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Traveling from Kharkov to Montenegro by car

24 July 2019 • Travel time: with 13 June 2019 on 01 July 2019
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Traveling from Kharkiv to Montenegro by car

We are Kharkiv residents. Vika, Vitalik, daughter Sonya, 14 years old, son Vova, 11 years old. We decided to try to go abroad by car.

I had a distant dream - to visit Montenegro. I tried to implement it, but what if it works?

Road to Montenegro

June 13.2019. Departure was scheduled for 7.00 am. They decided to go through Hungary and Serbia, given the quality of the roads. Distance Kharkiv - Budva, about 2.400 km, we decided to divide it into 4 days, as we were traveling with children. And also, so that our driver - dad rested, and it was easier for him. Broken like this:

1 day - Kharkiv - Novograd Volynsky (the birthplace of Lesya Ukrainka) - 727 km - 9.5 hours of travel (it turned out to be almost 11 hours)

Day 2 - Novograd Volynsky - Uzhgorod - 586 km - 7.5 hours of travel (it turned out 9)

Day 3 - Uzhgorod - Belgrade - 694 km - 7 hours (it turned out 11 hours)

Day 4 - Belgrade - Budva - 517 km - 8.5 hours (it turned out 11 hours)


On the first day, we decided to cover the largest number of kilometers, because we still have a lot of strength (although we did not take into account that there is no bypass route through Kyiv, and the navigator led us through the very center.   I, of course, was only glad to once again look at the Dnieper, the motherland and a beautiful city, but we got into 3 traffic jams, in which we stood for 2 hours. It's good that we left at 8.00 in the morning. )

We arrived in Novograd Volynsky at about 19.00. Joyful, we ran to inspect our new apartment on Pushkin Street..... however, I did not expect to see such a shed! Everything is old, worn and broken, the smell of stagnant smoke, all the switches in the stove are broken, the wallpaper hangs in places in pieces, and the balcony is generally in disrepair, littered with some kind of construction debris and the door to it is broken...

This is our first independent trip (before we went on package tours a couple of times), we were very worried about how everything would work out for us, and then it immediately happened!

Everyone is pissed off and frustrated. . . But there is nothing to do, you have to go to the store, feed the children dinner. I also managed to cook a chicken there for tomorrow's journey. The night passed almost without sleep. Outside the windows, drunk people were screaming, dogs were barking, the refrigerator was buzzing, and I was just nervous and shocked - what did I come up with and where did I bring my family? !

At 5.30 I thought that enough already wallowing in this creepy house, it's better to move forward, maybe something will change? We had a bite, and at 7.00 (our record! ) left this town. This “beautiful” apartment cost us 400 UAH.

The second day of our journey began. The road is new, we did not go further than Kyiv by car, so it was interesting to drive. At the very beginning of the Rivne region, they began to notice storks (we don’t have them), their nests on poles, it’s great! The novigator took us through the whole city of Rivne, it was interesting to see. Liked the city!


Outside Rivne in the village "Taran1v" we stopped near a small cafe-shop and discovered this wonderful place. The girl made us delicious coffee for only 5 UAH. And each candy in the treat. Later, on the way back (we were specifically looking for this place), we found out that she adds banana or cherry syrup to her coffee, which gives the coffee a special unique taste! Near the shop there are tables and you can comfortably sit down to rest and have a bite to eat.

Let's go to Uzhhorod. We make frequent stops, because either the children want to eat, or the husband wants to smoke, or it’s time to fill up the car. Everyone is waiting to see the Carpathians. And they are wonderful! We all take pictures, but not a single photo conveys that beauty! My husband rushes at a decent speed, I eat what I need up to 90, but these are flowers compared to what will await us in 2 days! (Mountains of Montenegro).

In general,

somehow we passed the stop control in the Carpathians, did not stop. Immediately stopped by a policeman. I began to ask for forgiveness and mercy that we were traveling from afar, we were already tired....He looked at our documents (and they were, of course, in order, because we prepared very carefully)....and let go. By 17.00 we rushed to Uzhgorod. For today, a shorter distance was specially allocated, because I had never been to Transcarpathia and wanted to see Uzhgorod. However, when we called the booked address, we found out that our apartment was either occupied or was being cleaned. And we were offered another apartment, sort of like an elite one, but without additional payment due to the inconvenience caused to us. Of course, I do not like such surprises, but there was nothing to do. Having circled around Uzhgorod with the novigator, we finally found our Shevchenko street (I don’t remember the number) and went to check in. What beauty awaited us! Really beautiful, big and rich apartment.

