), but on the other we couldn’t venture too far from the hotel for dinner because the walk home later in the evening was just too brutal (con). Happily we did discover a couple wonderful little wine bars during our stay – perfect for popping in to warm up in over a glass of wine and small snack while wandering the labyrinth of Venice – and one tasty restaurant within a five minute walk of our hotel. We also spent a day touring Murino; the island is famous for its glass industry but has lots of the same charming little streets that make up Venice so was great for strolling and admiring architecture. Venice can’t really be done justice in pictures, but we tried and I think got some good ones...

Off to Bologna... after nearly four days in Venice, it was time to move on to the Emilia Romagna region. We made Bologna our base and stayed at the Savoia Regency, which had a restaurant so tasty we ate there twice! Bologna is the site of the oldest university in Europe and it definitely has a University and age-old quest for further education about it. As an example, the Basilica di San Petronio, which dominates the city’s center piazza, houses a huge sundial that stretches 67.7m along the floor of the eastern aisle. Designed in 1656 by Gian Cassini and Domenico Guglielmi, it was instrumental in discovering the anomalies of the Julian calendar and led to the creation of the leap year. Bologna was a very warm welcoming city and we were pleasantly surprised to find that everyone we met spoke English! We were treated to snow again in Bologna, which made for some lovely photo opportunities.

During our exploration of the Emilia Romagna region, we also discovered the great little city of Parma. We went to taste Parma ham and parmigiano cheese in their homeland –and were quite successful and satisfied in that pursuit– but also discovered a great semi-off-the-beaten-path Italian town. We also drove the old Emilia Reggio road which toured us through a number of great little towns in the region. Apparently the region is becoming popular with both agro-tourists and cyclists and it is definitely clear why on both counts – loads of great biking paths through the gentle hills, miles of vineyards and farmland. Here are a few pics.

We also made the pilgrimage to the homeland of Ferrari – Maranello. Tiny Maranello and neighboring Modena (which, beyond Ferrari, also has the honor of being the nearest large town to the homes of Maserati, Lamborghini, Pagani and previously to Bugatti and De Tomaso) host the annual Mille Miglia, the thousand mile open-road endurance race which began in 1927 and has inspired numerous similar events around the world. The official Ferrari museum and Ferrari’s primary factory are located in Maranello. We began our pilgrimage assuming that given that the museum is the city of Marannello’s largest (and only) attraction that the signage would be decent; in fact very that could not be farther from the truth. You really have to earn your entry to this museum! There are a handful of signs on the auto stratas (highways) and on the major road leading to Maranello, however, once you near the actual town there are zero, count them zero, signs for the museum. We happened to stumble upon the factory by chance, stopped to ask for directions and happily the nice gentleman at the security desk there assured us that we were not the first and gave us a hand-drawn map to the museum. Once the museum was located and we were inside, we were treated to up close and personal viewing of nearly all F1 Ferraris (from the 60s to today) as well as a collection of classic and more modern Ferraris. It was an excellent collection, though in truth –especially given that it was so difficult to locate—there are more impressive car collections out there (though granted not many with a sole Ferrari focus). Still for true Ferrari aficionados, it’s a worthwhile stop... if you can find it!

Nigel, behind the Ferrari factory

Nigel surrounded by Ferrari

Ferrari Mecca

New Years 2009!

2009-01-20T20:50:00.008+01:00

After leaving Podgorica midmorning (aiming to get to Split by late afternoon), we stopped for lunch in the tiny town of Mali Ston (literally “little Ston”) about an hour north of Dubrovnik. The restaurant we stumbled upon turned out to be great, complete with a great hostess who gave us a bag of salt (the nearby ancient salt fields are what Ston is famous for) and a hotel/ restaurant flyer to remind us to come back and stay with her when the weather turns warm again.

Pleased with our discovery of Mali Ston, we headed off to Split in good spirits, along the way experiencing the very end of Croatia’s new highway (wonderful) and chatting with a variety of border guards and toll booth attendants all of whom were shocked to see a Podgorica vehicle that far north (this time of year anyway).

