Montenegro: a beautiful country with the prefix "underdo"
Montenegro did not become my love at first sight, but it definitely deserves your attention.
On a summer day, which turned out to be not so hot, we were met by a small airport in the city of Tivat. So small that even the bus did not have to go. Naturally, its compact size also affected the formation of a large queue at customs. Fortunately, she quickly resolved. At the exit there were no racks of tour operators, just a bunch of constantly moving people with signs.
Coming to Montenegro, you should understand that the country gained independence only in 2006, so now it is at the “development” stage. In the once popular resort of Yugoslavia for wealthy citizens of the USSR, construction is in full swing. Before the start of the season (it officially starts on July 15), cafes, retail outlets, discos, nightclubs and bars grow like mushrooms in deserted places. Literally in 2 days, the deserted heel becomes an expensive nightclub with decorations, lighting, tables and alcoholic drinks.
My first impression of Budva: I ended up in the Crimea! Nature, mountains, flowers, buildings, embankment - everything is identical. Everything except the air and the sea, which, despite the barbaric slop drains every 100 meters, remains crystal clear.
The large and small pebble beaches of Budva slowly flow into the beaches of Becici, and after a couple of minutes they turn into the beaches of Rafailovici. Everything is within walking distance. About 1-1.5 km along the embankment of Budva, through the tunnel and you are already in Becici.
Locals like to relax on the beaches of Becici, which are away from the cluster of hotels. They are clean, wide and small pebbles. They also recommend Mogren beach behind the old town in Budva. He has become my favourite. Small, two-sector, with overhanging picturesque cliffs. If you live closer to the old town, I recommend Mogren, if further away - Becici. It’s also good on the beaches of Budva themselves, but you will have to look for a place where there are no these musty water drains. The beaches of Budva are famous for their vast territories of empty sun loungers with umbrellas. This is not civilized Croatia, where there are a couple of rows of these sunbeds and there is an understanding that people do not lie on them. Here everything is crammed with umbrellas - I myself am not a din, and I won’t give it to another. A set of 2 sun loungers plus an umbrella ranging from 8 to 15 euros. And on some beaches of Becici, you can take this set for a drink. If you buy an umbrella, then it is about 15 euros. But I specified the cost in only one shop, so it may be possible to find cheaper. Almost every beach is equipped with changing rooms (some kind of carpet often acts as a screen), showers. Toilets are paid - 0.5 euros. Some are very European, and some, sorry, don't even have toilet paper.
It would not be superfluous to say that Montenegro, at least such resorts as Budva, Becici, Rafailovici, are still focused on our brother. Real estate with signs "for rent", "for sale", English comprehension troubles and ubiquitous Russian with an accent. This focus on the ex-USSR causes some problems for English-speaking Europeans, who experience difficulties even with a basic purchase of cheese. All this was like a silent scene “feel like a Russian in Germany”, where neither your Russian nor your English is understood and everything has to be explained non-verbally.
Shopping in Budva, Montenegro. There is no shortage of grocery stores in Budva. From what I saw - away from the center - Roda and Slavia, closer to the center is the famous Green Market and the Mega Market there. Prices in all three supermarkets are approximately the same, the choice is good. Many shops for children's clothing, for adults, there is little to be found. There are market shoes. In general, the resort town is not a place for shopping. In the market you can buy the famous prosciutto, local cheese, homemade wine, honey, figs (figs) and other fruits and vegetables.
Food in Montenegro, Budva. The long promenade is a space of options for eaters. There are a lot of cafes and restaurants with approximately the same prices. All the institutions in which we were not even remember. We went to Astoria and LaBocca a couple of times. There prices are more expensive, but the food is tastier and LaBocca has great sea views. Service, however, is not necessary once in a while. The average check cost 15 euros, despite the fact that I ordered dessert and wine.
They also advised us LIM, they said the locals themselves go there. But I wouldn't recommend it. Even when there were not many people, and half the tables were empty, only “sorry” was heard. Constantly something is not in time, they confuse. They brought me sour wine. I explained in Russian, they didn’t understand, then I just let them smell it, they brought a new one. Pancake with jam - thick, on the water, a little rubbery, with a drop of jam. True, their spaghetti with seafood turned out to be delicious. In general, the service and food taste almost the same everywhere. Modest meal - 1 dish + drink at least 10 euros. For example, tea (1.5 euros), Caesar salad (7 euros), Four cheese soup (rare muck, 3.2 euros), Cheesecake (2.7 euros). Tipping left 10% of the check, but our guide said that you can leave 1 euro.
You can also have a bite to eat in local fast foods - pizza, hamburgers and gyros (shawarma) are popular. The cost is 3-4 euros. At the same time, the local gyros, compared to the huge and tasty Greek ones, is heaven and earth. The first time I ordered gyros - they put only meat in the cake, without any vegetables. The meat is tasty, but very spicy, you immediately want to drink it. At the second point, they made me the “correct” gyros, with tomatoes, onions, herbs. But the problem is that there was practically no meat there. Ice cream is also sold in packages from 80 euro cents to 1.5 euros - I really liked it, the chocolate icing in it is thick and tasty. But the ice cream in balls seemed not tasty to me (but you still try it, because there are no comrades for the taste and color). 1 euro per ball.