It was compensation for the torment in the previous apartment. Fully renovated, carpets, modern new furniture, a modern kitchen with a huge refrigerator, a huge bathroom. And all this for 500 UAH! What does a person need to be happy? The difference with the previous housing is only 100 UAH, and what a gulf between them!


The mood improved noticeably, we quickly changed clothes and, beautiful, went for a walk around Uzhgorod. It turns out that we were located in the very center, and after 5 minutes we were on a pedestrian bridge over Uzhik. We found and examined the Uzhgorod castle, walked along the Linden Alley, found a cool sculpture of the keyboardist of the Deep Purple band and went to Korzo Street to try banosh and bograch.

In the Vertep cafe, bograch is served very beautifully and appetizingly in freshly baked bread. An interesting place in the national style. Everyone loved it, thank you. And the price is reasonable. Couldn't walk anymore.

a big cloud was creeping over the city, and we went to Selpo to make edible preparations for tomorrow's journey. We had to get up early, because we were waiting for the passage of the Ukraine-Hungary border, the crossing of the whole of Hungary, as well as the passage of the Hungary-Serbia border.

In the morning everything went according to plan. Close to Chop and the border. At 8.30 we were already there. A little nervous, the first time after all! What if they don't let you in? ! The line was short, 7 cars ahead. We went to duty free for now, my husband bought cigarettes, and I, of course, sprayed with perfume... Everything turned out to be in order. After our border, we ended up on the Hungarian. Here the queue turned out to be 3 times longer. The Hungarians thoroughly checked, not only documents, but also cars. We were not only asked to open the trunk, but we also pulled out the suitcases and opened them. They didn’t rummage through them, they just looked that there were things, and not some kind of contraband.

Although my husband hid there 12 packs of cigarettes instead of 2 allowed. And I was worried that I was bringing a lot of medicines for all occasions, and they, it seems, should be with prescriptions... And now they let us out, freedom, go wherever you want! You are a citizen of Europe!


But here the first difficulties began, which we did not suspect then. I read that the highway in Hungary is paid and you need to buy a vignette. And that it costs 10-11 euros for 10 days. We immediately drove to the first gas station to buy it. But the price and payment are in forints. We didn’t fit in 10 days, so we bought for a month, because it’s cheaper than buying 2 times for 10 days. It turned out 440 UAH. We paid with a Privatbank card and drove on. It's time to start the car. At the gas station, we were told that we still have gas and got 2.50 euros in total. We went to pay by card, of course, because we don’t have forints. And the card doesn't work! We pay 2.5 euros in cash, but they don't take 0.5 euros! Give me 3 euros, they say we don't need change! We,

zabaldevshie from such a beginning, we go further.

My husband asks me to drive, I really wanted to take a nap, I got nervous at the border. And I rush 130 km / h along the autobahn to the next. gas stations. We are worried about the Privatbank card (why didn’t it work? After all, money was specially put on it for gas stations, and the bank was warned that we would be abroad). At the next gas station, we see that we have gas again! The husband understands that we were driving on gasoline, that the gas equipment was damaged, moved away, apparently when we feverishly stuffed our suitcases at the Hungarian border. And he did not look at once, and then fell asleep. We shift the suitcases, adjust the gas supply, refuel the spent gasoline at European prices for 30 euros in cash, because the card did not work again. And we sit, frustrated, at the gas station, trying to contact the bank and find out what's going on. We are looking for the Internet at the gas station, but the bank service does not give a connection. Lost a lot of time, let's move on

go for cash. On the right, the Slovak Tatras are visible, which delight me. Along the autobahn, along with gas stations, there are civilized places to relax - gazebos where you can have a bite to eat, as well as toilets, but they are not free everywhere.


We rushed to Budapest very quickly. We read that behind Szeged there is an Auchan supermarket that we would like to visit. We are trying to find it, but then the road repair sends us to a detour to the left, and the exit to Auchan to the right. We passed the turn! Frustrated again. We stopped at a gas station to refuel and solve our problems - to establish the Internet and contact the bank to find out what was happening with the Privatbank card. We ended up sitting there for an hour and a half. During this time, Vitalik repaired the charger for mobile phones in the car, moved the Internet card to my phone (his phone was dead), and I found the exit to Auchan. Time was already 16-17 hours. But everyone wants to visit the Hungarian Auchan.

