2nd day of driving around Montenegro and will be going from Cetinje - Kotor - Perast - Tivat.
I was originally planning to include Herceg Novi, but it would had taken too much time for me to get there and back with still some reasonable light, even though I had left really early at about 8am.
The views along the way was really scenic as it was mostly uphill.
As I arrived into Cetinje at about 8.45am, the bells at the monastery were sounding away. I think it's the call for mass.
Walking into the main monastery doors, I saw priests dressed in special outfits lining the entrance into the church. Not wanting to intrude, I stood by the doors for a while and then decided that it's better that I walk around the town of Cetinje and then come back later to visit the church.
Just as I was leaving the monastery vicinity, 2 cars filled with nuns pulled up and got ready to also enter the church.
Not far from the monastery was a cute little Chapel elevated on a platform with some roman ruins around the side. This is Court Church which was erected in 1886 by Montengrian Prince Nikola.
It's really quiet in Cetinje, and a misty morning. A very small town with other buildings worth mentioning include the King Nicola's Palace, which is now a museum, and the Blue Palace.
By the time I was finished exploring Cetinje, the mass was still ongoing and I decided its best to make my way as there's lots of distance to cover today.
The drive out passed by a scenic view point of the town of Cetinje, and with its misty setting, it was really picturesque.
The next stop was about half an hour away up in a viewpoint located in the Lovcen National Park, where there's a great view of the Bay of Kotor.
And then the nerve wrecking drive towards Kotor begins down a winding road known as Kotor Serpentine - with about 25 bends (someone counted this!) on an extremely narrow road meant for 2 way traffic, I was constantly on the edge of my seat, on the lookout for oncoming traffic and then having to figure out how both of us can squeeze through safely.
It took me more than half an hour to get through that obstacle and I was so glad to be out of it. Certainly something to experience once, but not something I would like to have to go through a 2nd time.
I have heard that buses also ply this road, which is crazy! So glad I didn't have to pass a bus on my way down.
There was a fortress (Gorazda Fortress) along the way which I had also stopped in to have a look.
Extremely rustic and filled with graffiti, it looked fun to explore. There were a couple of other tourists already there prior to me, exploring the top of the fortress. I was trying to find the path up too, but it looked like it required going through some very dark passages to find the route up, and I wasn't comfortable doing that on my own.
So time to head back on the roads!
By the time I got to the town of Kotor, it was already 12.30pm.
As I walked into the fortress walls, I was greeted by a group of cats all enjoying a sunbath. It was a hilarious sight. There were also quite a few cats scattered across the grounds.
Kotor is another medieval city, and it reminded me of a mini version of Beijing's Great Wall of China with its winding fortress path built upwards.
Looking at the path, my body just says "no" to the climb! 😂
It's still possible to walk along the fortress walls without doing the climb, which was really nice, and different from most medieval walls that I had walked on, on this trip.
A lot of things in the old town was closed, so I popped outside to look for a lunch spot and I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone - BBQ Tanjga. You can choose from a range of meat available on their display and the chef will have it grilled for you.
I decided to go for a mix meat platter, including a coke, it was all for just €10. I could hardly finish everything and was super stuffed by the time I was done.
The next stop, Perast. An extremely small town built along the water. The town was lined with cafés and restaurants along the water, most of which were rather busy. It however seemed there was no way to enter some of the churches or cathedral.
There's also an island not far from Perast that one can get to by boat, to visit the church on the island. I've decided there was no need to do the boat trip.
The last stop was Tivat, located on the other side of the bay, it was about a 45 mins drive. I arrived there with still some light to explore the city. It looked more modern and there was also a huge marina with a lot of super yachts.
Also a structure in the middle that looked somewhat like Eiffel Tower from a distance when it is litted up.
This town seemed a lot more busy as compared to the other couple towns I was in. By the time I was ready to leave, night had fallen, but thankfully I am quite familiar with the roads back and didn't mind driving back at night.
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