Split... overnight in a truly plush hotel suite (love the off season deals!) With an early start and long drive ahead to Ljubljana the next day, we didn’t see much of the city but now that we know the drive isn’t too tough perhaps we’ll be back during the season. We did, however, take a number of lovely pics along the way to Split and onward through Zagreb to Ljubljana. We also stopped in the small town of Licki Osik where part of Tim's family is originally from, but which unfortunately saw a great deal of conflict during wars of the 1990s. The small town is rebuilding, but very slowly and was a humbling sight particularly in comparison to Dubrovnik, Split, and even Mali Ston's relative properity. Check the pictures out here and here.

Ljubljana – A charming Austria-meets-Balkans town, with numerous little cafes and bars lining the river that runs through the center of town, Ljubljana is great in the spring, summer, and fall because it has such a great outdoor café, university town vibe. Despite literally freezing cold weather on New Years Eve, Ljubljana proved to be a fun – outdoor focused – town in winter as well. All the old town and castle (perched on a hill above the old town) were covered in holiday lights and the squares hosted small festivals including various music acts and small tents serving sausages, warm breads, roasted chestnuts, and hot wine. The food was tasty and the hot wine was actually a nice treat in the cold weather. After sampling some sausage and wandering through the festivals, we (wisely I think) chose to spend most of the evening inside listening to music in our hotel’s café (Hotel Grand Union – great classic hotel right in the center of town) and then popped out to the main square to ring in the new year with some hot wine, live music, and fireworks over the castle. Really beautiful setting to welcome in 2009.

We woke on New Year’s Day to a city covered in snow. Ljubljana is a cute town anyway, but was absolutely great covered in snow and with very few people out, we got some great pics of the town and discovered the most amazing hot chocolate ever – more like warm chocolate pudding than a true beverage, it is amazing!

Happy Christmas!

2008-12-25T16:22:00.000+01:00

Happy Christmas from Nigel to you.

I am about to set off on another journey around Europe. Check for pictures and stories soon.

Long Weekend in Sarajevo

2008-11-16T22:14:00.006+01:00

Sarajevo is another of Lexi's favourite towns so over the long 4th of July weekend we decided to do some more exploring in the neighborhood. Despite its tragic recent history, Sarajevo has a great spirit to it. For centuries Sarajevo has been at the crossroads of cultures, which has blessed the city with a blend of architecture, culture, history, and people, making it a fascinating place to visit. Here are just a few pictures, we'll have to come again to take some more!

Escaping the Podgorica Heat: Nigel Does Northern Europe

2008-11-16T21:49:00.007+01:00

Nigel at Check Point Charlie, Berlin

The summer can get quite hot in Podgorica (40 C/ 100 F +) so to escape the summer heat at home, we headed north for our summer holiday. North to Copenhagen Denmark, Malmo Sweden, and Hamburg and Berlin Germany. The weather was pleasantly cool - perfect... for us anyway! We had a wonderful trip catching up with friends, eating a variety of food we can't find here, exploring new countries, and taking the train from Copenhagen to Hamburg. More exciting than it sounds - the train actually boards a ferry to cross to Germany! Berlin is one of Lexi's all time favourite cities so she was excited to show it off -- including a walk by the brand new American Embassy right by Brandenburg Gate and of course a visit to Check Point Charlie, where I met my new friends (see above pic). In Hamburg we stumbled across a great wine festival and discovered a world class Indian restaurant. In Denmark we learned lots about Carlsberg beer at the brewery and from our expert hosts Ed and Geske. Check out all we learned here. In Malmo we learned that "swedish red fish" do exist, but they aren't called swedish red fish. They are popular, but no more so than the other options in the smoregeshborg of gummy candy that is on offer absolutely everywhere.

Enjoying a cold tuborg on the ferry crossing!

Montenegro: Lazy Summer Days in the Mountains

2008-11-16T21:43:00.003+01:00

It is a constant debate for me which is more beautiful - the coast or the mountains. Usually wherever I am at the time wins out. The mountains do have the added benefit of being a hidden treasure (at least for now) which brings a sense of serenity that I didn't know was possible. The drive from Podgorica to Pluzine is probably one of the most beautiful drives and certainly is one of the most remote. Nigel recommended!