My husband decided to try our Mastercard again by buying bread. We are four at the checkout, trying to pay for bread, we don’t know the language, the card doesn’t work, there are no forints, the whole line is staring! But we are already ready for it. I know that in Auchan there is an exchange office where even hryvnias are exchanged. We change 200 UAH. forints, and a woman comes up to us and holds out our unpaid bread. She and her husband bought this bread for us!

So touching! Of course, we want to give money, we already have it, but they don’t take it in any way! In general, we hung out in the store for another hour and a half, trying to figure out their prices. I never found kefir, how it is written in Hungarian - it’s not clear, and it doesn’t look clear. They got by with milk, donuts and other sundries. For the rest of the change, we bought coffee from a vending machine, and ice cream for the children. There is a lot of time, but we still have to cross the border between Hungary and Serbia and go to Belgrade! Let's hurry. I worry because I know

that there may be a big traffic jam on the border (I read the story about the trip Kyiv-Montenegro by Sophia Bashtan). But no, we were lucky, there is a small queue, but not 3 km. Gone in half an hour. Let's move on, it's getting dark. The main thing is to get to Belgrade, and tomorrow we will have a rest, we are not going anywhere, we are walking and getting to know Belgrade. The scheduled arrival time is 22.00. On the road there are signs “Gasoline station”, “Road for 1 car”, which delight us.


Novigator brought us to the address at 22.00 without any problems. True, we were driving in the dark and did not see either the Danube or Belgrade. But we hope to catch up tomorrow. Our apartment was called "Ada Milipe" (Ada is a common name here) and we rented it for 25 euros a day in one of the sleeping areas of Belgrade. There are a lot of cars near the house, but there was a free parking place for us. We accommodate, there are many sleeping places, 3 rooms and a kitchen. Apartment without super repair,

but everything is cute and there are designer things all over the apartment - either a box with sea pebbles, or a vase with a decorative branch, or a board with postcards from different countries, and in the middle of the living room there is a large table-chest! There is also a loggia for coffee drinking, which we appreciated the next day. In the morning it turned out that right behind the house there is a supermarket where we bought beer, goodies, and pita with cherry filling - their national sweet, twisted puff pastry tubes with cherry or apple jam. Yes, I missed that my husband contacted the bank service at night and was told that the card should be inserted into any ATM and it would be unlocked, which we did the next day. And, oh miracle! The card worked and all our money was on it (and a message came that the card did not work due to the lack of money on it)! Still, our idiotic bank blocked the card as soon as we paid the vignette in Hungary with it,

despite our warnings, what overshadowed us the first day of our stay abroad thoroughly! In Belgrade, the clouds cleared, life got better, we went to the center on Knyaz Mihail Street and to the Kalemegdan Fortress. I really wanted to visit Belgrade, I don’t know why, maybe I lived there in a past life? The car was parked in a 7-storey garage in the center. I knew that there, with parking strictly, you can’t leave the car anywhere, you can return and not find it on the spot, and then look for it in the impound lot. Actually, I read that parking is free on Sunday, but I don’t know where. We had a paid one in the garage. When you enter, you take a card at the barrier, where the time of entry is marked. When you return, you give your card to the operator's booth and pay. Then you go with this card to your car and at the exit at the barrier you apply it, and the barrier opens if paid.

Here it is - the beautiful street of Prince Michael,

which I have only seen online!


Somewhere in the middle there are fountains with drinking water. In general, in Belgrade you can drink tap water, which was strange for us at first. But everything turned out to be in order, no one had any problems. Knyaz Mihail Street just overlooks the Kalemegdan fortress on the banks of the Danube, about which I have read so much and dreamed of visiting there. An ancient fortress: a majestic, huge, well-groomed territory, it has churches, an exhibition of military equipment, and tennis courts. It has an upper tier and a lower tier, more destroyed, but also interesting. In general, we walked up there! We explored the fortress far and wide.

An exhibition of special police equipment and police master classes in self-defense was also held that day. Music played and the old men danced, holding hands. That would be the case with us! We were all terribly hungry. On the way back to the car, we came across a cafe,

Then I began to recognize the area on the way home. A smart navigator somehow brought us home! Everything was great. Only I was very sorry that I looked very little in the city I dreamed about. The next morning I did not want to leave at all. We went to our shop to skimp on the road, drank farewell coffee on the balcony. And at 9.00 we set off. This last day of the road promised to be the most interesting, because there were mountains ahead.

