Day 15 - Cetinje
Friday 7th July 2017
Our apartment at the Tara Bridge guesthouse is filled with junk. There is old furniture, non-functioning white goods, and an old TV and video player. But my bed is surprisingly comfortable and the linen is clean and fresh. A door leads directly out onto a terrace with superb views over the gorge and bridge.
Most of the visitors are daytrippers and as the sun disappears so do most of the tourists and their cars. It is very quiet here now, just stars very bright in the sky and the occasional sweep of lights as a lonely wagon rolls across the bridge. I have a surprisingly restful night and wake up to sunshine and the sounds of the cleaning and restaurant staff preparing for another busy day at the start of the weekend.
I brew up the first coffee of the day and later we walk all of 10 metres to the gorge-side cafe for a breakfast of omelette and bread.
There is a choice of routes from here. We can take the right fork which runs due east into the Durmitor National Park or head south up the river gorge to Mojkovak.
As with so many European beauty spots the road sign is covered with travellers' stickers. In the US they are often peppered with bullet holes. We don't mark our trails in either fashion in the UK.
We enquire about the road quality up the gorge and are told it is very good, so we take the left turn towards Mojkovak. It is a lovely road. There is no traffic and the surface is good although minor rock slides have left stones and the occasion small boulder just to keep us focussed.
The road is spectacular, sometimes climbing high above the river before swooping down to rejoin the banks. The sun is climbing high and the temperature is rising fast by the time the gorge widens out and we arrive in the busy town of Mojkovak.
We stop for fuel, coffee and cake in a modern and air-conditioned filling station on the outskirts.
We continue south down to Kolasin where we leave the Tara river and branch west to join the E80 road that will take us down to the new capital of Montenegro.
Podgorica is a modern city with impressive buildings and a lot of traffic; quite a contrast after the deserted roads of the interior. It is small though and we navigate through fairly easily. We have no interest in modern capitals today. We are heading for Cetinje, the ancient royal capital of Montenegro that lies at 700 metres above sea level on a karst plateau.
Cetinje is a small place, with a population just shy of 14,000 people according to Wikipedia. There are some splendid buildings though, old embassies, a large pedestrianised main square with a palace, church and old government buildings. The presidential residence is still here along with a few museums and a monastery.
I made a note of possible accommodation in the trip plan and the satnav guides us to the approximate location of Pension 10 in the backstreets of Cetinje.
There is a big roadworks project underway and a lot of blocked off and dug up roads but no sign of the pension.
A friendly driver pulls up to see if we need help.
"Pension? Ja, ja, kommen, folgen, folgen". I guess he thinks we are German.
So we follow his beat up truck through the roadworks and back into the centre of town. Finally he pulls up and gestures at a house just off the main drag. It is called Pension 22 and an old boy, who turns out to be the proprietor, is sitting on a chair outside the main door. It may not be our original choce but seems fine and so we pull up onto the paved roadside and dismount.
Before we can say much a bottle appears and we are each presented with a big shot of palinka or similar firewater. It makes our eyes water, must be 80 percent proof.
We've experienced this before. It is a sure fire way of ensuring that potential guests don't drive away to look for different accommodation.
He's a nice guy though and speaks a bit of English. We are soon shown upstairs to a lovely room on the second floor, en suite and with views across the town. There are two comfortable single beds and a modern flat-screen TV that not only works but has BBC World. All good here; I don't think we are going to get murdered today.
We're quite likely to get legless though. Our brandy glasses are topped up when we go back down to unload our overnight gear. Like I said, a nice guy.
We go for a stroll around the nearby town centre. It is very clean and well-tended, and although there are not too many tourists around all the stalls, gift shops and cafes are open. There are no pushy hawkers or salesmen though, it is all rather genteel.
We find a pavement cafe just across the street from our hotel and have dinner. Although the country came under Ottoman domination at the end of the 15th century it remained almost ungovernable as the local clans employed guerilla tactics through the 16th and 17th centuries, finally ejecting the Ottomans in the Great Turkish War at the end of the 17th.
They didn't eject the cuisine however so we settle for more kebab meat, chips and salad. The local wine is pretty good though.
Back at Pension 22 we find new neighbours on our floor. Two couples on a walking holiday. They are from Rotherham. Small world innit?