Montenegro: Lazy Summer Days at the Boka

2008-11-16T21:32:00.002+01:00

Because we live here sometimes it is easy to forget what an incredibly beautiful country Montenegro is. One lovely late summer day we took a spontaneous drive to Boka Kotorska for a lazy swim in the bay, a late lunch of prsut and melon, and a boat trip out to the island church, Our Lady of the Rock. Brilliant day! Brilliant photos here.

Turkey Part Two: Cappadocia

2008-11-16T21:04:00.003+01:00

After Istanbul, we headed to Cappadocia in the center of the country. We stayed at an absolutely fabulous boutique hotel -- Esbella Evi -- in Urgup. From there we took a one day tour and mostly explored on our own the amazing Cappadocia region. It is a region steeped in incredible history, with a landscape to match. The pictures turned out amazing and they still don't do it justice. Enjoy my lovely photos here.

Cappadocia is a brilliant holiday spot, because in addition to the unique history and beautiful scenery, it offers great active holiday options. We did a great deal of hiking...

(Here a camel points us in the right direction)

exploring...

here's me checking out a potential new cave dwelling home)

And, to perfectly cap off an amazing week, we took a sunrise hot air balloon ride... more pictures of this lovely flight are in my gallery here.

Turkey!!! Part One: Istanbul

2008-06-29T20:59:00.002+02:00

Merhaba!

We started our 10 day exploration of Turkey in the capital -- Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) -- Europe's most populous city and one of the most historically rich destinations in the world. The May weather was perfect, warm but not too hot, and thankfully the tourist droves were just beginning (it's a plenty crowded city anyway, I can't even imagine it in the peak of tourist season!). After a leisurely stroll around the city, a delicious meal of Turkish meze and Efes beer, and an accidental trip to the best carpet store in town (more on that later) on our first day in town, we began our second day with a serious trip back in time at Topkapi Palace. Construction began in the mid 1400s and the Palace would serve on the official residence for the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire for roughly 400 years (it definitely looks and feels like an Empire's Palace!) It is enormous -- a quick tour takes at least half a day -- and an architectural wonder.

It is filled with lavish rooms,

some with the original furniture (check out the Sultan's bed!),

and is literally covered with incredible tiling.

Istanbul is steeped in history and culture and happily for us the Palace was a great introduction, as we then headed to the Blue Mosque and the Ayasofya (Hagia Sofia).

The Blue Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Ahmed I, built between 1601 and 1616, and is the largest mosque in Turkey. The interior is filled with beautiful blue Iznik tiles (from which it gets it's nickname).

The Ayasofya built originally between 532 and 537 as an orthodox basilica, was converted to a mosque by Sultan Mehmed II in 1453 , and finally was deemed a museum by Ataturk in 1935. It is now a fascinating example of the similarities across religions, as partially revealed Christian frescoes meld into Islamic designs, and as the building is one of the best examples of byzantine architecture, but yet the huge central dome works perfectly as the dome of a mosque as well.

And of course for us shopping and eating are at least as important as the historical and cultural site seeing and are essential to a good holiday. Istanbul did not disappoint in this department!

The Spice Bazaar
We explored, haggled, and got some great buys at the Grand Bazaar, and discovered some British favourites (TopShop and the like!) in the newer Taskim Square area.

We also discovered the great smells of the spice bazaar. Yum!
Every meal we had was wonderful, but a few restaurants were a bit more noteworthy than others, mostly because of their spectacular settings. One night we dined atop the city at 360, a very swish place near Taskim Square, and one night we dined at Sarnic, a wonderful Turkish restaurant in an old cistern in historic Sultanmet.

When we were adequately stuffed full of delicious food and history, and needing a break from the bustling capital, we headed off to the central region of Cappadocia....

Ostrog Monastery

2008-05-15T22:03:00.000+02:00

A long weekend and some beautiful weather was the inspiration for our Orthodox Easter Monday pilgrimage to Ostrog Monastery. Ostrog is set high up a cliff in a rocky mountain range, often obscured by clouds and or the famous Balkan mists. It is incredible to think of it being built by monks in the 17th century because even our hike from the bottom in the 21st century (where yes, if you'd prefer, you can now take the entire trip by car) was not exactly a leisurely stroll.