That's right, we decided to leave the least number of kilometers on this section of the road, because the serpentine was decent, the speed limit was 50 km/h, and if there is no limit, we still drag ourselves behind some truck at 60 km/h, and overtake impossible. We drove these 517 km for 11 hours. The views were fantastic. This has never happened before in our life (although we have been to Crimea). My husband called these pictures - from a movie about the hobbits. Vertical tall cliffs, and between them a narrow path along which our little car drives.

Only mountains can be better than mountains! The bard is right. I almost never let go of the camera. I wanted to get out of the car at every turn. But we were in a hurry, because there was already a lot of time. A lot of tunnels are laid through the mountains, short and longer. We drove through Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. A beautiful city, colorful houses, many under construction, all in colors! A police car followed us behind Podgorica, they thought that we would overtake the truck ahead. But although we were very tired, we understood that we had to slowly drag ourselves away from sin. Soon the police became uninterested and they left somewhere.

Budva


And we saw a sea of ​ ​ lights below - it was the beauty of Budva! No matter how much I shot, nothing could convey the radiant and sparkling beauty that we saw from the mountain! After 11 hours of travel, we simply no longer believed that we had finally reached our goal. We got to our accommodation very quickly.

The owner was already waiting for us. True, the daughter got out of the car and began to vomit. Seasick. He prepared a place for the car for us, and we were able to park it for all 6 nights. The location of the apartment was wonderful: there were shops, a market, the Old Town and the sea within a 5-10 minute walk.

Therefore, we did not disturb our car anymore and relaxed ourselves. By the way, for improper parking in Budva, the biggest fines are -150 euros! (On the very first day, we saw a picture of how the police drove up to two cars parked in the wrong place, called a tow truck, and then very quickly they began to put hooks on the wheels to load onto the tow truck. But the owners of the cars ran out and the evacuation procedure was canceled, the owners got off with a fine). We went up to the apartment and gasped: the photos on Booking were worse than reality! Luxurious huge apartment with European-quality renovation, huge bed and sofa, air conditioning, large, fully equipped kitchen,

and then they paid taxes on top of that. We didn’t know this then, but we found out when we paid the hostess in Kotor for the apartments, and she took our passports and registered us herself from the same money.


The first day in an unfamiliar city, in an unfamiliar country, you don’t know anything where to go, where the shop is, where the beach is...... When you are taken on a tour package, everything is told and shown to you in Russian. And when he came himself, it is more difficult. But somehow we got used to it, everyone got to know and found out that to the left and right of us there are supermarkets "Mega Market" and "Voli" with prices almost the same as ours (potatoes, tomatoes, canned tuna are cheaper, sweets, wine is about the same, meat slightly more expensive). Fine! Zelena Plaza Bazaar is next to the Mega Market, but the prices for vegetables there are much more expensive, for cheese and prosciutto are about the same. The cheeses here are great. We really liked blueberry cheese, as well as kaymak - it's great to spread it on bread, it's slightly salty and, apparently,

with cream. Prshut is also good. At the bazaar, right at the entrance, they are greeted with sliced ​ ​ prosciutto, sausages and cheeses for tasting.

But if you taste for a long time and do not buy anything, they express their dissatisfaction. Near the Mega Market there is a bakery where you can buy pizza cheaper than in the whole of Budva, for 1.5 euros instead of 2. There are also bureks and sweet pastries. We often took croissants (€0.5) and pizza. I didn’t like Burek, they gave him the very last place in their national cuisine (a lot of dough, little meat - 1.5 euros). I also liked the gyros (3.5 euros) - similar to our shawarma, only not in pita bread, but on a tortilla, a lot of vegetables and meat. And I really liked the palachinka (2 euros) - a big pancake that is baked in front of you, spread with nutella or chocolate and sprinkled with crushed nuts.

There is a lot of beer, beer is not very expensive, but mostly imported from Serbia. We drank beer for 0.59 euros - I liked it. Once they took to try the Montenegrin “Nikshechko”,

Mogren) there are other nationalities. The beaches are mostly pebbles - somewhere large pebbles, somewhere small. We knew about it and bought coral slippers in advance. We went swimming on Mogren, and more often on Mogren - 2. There is the most pleasant entry into the water, a bay and a beautiful view.

