London Stuff

 Sunday

We went back to the Queen's Park Sunday market which was just as interesting the second time.  Lots of delicious fresh produce on display.  David had a 'gourmet farm sausage' with fried red onion and a couple of sauces.  Have to say, it was absolutely delicious.  Bought a bunch of peonies for Ella (loving getting to enjoy spring flowers twice in a year) and a loaf of ciabatta bread, good enough to have for lunch with just butter on it.

Ella went off to the gym and we went to Poundland (full of cheap stuff) and the local hardware store, to get some more tools for David's DIY repairs.  Ella's supply of tools continues to grow.  Weather has been much cooler and it's been nice just having time to potter close to home.

Walked to the 'big Sainsbury' supermarket in the afternoon to get supplies for dinner.  It is rather nice being able to walk or use public transport to get around, not something we can do at home.  Ella cooked a lovely meal - getting quite used to this life!

Monday 

We were organised early and joined Ella for part of her commute to work.  We left her at Paddington Station and made our way toward Southwark, near London Bridge.  There is a identified area for flying drones and David was keen to have a try.  It was a really interesting area with ruins, older style housing and just down the road, a number of ultra modern commercial buildings.

We hired a couple of Santanda Bikes (Boris Bikes) and cycled along the bike lanes, in the area.  It felt a bit weird riding without a helmet, but the cycle lane kept us away from the double decker buses.  If there wasn't so much traffic, cycling would be a great way to explore the city.

Decided that we needed to do a couple of touristy things, so a visit to Harrods and Hamleys toy store.  Not quite as much fun as when you have small people to buy for, but always worth the visit.  From there we went underground to Leister Square where we met up with our Dunedin friend Elva and her friend Carol.  They have been travelling through Europe and have a few days in London, before exploring more of the UK.  Was so lovely to see Elva and to hear of their adventures to date.

Back to Queens Park to finish off the DIY jobs and clean the oven -isn't that what visiting parents are for!  Having a bit of down time before we catch the tube back into the city.  We are meeting up with three of Ella's school friends and the parents of two of them, for a Thai meal.  Will be a great catch up I'm sure.

Just heard that that planned tube strikes have been cancelled this week which should make getting around much less complicated and time consuming.  The public transport system is so efficient, when it is working well.

Back to London

 Friday

Woke up to rain, the first significant wet weather during all of our travels to date.  Thankfully we only had to travel about 15 minutes to Podgorica airport.  We were both so relieved to return the rental car unscathed - a miracle after driving amongst such crazy drivers.

Airport procedures were just as relaxed leaving as it was when we arrived.  Reminiscent of how things used to be!  Our flight back was fine once we cleared the bumps and it was a great to fly over the lovely green countryside on the way into Gatwick Airport.

We trained directly to Victoria Station where Ella met us and we got to see the office building that she works in.  Back to the flat, unpacked and washing done at 'our' friendly local laundromat.  Was nice to have dinner ready for her when she arrived home last night.

Saturday

Ella met her friend Nina for a gym class and we caught the bus to catch up with them for a coffee.  Nina's two sister's, and her three year old nephew, are visiting and we joined them for a walk in Kensington Gardens.  It was so lovely to hear Jayden's delight in seeing the squirrels - mind you, we love to see them too.

The three of us went to the Westfield Mall at Shepard's Bush, close to where Ella lived when she first came to London.  We have the most delicious Chinese food for lunch.  Ella and I did a bit of retail therapy, just cause we could.

Later this afternoon, David and I walked to Poundland - a bargain shop - to get screwdrivers to add to Ella's tool kit and, hopefully, fix a door for her.  It was amazing the bargains we found!

Loving just hanging out with our girl.

Snakes

 Managed to 'escape' Kotor unscathed, though there were some challenging moments on the way down the hill from our apartment.  At one point the road was blocked by a police car and there wasn't enough room for us to squeeze past.  Instead of waiting patiently until we could move, the people behind us just kept blasting their horns and gesticulating wildly.  Not quite sure what we were expected to do!

Our route to Podgorica took us along the coast past lots of smaller seaside towns.  Had planned to stop at Budva to look at the old town, but the town was busy and the thought of negotiating more narrow roads was just too hard.  More glorious views across the bay.

