I had this week off. Last Sunday I flew to Dubrovnik (Croatia) and I spent most of the week in Crna Gora / Montenegro. As part of a group of about 70 former and current students of my old university’s student association the week saw lots of fun and catching up with old friends, and as one of the oldest participants watching the antics of current students. Montenegro, with a very narrow coastline where karst mountains rise immediately out of the sea for well over 1000 meters ensuring spectacular views, has mostly very rugged terrain. We took a bus into the mountains north of Podgorica, staying on a mountain pasture near Kolasin for the first two nights at 1800m. I enjoyed a mountainhike a lot with beautiful spring flowers and views of the Albanian mountains. Snow patches were still to be found, forcing our small guided group of 8 of the track where the snow still covered it. I saw a viper for the first time (they occur in the Netherlands as well, but never saw them here), sunbathing on our path. From the top of the 2100m Zekova Glava I brought back a small greenish stone for Y, to show her the mountains in Montenegro despite the country’s name aren’t made from black stone.
The next few days took us back down to the coast, to enjoy swimming, dinner by the beach underneath the old citadel of Budva, and sailing a catamaran across the Bay of Kotor. I flew back on Thursday from Dubrovnik, while the rest stayed on until Sunday, not wanting to start the next demanding work week sleep deprived.
Made a walk with E, and had lunch with the two of us, sharing stories about how others in the group had gotten on in the past years (E and I were in the same student union, and she knows many of the people in the association I traveled with, as both her brothers were members as well).
Y, after asking why I went traveling with her uncles, but not taking her and E, wanted to celebrate my return by doing something with the three of us. So we did, visiting the surprisingly entertaining railroad museum in nearby Utrecht.
Today I’ll have a look at what’s in store for next week.
Looking down on Budva from the main road high above it.