Of course, on the 3rd day we sailed on a boat to the island of St. Nicholas, where we spent the whole day. There are several beaches on the island. The pebbles on the beaches are bigger there, but the water is even cleaner, and there are fewer people. We swam on all the beaches, but we liked most of all on the first one, from which the entire Budva Riviera is visible.


For some time we were alone there, it was possible to jump from the pier into the water, hang on the buoys, looking at Budva opposite, and even feed the fish with the remaining bread. The water is such an unusual turquoise-blue color that you want to dive and just dissolve in it.

I didn't want to leave the island. By the way, the main beach of the island - Hawaii - is very small, there are a lot of people, entry into the water - large stones, the sea was foamed by vacationers jumping from rocks, not very...

The heat was crazy. I just wanted to swim in the sea. In addition, we had children with us, whom we took for the sake of the sea. Therefore, the excursions did not work out. (Oh, late I found out that it was possible to go to Bosnia, and to Albania, and to Croatia, mine said that they would let me go for 1 day). Although, why excursions, if for 4 days we are going to live in the Bay of Kotor, in Dobrota. And we decided not to spend a whole precious day on the canyon of the Tara River and the Dzhurdzhevich Bridge, but to look when leaving Montenegro, on the way home.

On the 2nd day, I woke up at 7.00 am and, in order not to wake anyone up, I ran to shoot and watch the Old City. Last night it was crowded, and in the morning it was just me and a few others of the same cunning.

Through the Old Town, I went to the beach of Richard's Head, swam there and, happy, ran home (the apartment was a 5-7 minute walk). We usually had breakfast at home and had dinner after the beach at 18 o'clock. On the beach we took a snack for the children - croissants or cookies. Dad and I - beer with salted nuts. The beauty!

On the 5th day, our daughter had a birthday - 14 years old. I brought a Happy Birthday streamer from home, balloons, a musical candle, and a beautifully wrapped gift. It remains to cook something delicious and buy a cake. I wanted to buy a moray eel - it is interesting to try, but it has never been on the market. Therefore, we bought an octopus, cooked it correctly, it turned out so beautiful (tentacles with rings) and tasty!


We had to run to both stores in turn for a cake, and we still bought it in Volya (they don’t accept cakes). After dinner, we went for another surprise - to try oysters. Fresh fish, squid, shrimp, oysters are brought to the coast near the old city after 16.00. Behind the oysters, there is a line of people who want to try it. The cost is 2 euros. Tried it - didn't like it!

Of course, we climbed the citadel. This year the new price is 3.5 euros. There, of course, beautiful, but very little to see.

Kotor

In general, we have already studied Budva, it's time to go to Kotor. The distance is only 20 km. On the way, we decided to stop by the famous Trsteno sandy beach. We saw horror! The sea was stormy that day, the beach is very small, and on the shore there are giant piles of garbage and some kind of sticks. No, I didn't want to swim there. And we went non-stop to Kotor, or rather, to Dobrota. We were already expected there (thanks to Booking). The house turned out to be simpler than an apartment in Budva.

The kitchen is tiny, with only a small 2-burner electric stove. There was also a bed in the kitchen. In another room there were 2 beds - double and single. Renovated bathroom. But the view of the Bay of Kotor was fabulous and relaxing!

Only this saved me, because after the shining and cheerful Budva, it seemed to me boring and not cool here. In addition, we went to a local store, which was very far away and with high prices. And there is no beach. There are small tiled entries into the water, you have to look for better ones. To be honest, I couldn't hold back my tears that day. In the evening we went to the Old Town of Kotor, looked at its beauty, and I somehow cheered up.

The next morning I woke up in a normal mood. Run to swim. I chose the beach that I liked.

And it turned out to be a special buzz - to sit on the stove, drink beer and watch the liner passing by, which enters the bay 3-4 a day.

We tried to catch fish, but they were too smart - they ate the bait and swam away, so mine didn't catch anything. But we collected a lot of mussels, and they are sooo tasty when they are just cooked.


The next day, it was decided to go to Budva, buy there the last time cheeses, prosciutto and all sorts of things for the remaining 2 days and on the road. And in the evening - a thorough detour of the Old City, with a map to track all its sights and find the narrowest street in Europe - Let Ma Away.