It is said that because of the founding saint (Saint Vasilije Ostroski), who is enshrined in the monastery, miracles are granted to the faithful who come to pray at Ostrog. With such a reputation, it is one of the most visited places in the Balkans, and certainly in Montenegro. Over the years, many who are sick or seeking solace from some emotional hardship have traveled to Ostrog hoping for a cure or a lightening of their spirits.

It's not clear how true any of that is, but the views of the valley below are beautiful and the architectural marvels definitely worth a visit.

The view from the monastery

Dubrovnik Birthday Weekend

2008-05-14T21:39:00.001+02:00

After a great - but busy - weekend monitoring elections, we decided to head to Dubrovnik, Croatia for Tim's birthday. Lexi was last there in 2004 and was anxious to see how much it had changed... but well before the tourism season was in full swing!
Tim had never been and thought a Croatian adventure sounded like a perfectly lovely way to celebrate a birthday. After a brief stop at our favourite Kavana, Grand Cafe in Herceg Novi, for coffee and cheese pie, we drove alone the still somewhat contested Prevlaka Peninsula and into Croatia. The border is a mere 10-15 minute drive. From there we were in Dubrovnik before we knew it....

When Lexi first visited Dubrovnik in the summer of 2000, the city -- and country -- was still largely undiscovered, at the precipice of what would become a huge tourist boom and a quick move towards EU and NATO membership (a similar state to that which Montenegro appears today). It was beautiful, if a bit rough around the edges, and had a spirit about it that encouraged people to begin talking about their next trip immediately upon leaving. Tourists wandered through the narrow streets, but you could still turn a corner, find yourself totally alone, and feel as though you'd stepped back centuries in time. Dubrovnik in 2008 was already packed with tourists in April! Many things have improved for the better with the huge influx of tourists, and the money they bring, over the past eight years -- the city is now wealthy enough to more efficently maintain and preserve its historic buildings and there are the abundance of resturants, hotels, and clean bathrooms that one expects in a world reknowned tourist location. However, the chances of meeting another American or British traveler are about equal to meeting a Croatian and the city has lost a little of the undiscovered and old world charm that made it so breath taking less than ten years ago.

That said, the city's unique historic and natural beauty can't be disputed and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather; We did have a brief rainstorm on our first afternoon, but within a couple hours the sun was back out and Sunday was downright warm. Warm enough for shorts! In April!

We stayed at Villa Argentina. A bit of a splurge, but worth it for the incredible views and special ocassion. Check out the view from our window!
And some more pics, here...

Herceg Novi, a still semi-hidden gem on the Adriatic

2008-05-14T20:15:00.000+02:00

As election monitors for the April 6th Presidential elections, we were lucky enough to get the municipality of Herceg Novi, the northern-most coastal municipality in Montenegro. The town of the same name dates back to 1382 and wandering through the old town (stari grad) you get a great feel for the tumultuous history of the area -- which at one time was part of the Roman, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian Empires, and was even ruled the Spaniards from 1539 to 1687! The town sits on the entrance to the Boka Kotorska (see "Weekend with Helena for more on Kotor itself) and is also only about a half hour drive away from Dubrovnik, Croatia. In addition to the charming old town itself, the city boats a great kavana (coffee house), Grand Cafe, that we think makes the best deutche cafe in the country, serves a delicious cheese pie in the mornings and an equally delicious assortment of sweets in the evening. There also is a long promenade that stretches along the coast and makes for a perfect leisurely afternoon stroll in the sun and some lovely views of the Boka and the Adriatic.

Herceg Novi is the furthest coastal town from Podgorica, roughly a three hour drive with traffic (which is nearly unavoidable here, especially in the summer). There is a quick ferry ride from Tivat to Kamenari (15 minutes or so from the town of Herceg Novi), which eliminates the need to go all the way around the Boka Kotorska -- a beautiful, but long drive. However, we had time and had not done the drive yet, so on the way to Herceg Novi we drove around the Boka, and on the way home we took the ferry.

The view from the road around the Boka....

....and the view from the ferry.

Herceg Novi was a huge tourist destination during Yugoslav days, but recently has not seen the tourist boom that cities -- like Budva -- further down the coast and closer to Podgorica have experienced. However, that's what we think makes the place so charming -- it's a real town, with real (wonderful) people, that also just happens to have a beautiful old town and coastline.