Just to ensure that we got plenty of exercise for the day, we stopped off near Sutomore Beach to climb to the Haj Nehaj fortress.  It sits 231 m above sea level, the path is stoney and steep.  We surprised ourselves by managing the climb in about 20 minutes, but it took equally long to climb back down due to the slippery stones.  The ruins of the fort were amazing and well worth the climb.  Now that I know that there are snakes in Montenegro. I was on the lookout the whole time, especially as the path was narrow with long grass and weeds alongside.  It was a relief to get back down to the road without any unwanted surprises, only to see a snake slithering across the tarmac in front of us!  We did see another one on the road, but sadly it met an untimely death.

Even though we haven't seen any bears, we have heard cuckoo in the forest, such a cool bird call and they sound just like the clocks!

We had a very pleasant picnic at Sutomore Beach, after Google Maps took us down a number of one way roads the wrong way.  Funnily enough no-one seemed to notice and we even saw some locals doing the same thing.  It was a lovely quiet spot with only a few tourists, but they were clearly preparing for the summer trade.

Onward to Podgorica with a stop of at Niagara Waterfall on the Cijevna River which originates in Albania.    There are differing views about whether or not the waterfall has been formed by nature, or from a man-made dam, but it was pretty impressive either way.  The strange thing was that there is a restaurant on the bank of the river where diners sit outside watching the river, and you had to walk through it to get to the falls.  Guess it's one way to get potential customers to notice you.

We found our apartment for tonight, again it's in a large building.  We have spent some of the evening standing on the balcony just watching every day life play out.   We walked to the Millennium Bridge over the Moraca River and then along the river bank to the stone bridge spanning the Ribnica River.  Just because we need more steps, we climbed up to another ruin, before heading back to the apartment.

Thoughts about Montenegro:  beautiful country with incredible contrasts from snowy mountains to beautiful coastlines, crazy drivers and impossible roads, on the cusp of becoming over-run by tourists.  I think we have had the pleasure of visiting before it potentially looses some of its magic.

Car Free Day

After our stressful drive yesterday we decided that we would spend the day exploring Kotor on foot.  It felt like we were on holiday, rather than travelling, which was a nice change.

Set off early to climb the track up to the San Giovanni Fortress, built on the mountain 280 m above above the old town.  The climb is over 1,300 steps and you have to pay for the privilege, but many people (like us) use an alternative path that zig zags up the mountain.  The path was pretty stoney and uneven in places, but it was gradual an not too challenging.  Definitely preferable to climbing all those steps.  Near the top of the fortress, the is the ruin of an old church where the incredible ceiling paintings are still slightly visible.  Apparently there used to be a way to  get into the fortress from the alternative path but that has recently been blocked off.  We were happy to have seen what we did and the views looking down to the bay were amazing.  There is even a cheese shop further up from where we climbed - go figure!

There was a fascinatingly diverse group of people climbing the path, including runners, an old lady carrying shopping bags, quite a few Americans and a couple from Tauranga.  Always nice to hear a Kiwi accent when visiting far flung places.

By the time we had returned to the bay, the temperature was staring to increase, so our early start was a wise decision.  We wandered the old town, climbing more steps and walking along the wall which is long - we didn't walk all of it!  Couldn't believe the cats that were sunning themselves while tourists and workers walked around them.  There are bowls of food all over the town and you can get food by returning two recyclable bottles, so that you can also feed them.  The town is full of narrow street, squares with restaurants and cafes, and cats.  The is an interesting range of small shops, mainly full of cat themed items.  There was a cruise ship in so the town started to become pretty crowded, time for us to leave.

Back to the apartment for lunch - very civilised sitting in the sun rather than on the go.  On the away back, David discovered a turtle wandering along the path.  It was initially being stalked by a cat, but the cat decided that it wasn't that keen on getting too close.  Apparently it was a Hermann's turtle that are quite common in Montenegro, but it seemed odd to find one on a concrete path some distance from the water.  The other thing we were wondering about, while climbing up the mountain path, was whether or not there are snakes here.  The answer is yes, there are about 14 different species, including the highly venomous Nose-horned Viper.  Glad I didn't know that when we were walking through the grass!  After our climb, we decided that we would go for a swim. Hard to turn down the opportunity to swim in the Adriatic Sea.  It was a bit chilly initially, but was so nice to cool off.  We walked along the water front road that was the scene of the mega traffic jam yesterday and it was hard to believe that it was the same place.  There were hardly any cars and people were walking along the road enjoying the sunshine.

We had one more visit to the old town, before heading back up the hill for dinner, washing and preparation for moving on tomorrow.  If you lived here you would certainly be fit from the constant climbing up and down the hills.  Have loved our visit, just have to negotiate our way back out again tomorrow.

The switch back track we climbed

From the Mountains to the Sea

 We've had some adventures during the trip but I think today probably set the gold standard.