We are in bed as soon as the daylight fades. Tomorrow we are going to tackle the Kotor Serpentine which according to a video on YouTube is one of the ten most dangerous roads in the world.
Our apartment at the Tara Bridge guesthouse is filled with junk. There is old furniture, non-functioning white goods, and an old TV and video player. But my bed is surprisingly comfortable and the linen is clean and fresh. A door leads directly out onto a terrace with superb views over the gorge and bridge.
 |
| Usually means a good biking road ahead |
 |
| Stickered up road sign |
There is a choice of routes from here. We can take the right fork which runs due east into the Durmitor National Park or head south up the river gorge to Mojkovak.
As with so many European beauty spots the road sign is covered with travellers' stickers. In the US they are often peppered with bullet holes. We don't mark our trails in either fashion in the UK.
We enquire about the road quality up the gorge and are told it is very good, so we take the left turn towards Mojkovak. It is a lovely road. There is no traffic and the surface is good although minor rock slides have left stones and the occasion small boulder just to keep us focussed.
 |
| Up the gorge road |
The road is spectacular, sometimes climbing high above the river before swooping down to rejoin the banks. The sun is climbing high and the temperature is rising fast by the time the gorge widens out and we arrive in the busy town of Mojkovak.
We stop for fuel, coffee and cake in a modern and air-conditioned filling station on the outskirts.
 |
| On the road to Podgorica |
Podgorica is a modern city with impressive buildings and a lot of traffic; quite a contrast after the deserted roads of the interior. It is small though and we navigate through fairly easily. We have no interest in modern capitals today. We are heading for Cetinje, the ancient royal capital of Montenegro that lies at 700 metres above sea level on a karst plateau.
 |
| Driving into Podgorica |
 |
| Cetinje main street |
Cetinje is a small place, with a population just shy of 14,000 people according to Wikipedia. There are some splendid buildings though, old embassies, a large pedestrianised main square with a palace, church and old government buildings. The presidential residence is still here along with a few museums and a monastery.
 |
| Vlaska Church, Cetinje |
There is a big roadworks project underway and a lot of blocked off and dug up roads but no sign of the pension.
A friendly driver pulls up to see if we need help.
"Pension? Ja, ja, kommen, folgen, folgen". I guess he thinks we are German.
 |
| Outide Pension 22 in Cetinje |
So we follow his beat up truck through the roadworks and back into the centre of town. Finally he pulls up and gestures at a house just off the main drag. It is called Pension 22 and an old boy, who turns out to be the proprietor, is sitting on a chair outside the main door. It may not be our original choce but seems fine and so we pull up onto the paved roadside and dismount.
Before we can say much a bottle appears and we are each presented with a big shot of palinka or similar firewater. It makes our eyes water, must be 80 percent proof.
We've experienced this before. It is a sure fire way of ensuring that potential guests don't drive away to look for different accommodation.
He's a nice guy though and speaks a bit of English. We are soon shown upstairs to a lovely room on the second floor, en suite and with views across the town. There are two comfortable single beds and a modern flat-screen TV that not only works but has BBC World. All good here; I don't think we are going to get murdered today.
We're quite likely to get legless though. Our brandy glasses are topped up when we go back down to unload our overnight gear. Like I said, a nice guy.
We go for a stroll around the nearby town centre. It is very clean and well-tended, and although there are not too many tourists around all the stalls, gift shops and cafes are open. There are no pushy hawkers or salesmen though, it is all rather genteel.We find a pavement cafe just across the street from our hotel and have dinner. Although the country came under Ottoman domination at the end of the 15th century it remained almost ungovernable as the local clans employed guerilla tactics through the 16th and 17th centuries, finally ejecting the Ottomans in the Great Turkish War at the end of the 17th.
They didn't eject the cuisine however so we settle for more kebab meat, chips and salad. The local wine is pretty good though.
 |
| Oh dear more kebab meat |
Back at Pension 22 we find new neighbours on our floor. Two couples on a walking holiday. They are from Rotherham. Small world innit?
We are in bed as soon as the daylight fades. Tomorrow we are going to tackle the Kotor Serpentine which according to a video on YouTube is one of the ten most dangerous roads in the world.
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