The elections went smoothly and with all our polling station visits we got to meet a lot of great people and manged to see a lot of the other small -beautiful!- towns in the municipality, and had time to see just enough of the grad (city) Herceg Novi to know that we want to come back! All in all, a wonderful weekend!

...Even Nigel made some new friends!

Trying to hike Lovcen

2008-04-11T19:49:00.000+02:00

The weather has started to turn nice here in Montenegro so with a weekend free of plans we thought it might be a nice time for a short weekend day trip. Lovcen is a national park located outside Cetinje which is a fairly short ~40 minute drive from Podgorica so perfect for a day trip. The most stunning attraction of the park is the Njegos Mausoleum, the grave tomb of Petar II Petrovic Njegos --a national hero and probably the most famous figure in Montenegrin history-- the mausoleum is located on a 1,647 m high mountain peek giving a stunning view of the park, the Boka Kotorska, and even Skadarsko Jezero on clear days. You can drive near to the top but there is also hiking near by so we planned for a drive and hike adventure.... But not only is a clear day important, the melting of the snow on the road to Lovcen is also key!

The weather was beautiful -- sunny and clear -- but got a little colder the further in altitude we drove. There was some snow on the roads, but not easily dissuaded we drove on. We got to one near switchback turn where it did appear to be getting considerably snowier and where we were not convinced that the way the road went was the way we were meant to go, but we drove on.... until it was clear that we could go no further.

Why you ask? Well in addition to having to stay in the path that the cars before us had made in the nearly foot tall snow (so no turning around!), after another turn we reached two cars seemingly stuck. One was trying to go up the hill and the other was coming down the hill, unfortunately for them -- and us! -- passing was impossible as there was only one real passable path. Soon another car arrived on the scene behind us and we all made the decision (in broken Montenegrin) to reverse all the way down the hill.

Good thing Tim is an excellent driver! As it turns out, back at that switchback we should have looked more closely -- turns out we needed make a right, not a left, to get to Lovcen! We made it back to the bottom and here are some pics to prove it. (Tim and Nigel on the road -- currently impassable -- that we should have been on).

...So we went back to Cetinje for a delicious meal, some exploration, a kafa, and a small hike. Here are some more pics of the day... And we'll be back to actually see Lovcen one of these days!

Bar and Ulcinj

2008-02-16T23:25:00.000+01:00

This weekend we made a short day trip down the Montenegrin coast to Bar and Ulcinj.

We stopped in Bar and visited the old city, Stari Bar. It was built way back in the day, Romans, and still surives today. Enough though a few earthquakes have destoryed most of the oldest parts, some still survive.

After a quick tour, we eat some lunch in a cafe in Bar and then headed south to Ulcinj. Ulcinj is the southern most city in Montenegro just north of the board with Albania.

You can find the pics here.

Christmas and New Years in London!

2008-01-07T19:07:00.000+01:00

Christmas doesn't happen in Montenegro until January 7th, so on December 25th we headed to London to spend the holidays with the family.... and enjoy a variety of cuisines, some theatre, and quality time in loads of pubs.

We celebrated Boxing Day with a trip to Lexi's old neighbourhood, including a visit to Starbucks (oh, sweet Starbucks, how I've missed you!) and a bit a shopping in Whiteley's. When the Zara crowds proved too much for us (the after Christmas sales in London put Black Thursday in the US to shame!), we headed to a pub to escape the crowds. And we enjoyed a few pints, some bangers and mash, fish and chips, and stickey toffee pudding (I do so love a good stickey toffee pudding). Delish!

The next few days flew by -- we saw a show, the Nutcracker, a lovely holiday classical concert, ate wonderful food at Cuba de Asia and St Alban, and of course braved the crowds on the high street for numerous Starbucks trips and plenty of shopping. And some pints of Strongbow. We checked out the newly refurbished Transport Museum (filled with loads of great old timey carriages - loved it!) and got a look at St Pancras Station, the new Eurostar arrival station all fancied up and reopen in anticipation of the London Olympics. We also visited the Tower of London and I showed off my incredible skating talent on the Moat Ice Rink.