The ship has just arrived in Kotor. . .

. . . there was a traffic jam on the road (probably because of pedestrians crossing the road), there was no space in our free parking lot and we drove around the street on the other side.

The place for the car (as it seemed to us) was closer to the intersection. I doubted that it was possible to leave the car here, but nevertheless we left and went for a walk. But this is possible in Ukraine, but not in Montenegro! The husband, having gone to check on the car, returned with a pale face and said that there was some piece of paper on the windshield! We all ran to the car. It turned out to be a photocopy of some kind of illegal parking notice. We were very upset, came home and let's storm the Internet in search of an answer to this problem. But there was practically nothing there. It seemed to me that this is not a document, but a photocopy, and you can not react to it. On the other hand, on the Internet they were advised to go to the police to figure it out so that there would be no problems at the border. In general, we decided to take the documents and go to the police, to repent. But the next morning, an online lawyer advised me to contact the information center near the old city.

So we did (albeit already on the last day. My husband firmly decided that it was better to pay the fine now than they would turn us from the border to Kotor to pay the fine). What a relief it was to know that it was just a "shameful sheet"! And you don’t need to surrender to the police, but you can continue to relax and walk....Of course, in the future we parked the car only in special parking spaces. This lesson was enough for us!


On the penultimate day, I told my family that today is the last day to climb the mountain to the fortress of St. John, no options! Tired after a whole day of swimming and water procedures, we still went to the mountain, not knowing whether it would be possible to climb or not. We watched a video of Alexei Zimin in advance, where he showed a free road. It turns out, yes, there is a road, and they climb it! The road is rocky, we were all in running shoes and with water.

The heat was over 30 degrees and sweat was running down my nose (sorry for the details, but it was)). With each turn of the road, the views of the Bay of Kotor became more beautiful and more beautiful, I did not stop shooting, but my daughter took pictures. Pretty soon we were halfway there, and here we are at the ancient ruins. You need to crawl through the hole and you are already in the fortress. What views!! ! And the further you go through the fortress, the more beautiful! Especially great on the leftmost platform, which you need to go down from the fortress. The photo turns out as if you are standing on the edge of the abyss (that's about it). We were above the flag!

We went down the stairs. This road offers a divine view of the Old City. We went down longer than we went up, because we constantly took pictures. The husband and daughter were smitten on the spot, because they had never seen such beauty before (preparing for the trip, I saw and read many times). Of course I squeaked

that it’s not enough for me, why didn’t we sit on the mountain for at least an hour, but our youngest stayed at home. In general, we bought pachinki for everyone, collected drinking water in the Old Town and in the dark we already came home to drink wine. By the way, my children liked pizza in Kotor more than in Budva, they bought it almost every day.

And they ate so many mussels that I already cursed if they pulled at least one out of the water. Kotor is a European resort, prices here are higher than in Budva, and there are almost no Russians. But the beauty is such that you don’t often find such, unearthly!

The way home

So our 4 days in Kotor flew by and it was time to go home. The first day of the journey promised to be difficult - we planned to stop at the Dzhurdzhevich Bridge and into the canyon of the Tara River, and then we had to cross the border and get to the city of Novi Sad! (And this is further than Belgrade.


I just wanted to see other cities on the way home, and ideally I could have taken a different route. But our journey was already so long, and another road would have lengthened it by several days). In general, we had to leave early, because we drove here for 11 hours.

The road to the Djurdjevic bridge is very picturesque, past the town of Petrovac, past oyster farms, along the coast. And in the mountains - crazy serpentine! Pretty quickly we got there (I don't know why the excursions take the whole day). Tara Canyon - the beauty of wild nature! The container is blue from above.

There are 3 ziplines here, depending on the length, their cost is 10 and 20 euros. They gave us a discount on the longest one, and before I had time to come to my senses, I was already sitting in uniform. I'm scared! I am against... But we are already flying (we were divided into pairs - me with my son, daughter with dad) through the abyss. It's not scary at all! That's very beautiful! I recommend to everyone!