It was pretty much a road trip day as we travelled from Berane to Kotor, on the South coast.  Instead of driving directly here, we took the alternative R18 route which was originally built as part of the Yugoslav highway network, spanning Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia.  The construction was never completed on the Montenegrin section so it remains a region road and is recognised as a scenic route.  At varies from smooth with two lanes, rough, full of potholes and crumbling away at the edges, to seriously narrow with limited places to pass oncoming traffic.  Thankfully it is not well used so no real issues.  At one point we were so hight that we drove up out of the clouds, a bit like being on an airplane.  The views were stunningly beautiful with the rugged mountains and the lime green spring growth on the trees.  The rock formations created by tectonic and erosion, just seem to tower over everything.  There a warnings to be aware of potential rock falls, on all of the roads.  It was is amazing to see the size of some of the rocks that had already fallen - thankfully none of them onto us.

We have been amazed by the amount of tourism development that is happening, especially in the north of the country.  Climbing up through a mountain pass this morning we drove through a 2,800 m tunnel and on the other side were massive hotels and accommodation in the process of being built, to attract people to the area for skiing. 

For about an hour of the journey we had rain, the first time we had driven on wet roads.  There were lots of touring motor cyclists and some of their riding was almost as crazy as car drivers.  Once we returned to the main highway south the weather improved and it was decidedly warmer.

Kotor is our 'home' for the next few days and the drive down to the bay was nothing short spectacular.  It is a UNESCO listed coastal town and is surrounded by steep limestone cliffs.  The road winds down the steep mountain, toward the bay giving glimpses of the bay, through the trees.  It is also known as the 'city of cats' - I'm looking forward to meeting as many local felines as I can.

Our biggest challenge of the trip was once we had arrived in Kotor.  There had been an accident on the main road into the town and traffic was completely stationary.  GPS provided an alternative route which involved us driving along a narrow (and I mean seriously narrow) road right on the edge of the bay.  The resulting traffic jam was like nothing we have ever experience before.  Cars trying to drive in both directions, others parked, blocking the already skinny road, and others trying to turn around.  Everyone was impatient and trying to squeeze past each other.  It took us an hour to travel less than two km.  We were pleased to avoid scratches or damage to the car and with the wing mirrors still intact.

That was part one of the challenge.  The second part involved trying to find our accommodation.  We followed Google maps which got completely confused and ended up in some pretty precarious situations.  Once again squeezing past cars, concrete walls and steep roads.  In the end I got out and used GPS to walk the alleys, until we found the apartment and David was able to follow me.  We are still talking to each other, the car is undamaged and the apartment is lovely, so the final outcome was positive.

Tomorrow we are seriously considering doing all of our sightseeing by walking so that we only have to negotiate our way out of here when we leave on Thursday.

No Bears

We woke up to sunshine this morning but sadly that didn't last very long, and it was really chilly.  Almost had to ditch our shorts!

There is a ring road that starts from Zabljak, the Durmitorski Preston, and climbs to over 1,900 meters at Sedlo Pass.  David had warned me that it would be challenging and he wasn't joking.  The road is really only a single line and seriously windy.  The local drivers are crazy and drive incredibly fast, considering the road conditions.  We got part way up on the 'good' road, before having to turn back because of snow - turning was a challenge in itself.

Once we had negotiated our way back down, we went to the Black Lake, which is supposedly one of th highlights of the National Park.  It must be spectacular on a fine, calm day, with the reflections of the surrounding mountains.  Sadly today it was cold and the cloud cover was low.  We had to pay for parking and the guy collecting the money tried to charge us double, until we challenged him.  Even then, the receipt he gave us was less than the five euros we paid - guess it's one way to make additional income from the tourists.

The decision was made (not necessarily unanimous) to drive from the other end of the Durmitorski Preston.  I thought the earlier drive was scary but it had nothing on the second part.  There was honestly nothing between us and the plummeting cliffs, especially when trying to avoid oncoming traffic.  The views were spectacular, as were my anxiety levels!  We didn't go to the top but what we did see some amazing vistas.  

Heading South-West, we drove over more mountain passes and through beautiful valleys.  Lunch stop was beside the Tara River, with its incredible clear aqua coloured water.  The area around it is obviously a popular tourist destination, with a zip-line, rafting and various other adventurous activities.  The bridge across the river was having some serious work done on it and was controlled by traffic lights.  When we crossed, we were dodging the workers, tourists and the massive amount of scaffolding erected over the middle of it.  OSH would have had a field day in New Zealand.