Then New Years Eve we met up with some of Lexi's British mates and after a hilarious mexican feista dinner (complete with sombreros for all!) we headed off towards Westminster to pick out a nice spot to watch the fireworks over the Thames. We settled on a spot with a lovely view of Big Ben, popped the champagne (yes, that's allowed... just one of the many reasons London is a wonderful city) and the fireworks were spectacular.

We caught up with another of Lexi's mates, Kara, on New Years Day and then sadly packed up and headed back to Podgorica... just in time for Christmas Part Dva (two)!

See more of my lovely Christmas holiday pictures in my picture gallery and stay tuned for pictures of Podgorica Christmas part dva.

Adventures in Albania

2007-11-13T21:06:00.000+01:00

As Podgorica weather threatened to be quite chilly, Lexi, Tim, and I decided to get out of town and celebrate the long Veteran's Day weekend with a lovely trip to Tirana, Albania. It was quite an interesting adventure -- starting with the drive to the border crossing along the beautiful Lake Skadar. (Pictures below) It is not only the largest lake in the Balkans, but one of the few remaining fresh-water marshes, the last refuge for pelicans in Europe, and the biggest bird sanctuary in Europe. After a brief stop to marvel at its beauty, from the top of the rental car of course, we were off for the border crossing, where after a few curious looks (diplomats going to Albania on holiday??) we were on our way. And were we ever! The roads from the border to Tirana (total trip takes roughly 4 hours) are quite good and we made good time, through Shkoder --a surprisingly nice little town-- and past numerous concrete defense bunkers (roughly 700,000 were built by Albania's communist dictator Enver Hoxha and, though dilapidated, most still dot the hillside).

Once the most isolated of communist capitals, Tirana's mayor, Edi Rama (winner of the "World Mayor" in 2004) has given the city a facelift, painting buildings in colourful colors (to hide what I'd describe as the crumbling "commie-chic" cement buildings) and generally cleaning things up. Today Tirana has loads of shopping (though sadly does not carry any of my favourite British labels), modern cineplexs (playing current American movies), and even a bowling alley! Tirana is quite a big place after living in little Podgorica and traffic issues here rival those in Podgorica! Typically crazed Balkan drivers --most who never drove during communist times as only party elite were allowed to own vehicles-- are not helped out by the fact that Tirana is still plagued by rolling black outs that take out the traffic lights (and everything else in the block for the designated time period).

Our first night in Tirana, we celebrated by wining and dining at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the city and enjoyed the lovely view. Dinner was deliciously not Italian and the Albanian wine was quite good.

On day two, we further explored the city, indulged in cappuccino and more wine, spotted funny three-wheeled trucks, and puzzled at the curious, permanent mini- carnival for the children of Tirana and the fake McDonalds.

Sadly Monday it was back to Podgorica, with a short stop at the Tirana "Furniture Row" to buy a coat rack (my top cardi keeps getting wrinkled without a proper place to hang it!). The beautiful rainbow that graced the skies outside Podgorica seemed a lovely way to end our Albanian adventure.

Pictures here.

Weekend with Helena

2007-10-25T14:04:00.000+02:00

Helena was in town this weekend and we went on a trip up the coast from Bar to Kotor. We also stopped at the Podgo airport on the to pick up a bag. Here is a picture from Kotor, up on the hill of the Fjord.

The bay of Kotor is surronded by massive montains. It is the southern most Fjord in all of Europe and a must see if you come here. More pics here.

Bus tripp'n to Budva

2007-10-16T13:59:00.000+02:00

This past weekend, Tim, Lexi, and I traveled to the coastal town of Budva in Montenegro. It is a very pretty place with many interesting places. Next summer, on a warm day, I want to go back to use the paddle boats with the built-in water slide. These gnome clothes do get quite warm in the summer time.

http://picasaweb.google.com/nigel.the.gnome/DayTripToBudva

Leaving home

2007-10-16T13:11:00.000+02:00

This is the last day I got to ride around Washington with my top pal Bailey. I love it when I ride around on top of her, I get such a view from there.

To view more of my pics visit http://picasaweb.google.com/nigel.the.gnome