Kotor, Montenegro

The bus from Bar to Kotor had great views of the Adriatic Coast and the ride itself was worth the bus fare. After a good night of sleep in the Old Town Hostel, we left to climb the 1350 steps to the top of the fortress. It was definitely a satisfying exercise for the amazing view of the fjord. It was really hot but at least we went up in the morning, while there was still shade on most of the path. The fortress is partly in ruins now and looks amazing. The fortifications are impressive as they are built right on the mountain. We also walked through the wall to get to a small church on the other side of the fortifications. On our way back we were even happier to have gotten up has a lot of people were walking up. The small old town of Kotor is like a little Dubrovnik, a city we visited a little over a month ago in Croatia, not very far from here. We love to get lost in all the old cobblestone streets.

 

Bar, Montenegro

We took the train from Belgrade, Serbia to Bar, Montenegro. The train took roughly 13 hours to get there and it was late on arrival, just like the past 2 weeks of trains. The view was great from the train as it went through the mountains between Podgorica, Montenegro's capital, and the coastal town of Bar. There are a few beaches but the ones we saw were rocky and pretty crowded. We also visited the old town. We walked from the apartment we were renting to the old city, a good 14 km round-trip. The old town is still being worked on, and not developed for tourism quite yet, so we could walk everywhere in the ruins without restrictions for a small entrance fee. It was very interesting and we had a nice view over the city and the mountains. We had a great few days in Bar and relaxed a lot.

 

Belgrade, Serbia

When we got in Belgrade, we were a little lost. The directions we had were from the main train station. Apparently, trains from Romania get to a different train station than the main one. It was a 2 km walk to downtown and we managed to find our way. After checking in and dropping our bags at the Goodnight Grooves hostel, we went for a walk around the pedestrian area and to the gypsy street. We ended up having supper in an English restaurant, the Little Bay, which was a lot fancier than what we are used to these days. We had great food for a reasonable price. We spent the rest of the evening talking with fellow travelers and the great staff at the hostel, tasting some rakija, the traditional Balkan drink. Rakija is a homemade alcohol from various fruits. The next day, we visited the citadel, walked to the buildings bombed by NATO in 1999 and all the way to the big orthodox church, which looks great from the outside, but is not finished inside. We also had an afternoon lunch at the ? pub. And yes, that is the pub's name. We enjoyed our stay in Belgrade, on our way to Montenegro.

Belgrade Fortress Entrance

Belgrade Military Museum

Military Museum

Confluence of River Sava and Danube

View from Belgrade Fortress to Novi Belgrade

Ruins in the Citadel

Fortress Tower

Fortress 

One of the Fortress entrance

Fortress

Main pedestrian street, Belgrade

Moscow Hotel

Bombed government buildings downtown Belgrade

Bombed government buildings downtown Belgrade

Cathedral of Saint Sava 

Street Art