Montenegro -- Part 2

Let’s see….Where did I leave off yesterday? Oh, yes! Emily was speaking some Bulgarian at the ice cream place in Bar….

After we enjoyed the ice cream, which Emily said tasted more like gelato, she told the lady thanks (in Bulgarian, of course), we took a picture or two more, and left.

As we continued to make our way through the mountains overlooking the sea, we saw some spectacular sights. The sun was starting to peak out again at this point in the day and the water started sparkling. The Adriatic Sea was a much more brilliant color along the Montenegrin coast than it was in Durres. However, every Albanian I have spoken with says the beaches are even better here outside of Durres, so I will just have to see for myself. ;) But I’m getting off track here.

We stopped to take some pictures from the road of a place called Sveti Stefan (Saint Stephen). It looks like an island just off the coast, but it is connected to land by a walkway that was built over sand. That’s probably not the best description, but you’ll just have to look at my pictures. :) The island is full of buildings that, we believe, make up a monastery. It is simply a gorgeous sight, and just like at Stari Bar, I couldn’t believe I was seeing this for myself and not from someone else’s pictures.

We kept driving and stopped at a monastery along the way. We had been able to see it from the road on the opposite mountain. As we drove in, the first thing we saw were the sheep. These ones however, were contained in a field. They were fenced in instead of being in the road. Lol This monastery, like most around this area, was an orthodox monastery. It had a cute little gated entry right off of the parking area. Through that gate was the cutest little garden in front of the original chapel, the “new chapel” (which was still really really really old) and the living area buildings. Flash photography was not allowed inside the gated area, so I took videos. I’ll try to get those posted too. We walked over graves because they made up the sidewalk areas. I looked in the new chapel and paintings covered every inch. The main background color was a brilliant blue. It was quite beautiful and there were a few candles that people had lit, along with icons and such, which was expected. Still, it was fascinating to see and experience. The old chapel was much smaller and much darker. But it had even older paintings covering the walls and ceilings, but from ground level to about shoulder height they were chipping off the wall and everything. That’s how old they were. Crazy!

In the garden area there was a little building that had many things for sale, such as crucifixes, olive oil with medicinal qualities, pictures of the virgin and child, candles, and other such items. This little building was staffed by one of the orthodox priests, and even though the sign by the gate said no cell phones, here he was, sitting behind a little counter just chatting away on a cell phone. An orthodox priest who lives at a super old monastery was on a cell phone. Isn’t it ironic? Talk about a sign of the times. Haha! After we saw him, we went and walked out to their little area that overlooked the sea. The views were amazing so we snapped some pictures before we kept moving towards Budva.

When we reached Budva it was sunset and was starting to get cloudy again. It even started raining lightly as we drove around looking for a hotel. This took awhile since things were either expensive or closed. Not all hotels here are open year round. Some are just open for the season since summer is their busiest time. Eventually we found the place where Emily stayed last year, so we stayed there again because the price was right—only 10 Euros per person! Granted, this was no fancy hotel or anything. It was just the basics. It was more of a hostel style room with your own bathroom. I should also point out one thing about this bathroom. Here, it is not uncommon for the bathroom to have a drain in the middle of the floor and for everything to be tiled. This is because most places don’t have bathtubs so the shower is just in a corner of the bathroom and there is no “stall” or curtain or anything closing it off from the rest of the bathroom. Some places, like our apartment, have a small closed off area, but many don’t. This was one of them. Unfortunately, I forgot to get pictures of this hotel. But, since I know Emily and I will be doing more traveling, I will get pictures of the next ones or of any hostels we stay at.

We unloaded and then headed out with open umbrellas to walk to a restaurant for dinner. People in Montenegro were very friendly, and we definitely noticed a difference in the males from those in Albania. In Albania, we’ve been warned to not make eye contact with them on the street, unless we know them or if they are with someone we know. They see foreign women and throw all their normal rules of decency out the window. This is so hard for me, not because I’m checking out guys all the time, but because when I walk down the street in the states, I smile at people as I pass or I say hi, especially if I almost run into them. In Montenegro, and probably because Budva has many many tourists, the males look at you, give you a little nod or slight smile, and go on their merry little way. In Albania, if we catch an eye, we get started at and possibly even followed. Not that we feel in danger or anything, it’s just out of curiosity because we’re foreigners. Not just any foreigners, but Americans. Albanians really like America, unlike much of Europe it seems.

