Didn’t sleep that great last night and this morning was an early morning as we’re taking a day trip to Montenegro. There are only a few stops while there because it will take about 3 hours to get there and 3 hours to come back so travel time of at least 6 hours just to get in and out of Montenegro (this doesn’t include travel time to our destinations within Montenegro).

We were asked to meet by Roma Coffee which was thankfully 5 minutes away from us walking just on the other side of the river at 6:20am. My mom wanted to leave early enough so she could take her time walking so we left at 6am (and it was already very light outside).
We got to the coffee shop around 6:10am and waited. I will say for Albania to be bustling with people during the day/evening and night, not too many people are out in the early morning (it’s the emptiest I’ve seen the streets).

Considering the time, I thought we were the first ones that they were picking up but by the time the bus pulled up at 6:40am there were already some people on board. We grabbed a seat and the bus went on to pick up other groups of people around the city. I would say by 7am we had everyone and were beginning to head out of Albania and to Montenegro. People on our bus were from the following places: the Netherlands, Belgium, Bangladash, France, Italy, Finland, Africa, Costa Rica and etc.

Mentor is our guide’s name and Eddy is our driver. We exited from Albania’s north and entered Montenegro through the south side (I was asleep by this time). I fell asleep on the ride there and by the time I woke up we had already crossed the border and it was raining lightly outside. The plan was to make a coffee/restaurant/toilet stop for 30 minutes and then continue on to the viewpoint of Sveti Stefan.

Not passing up an opportunity on this long ride we got out and accessed everything but the restaurant as there wasn’t really time to get food but a lite snack. With a grocery store being next to it we were able to get some snacks for the road. Once everyone was ready it was back on the bus. We rode for a while and then stopped to see what was Sveti Stefan.

On the way there we passed a horrible accident in which we stopped and some people got off to help/be nosey. A car was completely flipped over and the smaller red car’s front had been smashed in with a woman behind the wheel. We heard her nose was bleeding and that she’s pregnant. Mentor grabbed a first aid kit from the bus and went back over. It seemed as though more people stopped to help and then we heard the sirens; professional help was now on the way. I hope no one was seriously hurt.

From what I’ve been told, Sveti Stefan is an island off of Montenegro where rich people go. It isn’t an island that you can just hop across to, you have to have a reservation or some type of business there. There are actual guards on the bridge going over leading to it and if you can’t show them something don’t bother. It looks like a nice little community just stretched out in the water. Everyone took their photos and videos here at this viewpoint.

Our next and last stop would be the city of Budva. On our way to Budva some Budva, Montenegro and Albania facts were shared and here are some of them:

•Montenegro has the smallest population in the Balkans
•Only euros are used in Montenegro
•In 2006 Montenegro became independent
•Kosovo became independent in 2008
•In Montenegro they speak Serbian and Albanian (Montenegro used to be joined with Serbia as a country)
•Montenegro was a part of the old country Yugoslavia
•Montenegro is not in the European union (Albania also isn’t in the European Union but is a part of NATO)
•Montenegro means black mountain
•Balkans means mountains
•More than 67% of the country of Montenegro is mountains (more like 80-89%)
•People from Montenegro are considered some of the laziest people in Europe (they don’t like to work)
•Montenegro have some of the tallest people in the world
•In 1912 Albania became independent
•Leke (Albanian currency pronounced like lake) is a short nickname for Alexander the Great
•Budva is the 3rd biggest city in Montenegro
•The first olive tree was planted here in all of Europe in the city of Bar in Montenegro
•Budva is the most visited city in Montenegro followed by Kotor

As we arrived to Budva we were told about the legend of the Budva Ballerina Statue (aka the Dancing Girl). She was seeing a young sailor and wanted to go away with him but he told her no he didn’t want to take her away from her dancing. He told her to continue and he would come back for her. So she danced day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year. She died dancing and never heard from or saw him again.

Mentor told us to be back by 3:30pm sharp or we’d be left behind. Apparently because of the number of tourists, buses can only stay parked in their designated area for 150 minites and then they have to move or it’s a 600 euros fine. And trust me no one wants to be left behind trying to figure out how to get out of Montenegro if they miss the bus. My mom and I took note of our drop off point and I set an alarm for 3:10pm so wherever we are we could start walking back.

We started out looking for restaurants to eat at and in doing so stopped into a few souvenir shops and bought some things. Finally we settled on Kuca Pub Restaurant and sat down inside. My mom and I both agree that we’re not impressed with Albania’s food so far and the food spot in Montenegro was no different. I got a simple chicken pasta dish with a cider and my mom got a draft beer and burger with fries (we had to send her burger back to cook it a bit more). We were glad to get to sit down and eat a meal though and we were able to take our time.

As time drew near we went ahead and began heading to the meeting spot out front but on the way I popped through an entrance to capture pictures on the beach and then went in a shoe store and bought some sandals. Luckily we could see the entrance point from here and still had time. Everyone was there by 3:30pm as we walked back to the bus and boarded. Now it was time to head back to Tirana, Albania.

On the way back many people fell asleep but I woke up to an announcement saying we were stuck at the moment due to a part being broken. We were on the side of the road and some people had gotten off the bus (looking for bathrooms). I thought, “This can’t be happening we cannot get stuck in Montenegro”. Well we were for about an hour to an hour and a half but Mentor and a nearby auto shop along with the driver figured it out (thank the Lord). We are definitely getting back much later than expected now though.

We stopped at the same rest stop area on our way in so people could use the toilets or grab a coffee. Not too much time could be spent here though since we’re late getting back. By the time we get in we’ll eat a late dinner with a glass of wine, I’ll do my posts, shower then hit the bed. Thankfully our day trip for tomorrow doesn’t start so early.