Travel around Montenegro. I advise excursions, the nature in Montenegro is very beautiful. We went with the company Gardashevich. Indefatigable tourists I advise canyons from 6.30 to 22 hours (35 e), just exciting, but in the end no one wants anything. I want to note that the buses come across different, from comfortable to those from a trip in which the legs become very numb.
Was in the Bay of Kotor. We left at 9, arrived around 19.00. The time stated in the booklets most often does not coincide with reality. We went by bus to Tivat, then transferred to the boat. We got a good Russian-speaking guide, albeit with a very Montenegrin accent.
We admired the panorama of the Bay of Kotor, visited the city of 500 steps - Herzen Novi (1 hour) there is also a blood fortress and Kusturica's house; were on the artificially created island of the Virgin on the reef, on the site of which the icon of the Mother of God was found. In honor of this, they built an island from the remains of ships, and on it a church. I was also delighted with the Blue Cave (additional fee - 3 euros), the water there is like ink (it takes 1.5 hours to get there and back, as well as swimming), and in the end we went to the UNESCO-protected Kotor. There the guide left us for 2 hours. To be honest, it is not clear what to do there for so long. Exhausted tourists returned to the buses after 30 minutes, more staunch after an hour, sat and complained about the lack of organization. But it's worth looking at it all. Very nice. Then we took a bus and drove to Budva in 40 minutes.
We also went to the Ostroh Monastery. I advise. There are breathtaking views on the way to the monastery. We passed Skadar Lake - just beautiful. I didn’t go on an excursion, because we already had too few days left to “relax on the beach”, and it’s tiring to go on excursions every day, but passing by you yourself decide whether to go there or not. The monastery itself, carved into the rock, is very beautiful, a place with good energy. You will touch the relics of the most powerful saint in Montenegro, you will see a vine that grows at the place of his death at an altitude of 900 m above sea level. Entrance to the monastery area - 0.5 euros. The fee for a minibus that rises to the upper temple (the bus will not pass there) is 2 euros round trip. When buying candles, you are given a gift from the monastery - a bottle of sacred water and holy oil. On the way back, we stopped near a restaurant (delivery according to the program), beforehand the guide (by the way, the guide spoke a lot, but it was incomprehensible in Russian, also all the guides conduct excursions not only in Russian, they repeat the text in their native language and in English) collected tourist orders - eel 200 g - 12 euros, lamb or calf baked in a pot - 9 euros, fish - 6.5 euros. You can not order from the guide, but order food according to your taste on the spot, you can just drink something. But remember: on the menu, all the dishes that the guide offered turned out to be 1 euro more expensive. Stop 50 minutes, there is nowhere to walk, it's hot, there are a couple of shops with souvenirs, so tourists have no choice but to sit down in a restaurant.
Also, the guide brought us to a shop with honey, wine (8 euros, in Budva - a maximum of 7 for it), brandy. Rakia there, of course, tin, worse than moonshine. Honey is sold from 7 to 10 euros (in Budva for 5 euros). By the way, the taste of honey that they sell to you will turn out to be completely different than they were allowed to try. Be carefull. Under the guise of money thrown a few tourists.
Separately, I would like to say about local entrepreneurs. Dear tourists, count your money. They blow at every step. Change must be carefully counted. This is not Croatia, where you can rely on honesty. Here they will easily bring you spoiled food, something will not be added, and so on. This is not a disaster, just be more demanding of the service of the country in which you came to rest. Also be careful in the old town - both guides and ordinary citizens warn about this, the streets are narrow, there are a lot of people.
Just about people. People in Montenegro who for some reason call themselves Serbs will always help you and always tell you everything. They are open, the first to strike up a conversation, they help easily. True, many of them are not particularly aware of the sights of Budva. But this did not prevent us from feeling cordiality and hospitality.
Souvenirs from Montenegro. It is worth taking prosciutto - about 16 euros per kg. I saw it in one store for 9. Dry red wine - Vranac - they say it even won European wine competitions. They recommend Vranac pro corde 2010 (Plantage), from 5.50 to 7.10 euros per bottle. I also took dry Vranac Barrique 2008, cask. Degree standard, but kreeepkoe. It costs 15 euros for a bottle. From white recommend Krstach. Otherwise, souvenirs from Montenegro are a set of Chinese goods branded as Montenegrin ones.
Our trip ended at the Tivat airport - 2 hours in a huge and sluggish queue for passport control, everyone was extremely indignant, heated and yelled, there was even a fight between the passengers. Landing has begun, and we are all standing, the time has come for take-off, and we are all standing. As a result, they took off a little later. The air conditioners there are very weak, the heat, representatives of cultural layers rushing out of turn. You have to try very hard not to cross out all the good things that were - the beautiful Adriatic Sea, hills and mountains, the beauty of nature and the smell of already fading magnolias.