We had dinner and dessert (crepes—yum!) and headed back to the hotel. Emily and I were exhausted and just wanted to relax and wind down since we’d been up so early, especially from the storms the night before. So when we got back, we put on our pajamas and sat on the beds to turn the TV on but it didn’t work. So instead we ended up playing a travel game I’d brought along (magnetic Ludo, which is the same as Trouble without the little popper thing in the middle). Then we read a little bit and decided to go to bed.

That’s when things really got started. Haha! We got the giggles. And it was more than the giggles, it was an outright laugh factory. We started telling funny stories from high school, then we ended up signing fight songs from various schools, then we ended up just singing some random songs, then we got talking about how so many children’s songs and stories are so disturbing (ie. Ring Around The Rosy, or the song Mr. Johnny Von Beck, or the story about the lady buried in the Shkodra Castle in Albania). Then we started laughing even harder because we remembered that the door to the balcony was open. There was no fan or air conditioner in the room so we’d opened the door since they don’t have the mosquito problem that the Midwest does. It was raining so the breeze was nice. But with the door open, we realized that anyone else with their door open could hear us. Hahaha!!!

So we fell asleep really late and ended up meeting an hour later than we’d planned to the next morning. When we weren't going to be ready by 8am, we sent Pastor a text that said we'd meet later. lol We met Pastor and Mrs. Ahlers at 9am and headed to do some more exploring in Budva, besides what we’d done during our hotel search the night before. We went to Old Town Budva. Old Town Budva is right on the sea and it was the original fortress of Budva. When I say right on the sea, I mean that the sea crashes into the city wall. It’s all old buildings but many of them have been restored and updated. The streets are super narrow, walking room only, and many of the buildings have been turned into stores, restaurants, art galleries, and bar kafes. It was awesome because it was really a perfect mix of an ancient setting with modern attractions.

We ate breakfast there outside under some umbrella tables. Our timing was perfect because just as we sat down and were given menus, it started pouring. I didn’t feel so hot that morning, but my breakfast was very good though. I ordered toast with honey and a cappuccino. It was quite tasty! We took our time and enjoyed ourselves because we weren’t on a time schedule. When we were finished, we kept walking around the old town and looking in shops here and there. Then we got to the bigger buildings by the coast that have been kept more traditional. There were churches, though they were closed, and the big towered part of the fortress. We took some pictures and then walked out of the fortress to follow a path along the beach and the sea for a little while.

I have traveled a pretty decent amount in the states for my age. I’ve seen the Grand Canyon, been to Southern California, Seattle and the surrounding area, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Bar Harbor in Maine, Boston, big East coast cities, Niagara Falls, New Orleans after Katrina hit, Banff National Park and Jasper National Park in Canada, and other beautiful locales, but this path around the edge of the sea in Budva, Montenegro tops them all. I’m sure my pictures won’t do it justice, but it was a scene I will never forget. The Sea was crashing on the rocks, and you could look across and see Old Town Budva, behind it modern Budva, and behind that the mountains with clouds covering the top. The sea was laid out before it like a blanket of blue green jewels. And as the waves rolled up to the shore, you could see through the clear water. Once they crashed on the rocks, the water just turned white. The sound was beautiful and, combined with the scenery, it just painted a spectacular picture. It was obvious that only the hand of God could paint such a picture.

After that, we went back to Old Town Budva and paid the two Euros to go up to the top of the fortress part, right on the edge of the wall on the sea. The views were gorgeous so I took more pictures. The pictures were thanks to Pastor because as we were walking on the path, my camera ran out of memory! Oh no! But when we walked back, pastor remembered another memory card that he had in his car, so my pictures from that point on are all courtesy of Pastor Ahlers and his thoughtfulness in loaning me the memory card. I even took a video from the very top because I could see 360 degrees over the city and the sea. I’ll post it for you to look at. Just don’t bash the camera work—I’m not a pro. I did try to go slow and stay as steady as possible, but I was standing on the base of a flagpole and it was windy.

After that, we got back in the car because we knew that we’d seen the best Budva had to offer. I’ll save the details of the ride home for later because this is getting long and we stopped to see some other sights on the way home. I hope I still have your attention because this story isn’t done yet! :)

To catch you up on the registration process here, we had another 7 or 8 students sign up today. We have gotten a lot of children so far, which is good, but it would be nice to have a few adults as well, especially since our main goal is outreach for the church. But the children really like coming here and they even come on their own to church. God uses people of all ages, so I will teach whoever shows up in my classroom. And besides, if I know the kids, I might get to know a few of the parents too. We also have a little plan to reach them too. I explain that later as well. ;) Now you have no choice but to read my next entry because I’ll finish two stories! Hee hee!