I really wanted to look at this country with one eye, but a “terrible” woman was waiting for us there, I knew that. She ruffled my nerves the whole trip, correspondence with her took a lot of precious time both in the mornings, when it was necessary to take the children to the sea, and when it was necessary to pack things to move to Kotor, and every morning in Kotor. The fact is that I booked an apartment in Slovakia (in Kosice) for 2 days through the Airbnb website. According to its terms, we paid for 1 day immediately, and for 2 we had to pay 10 days before the date of stay. But the green card for the car ended just on the second day in Slovakia, and we decided to shorten this day, spend 1 night in Slovakia, take a walk there the second day, cross the border and spend the night already in Uzhgorod or Mukachevo. It was only necessary to change the booking. On Booking, this is done in an elementary way, we did the same on Airbnb, back at home, in Kharkov. But, it seems, you needed consent from the owner,

Therefore, we were in a hurry not to arrive late in Slovakia, it is not known what to expect. At 18.00, she received a text message that we should hurry up, because she is ready to take a shower and go to bed!


We made an appointment at a Shell gas station. There is no border between Hungary and Slovakia, only a wide road with high pillars, no cars, we are alone. A lot of police... check in at a gas station no one knows where. Husband once stopped by, it turned out that it was not supposed to. We went out to say hello to God. She said to follow her car, we sat back and then the police honked at us from behind. We had just started, we had not yet had time to buckle up, and my husband, out of confusion, did not stop at the Stop sign when leaving the gas station. This was enough to accuse us of 2 violations at once. And how much later my husband did not ask why they signaled to us, he did not receive an answer. The police themselves provoked us into such a situation (naturally, we would have buckled up on the road and if they had not honked,

Vitalik would stop at Stop). Inspection and verification began. I say that we are already tired from afar, having crossed Serbia and Hungary today, but this is not an indicator for them at all. And when they saw our Egyptian visa (we were in Egypt 3 years ago), they generally thought that they had fallen into the hands of the Rockefellers! There was no question of any concessions and releases. They gave us a fine of 20 euros and worked for 40 minutes. These are the people in Slovakia! They live hard (although it’s beautiful - Bozhena has a rather strong two-story house), their prices are high, in euros, so 3 skins are torn off from a tourist.

A great contrast with the polite and kind Serbs and Montenegrins. In general, it was the most unpleasant evening of our trip. Although the children really enjoyed being in the big house, running up the stairs to the 2nd floor…

The morning turned out to be more affectionate than the previous evening. We drank tea, took pictures in the garden,

we went to a local store (we decided not to buy anything except bread and canned food - the prices are high), had breakfast, and went for a walk all day in Kosice. (Bozena brought us cucumbers from her garden as a treat, but when I wanted to ask if everything could be taken, they were gone).


First of all, we went to the bobsleigh track. It was a complete delight! The price is 3 euros, and children are 2 times cheaper, so they asked to ride 2 times. Coffee, ice cream, pictures and we go to the center of Kosice, there is the most beautiful Cathedral of St. Elisabeth, Main Street, the House of the Beggar, singing fountains, and I want to treat everyone with trdelyk. I read (thanks to kind people) that the car can be parked in the free parking lot in the Aupark shopping center, but I managed to drive into it already 3 times. Kosice is a beautiful modern city, I really enjoyed walking there. My daughter and I wanted to climb the north tower of St. Elizabeth Cathedral (although I didn’t go there the first time, because there is a very narrow entrance,

and I have claustrophobia), and the boys stayed in the cathedral: it was Saturday and grooms and brides, beautifully dressed guests, went to the wedding from all over the city, a very attractive sight!

At 17.30 we started our way back. We quickly reached the border and oops - the queue is serious! Hours for 2-3. And it was already evening, and they were waiting for us at an apartment in Mukachevo (I booked apartments on the way home only 1 day before my stay - because of the abnormal Bozena, I didn’t know how everything would go in Slovakia). Despite the weekend, the girl quickly responded to my request for housing, and the apartment ended up in Mukachevo. This was part of my "insidious" plans: the family did not yet know that we were going to look at Palanok Castle....While we, discouraged, stuck at the border, it was getting dark, there was no Internet, we were worried about the apartment. But the owners of the apartment made their way to us, were able to get through and clarify whether we will be here today?!

Thank you so much for your generosity and kindness! As a result, we left the border at 22.00, and only at 23.00 were we at the apartment! The children were terribly hungry, they only dreamed of food, and we immediately went to the Mukachevo store, buying them all sorts of goodies, rejoicing at our prices! The apartment was 3-roomed, with a brand new renovation, a balcony, good beds, for 500 UAH, which suited us perfectly.

