For three days, my little white car wandered on a fairy-tale road, on the shore of a calm, lake-like inlet at the foot of a rocky mountain - the deepest and most remote in Southeast Europe.
Lonely tomb on the mountain top
I still remember the strange feeling when the car drove away from the ancient capital of Cetinje in the Republic of Montenegro - the fourth least populated country in Europe. While eagerly admiring the majestic mountain scenery in front of me, the sound of the engine and the sound of the wheels on the road seemed to disappear, the sound seemed to be sucked into the sea that was sinking deep below the mountain slopes very quickly. Except for a sign saying "turn left to Lovcen and go straight to the ancient city of Kotor", the road ahead was empty.
That feeling of emptiness still followed us when we reached the foot of the mountain where the parking lot suddenly appeared as if it had fallen from the sky. Looking up at the towering height, we saw a distant-looking structure - the mausoleum of Lord Petar Petrovic Njegos (1813 - 1851) perched on a very high mountain peak. The lord with a poetic soul and a philosophical mind chose the peak of the mountain 1,749 m above sea level as his resting place, and to this day, this is still the highest mausoleum in the world. This open-air construction has a tight and airy layout, or in the Eastern language, it has good feng shui. Even though I am not a person who likes to visit temples and mausoleums, I do not feel this place is mysterious or gloomy.
From the top, visitors can observe the mountain ranges below, the peaceful plateau in the distance and the drifting clouds in the middle. It is truly a boundless ocean of rocks as described in a travelogue by Bernard Shaw. If your eyes are sharp, or you have binoculars for professional mountaineers, you can see all of Italy on a clear afternoon like this. Remembering the brief introduction to Lovcen National Park in a tourist guide, we hurried down the mountain, after stopping by a small souvenir shop.
Heritage town of Perast: Where is the glorious past now?
The car sped past many churches and monuments along the villages like Njegusi and Ivanova Korita. Since we had to reach the heritage town of Perast before sunset, we didn’t have time to linger too long in front of each monument. I only had a vague thought: I wonder if there are more churches and monuments than people here? The silence of the afternoon became more and more eerie as the afternoon went on.
When we arrived in Perast, the bright rays of the sun seemed to recede into the sky and the clouds covered everything as in the early morning. This town of less than 700 people was eerily quiet, although it was always considered one of the most beautiful places in the Boka Kotorska region. The narrow streets seemed to shrink under the old stone-walled mansions. The monasteries and chapels were closed. It was hard to imagine that this was once a bustling gathering place for merchants, captains and sailors hundreds of years ago.
The weather here is cool all year round, if you take a deep breath, you can feel the remaining elegance of a post-Renaissance upper class place somewhere. I don't know which bell tower is the bell tower built from selling pure gold donated by the people of Perast, but the bells still ring majestically. Stop and listen carefully, you can hear the footsteps of the past mixed with the sound of the wind, suddenly this place feels very mysterious.
Going along the coast from the town, you will see two small islands with two ancient red-tiled castles on them - Sveti Dorde (St. George) and Gospa od Skrpjela (Our Lady of Stone). It is said that Gospa od Skrpjela is the only artificial island in the Adriatic Sea, about 3,000 m wide.2, built by locals on a reef after two Venetian sailors traveling from Perast found a portrait of the Virgin Mary on the rock.
The city is deep in memory
The darker it got, the quieter everything became. When we arrived at a family hotel, when we saw the windows with lovely flower pots with warm yellow lights and the fragrant smell of food coming from the hotel canteen, our feelings of excitement gradually disappeared. The hotel room was like a room in a private house, the bed was clean but the desk was still messy. In one drawer was a Montenagro passport that someone had forgotten or intentionally left behind. Luckily, sleep came quickly after a long day of driving so I didn't have to worry about anything.
Leaving the hotel at dawn, amidst the clear chirping of birds and the cool breeze, the anxiety of the evening only passed once more when we tried to return the keys to the landlord but found no one in the living room. Looking into the next room, we saw an old man in his eighties dozing on the sofa, then woke up and mumbled something. Luckily, a neighbor was passing by, I quickly slipped the room key into her hand and suddenly felt like both the old man and the neighbor were people from the last century.
The car sped to the ancient city of Kotor - the armor of Montenegro. The ancient city of Kotor is a very typical work of Venetian defense architecture, with small, gray cobblestone streets, churches and monasteries that look not much different from neighboring ancient cities, most notably Dubrovnik. Still the moss-covered railings, stylish cafes, bustling squares. I will return to this place when I talk about the defense heritage in Europe. For now, I just want to mention a different image here: the witches' brooms hanging on the paths leading out of the city gate. What does that image have to do with the legend of hallucinogenic potions made from moldy rye bread? Does anyone ride a broom to fly away at night? I would love to continue, but I'm afraid you'll imagine a more ghostly Boka Kotorska than in real life.
In fact, through the clouds, the Bay of Kotor is still very blue and very clear.
Some more pictures of life in Kotor
More information
Visa:Although not part of the EU, Montenegro still exempts visas for visitors with multiple schengen visas or schengen residence permits. You have 15 days to explore the many beautiful sights of this majestic country.
Trip:From Vietnam, there are no direct flights to Montenegro, requiring transit in some countries. Two low-cost airlines you can choose are Qatar Airway (transit in Doha) and Turkish Airlines (transit in Istanbul). In Montenegro, there are two modern airports, Podgorica and Tivat. From the airport, you can go to the city center by using means such as: taxi, bus, car of travel companies...
Transportation:The tourist attractions in Montenegro are usually quite close together so you can walk. For remote locations, the most popular and cheapest means of transport is the bus, which runs every 5 minutes. You can also take a taxi, but remember to ask for the price before going because they do not have taximeters.
Time:You can travel to Montenegro at any time of the year because each season has its own beauty and charm. However, the ideal time to come here is from March to October, the peak is July and August. At this time, the weather is cool, pleasant, not too hot, so it is suitable for tourism activities, admiring and exploring the beautiful nature of Montenegro.
Accommodation:Many hotels in Montenegro will offer discounts if you book early, before the end of January. You should look for hotels that allow you to cancel your reservation up to 48 hours in advance without any penalty. Before making a booking decision, use many applications such as hostelworld, booking.com or hostelBookers… to compare prices.
Cuisine:Montenegro is heavily influenced by the culinary culture of Greece, Italy and Türkiye. However, this beautiful country still has many delicious and attractive dishes that you should try such as: potato salad, Jahni bean soup, oven-baked salmon, roasted suckling pig, grilled lamb, etc. Don't forget to try some typical drinks such as: mountain tea (Çaj Li), Bozë, beer, wine, Raki...
Money:Montenegro uses the euro (EUR), 1 EUR is worth about 28,000 VND.
Some places to visit:
- Centinje:This quiet town, steeped in culture and medieval architecture, was the capital of Montenegro until 1946. Founded in the 15th century, it still retains numerous monasteries, Orthodox churches and several small museums.
-Ostrog MonasteryVisitors are free to enter, but dress code is required. Clothing must cover the shoulders, arms and be above the knees. Women must cover their heads with scarves. Ostrog has a unique architecture carved almost entirely into a vertical cliff. Despite being 400 years old, the monastery still retains the ancient and sacred values of this land.
-Durmitor National Park:Established in 1952, the main winter activities here are skiing and snowboarding. Summer activities include mountain climbing and recreational tourism. One of the most attractive destinations in Durmitor Mountain is the 18 frozen lakes, the most famous of which is Crno. If you are lucky, you can see brown bears, wolves, lynx, eagles and owls in this national park.