After a late bed, we woke up late. But it was necessary to visit the Palanok Castle, especially since our apartment was located right next to it! It struck us last night when we passed a beautifully illuminated building on a large hill. Given the lack of time, we rushed around the castle like mad, but everyone looked and everyone took a picture!

But it's time to move on. Today - to Zhytomyr, 630 km. (In Novograd Volynsky they unanimously decided not to stop, although it was closer).


we need to put the children to bed, feed them, we are without the Internet, 700 km from home! On the previous day, in Mukachevo, people called, asked if we would be there, and waited. And THIS is human! I try not to lose my presence of mind, after all, I’m almost at home, I still catch the Internet, and call other apartment options. The husband rules, the children are quiet. Night... And yet one kind person called back, he is not an agent, but rents out his two apartments. We agree to any conditions (even though his offer is 150 UAH more expensive). The apartment is in the very center, right next to the Temple, on Kievskaya street.

Rich, chic, in black: black ceiling, black plumbing and shower, black tiles. True, a little shabby tenants: somewhere there is no light, somewhere something is torn off, the stove is poorly washed and kitchen towels are not washed. I catch myself thinking that I am already tired of these wanderings and trials.

We arrived at about 22.30 (quite normal), and of course, we went for a walk to the center (it was youth day, everyone was walking), and to the store to feed the children. We went to bed late and, of course, we got up late. And it was necessary to at least boil eggs and sausages for the journey. But then the cleaning lady showed up! At 11.00. Like, we have to leave the premises before 12.00. Damn! 550 UAH It turns out not in a day, but in 12 hours! We run to the store, run to cook everything, collect everything. She comes again. We again ask for another 10 minutes (I collect provisions, my husband is in the shower). After 10 minutes, she just started yelling, entered the apartment, and began her cleaning, without taking off her clothes, but folding them neatly after us! And apparently she was not going to wash it! That's why such a dirty stove and kitchen towels! She did not let us explain that we have to drive all day, and that we are traveling from afar. With Zhytomyr categorically no luck. (Of course, I thanked the landlord for helping us out yesterday, but I also wrote,

how the cleaning lady cleans it).

Last day of the journey! We are waiting for a meeting with relatives, with our dog. We are sorry that our 19 day trip is coming to an end. In Ukraine, everything is simpler: it is easier to park the car, it is easier to drive, slightly exceeding the speed limit, you feel more confident. The road home is faster and easier - we rush at least 100 km / h regardless of the terrain, except for the checkpoint in Valki and Chutovo. And at 21.10 we arrive home!


Summing up: we visited 4 countries and 10 cities, plus we looked at some other cities on our way. Gas is the cheapest in Serbia, and the most expensive in Hungary. The way back is like a carousel: every day you wake up in a new country. We were lucky with the weather, heavy rain was only 1 time when we entered Montenegro. I really enjoyed traveling by car!

I am writing my story in the hope that maybe it will help someone in something, as the stories of other travelers helped me.

Translated automatically from Russian. View original
To add or remove photos in a story, go to album of this story
Ужгородская квартира
Горы Черногории
Венгерский хлеб, подаренный нам ))
Улица Князя Михаила, Белград
Улочки Старого города Будвы
Вид с острова Св. Николая
Праздничный кальмар
Готовим кальмара
Цветущая Будва - навсегда в моем сердце
Вечерний Котор
Самая вкусная пицца - в Старом городе Котора
Котор. Порт
Старый город Котор. Церковь Св. Трифона
Боко-Которская бухта
Пляж Доброты
Вид на Котор с крепости Св. Иоанна, 11 век
Вид на Боко-Которскую бухту с крепости Св. Иоанна
Утренний чай на веранде нашего дома в Доброте
Наша квартирка в Нови-Сад, Сербия
Пещеры Будвы
Красивейшая дорога на пляж Могрен-2
Здравствуй, Адриатическое море! Плывем на остров Св. Николая
Парк Котора
Каньон реки Тара. Самый глубокий в Европе
Горный сербский ручеек, который нас очень освежил в жару
Вид на Дунай с крепости Петроварадин
Дом, в котором мы проживали в Словакии
Собор Св. Элизабет Венгерской, Кошице, Словакия
Смотровая площадка на Северной башне собора Св. Элизабет
Замок Паланок. Мукачево
Храм. Житомир
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