Berane is our stopover for the night and was where our previously booked accommodation had a fire and we had to change plans.  We had chosen this area because there are a number of national parks nearby, but when we arrived, it just seemed like a large and very grim town.  After going for a walk we realised that it isn't nearly as grim as first thought and the river Lim flows through the town, though one of the poorest areas in Montenegro.  A lot of the local industry has closed down over the past 15 years and agricultural production has decreased as well.

Thankfully the host of our apartment sent us video instructions as to how to find the place.  Not convinced that we would have been successful without them.  It is in an apartment block that looks seriously dodgy from the outside, but is absolutely beautiful inside.  Probably on of the nicest places we have stayed during these travels, which is a real treat.

As we travelled away from the mountains, the weather has improved and is significantly warmer.  Our puffer jackets are packed away ready for our return to London, later in the week.  Apparently there are bears in Montenegro but we haven't seen any.  David assures me that it is a good thing.

Mother's Day

 Saturday just seemed to roll on by and I realised that I hadn't completed an update.  We spent most of the morning helping Ella to complete her weekend 'chores'.  More visits to the laundromat!

There was a minor panic when we received an email from our Montenegro accommodation for Monday night, notifying us that there had been a fire and our booking was cancelled.  Thankfully, as it's shoulder season, we had no problem in finding an alternative place to stay.

We met Amira for lunch, Ella's oldest friend after they met at daycare when they were three.  Amira has always been a special part of our whanau and it was wonderful to spend some time with her.  She lives 'out East' so it was also a part of London that we haven't really explored.  The weather was absolutely stunning which just added to the enjoyment.

Having packed our bags, we set off for Gatwick airport where we spent the night at  hotel inside the terminal.  It was literally a box without windows and, with the lights off, completely dark.  Easy to see why it is popular though as we were able to get up at 4.10 am, shower and be at the checking counter by 4.30.  

Mother's Day

Didn't plan this part of the trip well as we flew out early to Montenegro so didn't get to spend Mother's Day with Ella.  She did surprise me with some treats yesterday though and a hug is the best gift ever.

Our Wizz Air flight was supposed to leave at 6.10 am but think we were about 25 minutes late, landing in Podgorica.  It was fascinating looking at the country side as we flew in - high rugged mountains dipping down to long flat valleys.  Arriving at the airport reminded us of Rotorua years ago.  Disembarked and walked across the tarmac and people waiting to board standing behind a wire fence - felt very unsophisticated.

Another rental car, this time a new Renault Clio - it even smells brand new.  Very exciting to get an auto as we thought it would be a manual.  One less thing to think about when driving on the wrong side of the road.

Shops, including supermarkets, are closed on Sundays but we managed to find a bakery that had the most enormous slices of pizza, to keep us going.

Our first stop was the Ostrog Monastery near Niksic.  It was built in the early 17th century, against an almost vertical rock face, high up in Ostroska Greta and is dedicated to Saint Basil of Ostrog and is the most visited pilgrimage site within the Serbian Orthodox Church.  It is traditional for pilgrims to walk the 3 km stoney path barefoot - we didn't!  The climb felt like hundreds of steep steps, as was certainly a good workout.  There were a number of other, smaller churches around the area with beautiful ornate pained ceilings and walls.  Unfortunately it was Sunday and two days before the celebration of St Basil's birthday, so it was pretty crowded.  Well worth the stop and the effort though the tight, narrow, winding road was a bit hair-raising. 

Driving further north we called in to see the Ramparts of Onogost in the village of Niksic.  The walls were built on the foundations of a former Roman military camp from the 4th Century.  Some of the original walls are still standing and they are open to the public to visit at any time.  An open air theatre has been established amongst the ruins.

The rest of our drive included a winding road with plenty of tight hairpin bends, that took us above 5,000 feet, before wending our way back down to the valley on the other side.  There were a couple of tunnels along the way and I did think that they could have built more to avoid some to the interesting driving we witnessed.  The locals have a very 'relaxed' attitude to the importance of staying on the correct side of the centre line.

Zabljak is our home for the night and is in the entree the Dumitor mountain region, at an altitude of 1,456 metres.  It was a relief to arrive and to find that we were expected, especially as there is limited English spoken.  Apparently the area was predominantly farming but many people moved away.  There is huge development taking place as people are trying to get ahead the tourist boom.  It feels very like Croatia did when we visited 15 r so years ago, before the crowds arrived.  The buildings all have steep pitched roofs and are very cute.  Our cabin is in a row of four, on a farm, and has a lovely view across part of the valley.

Dinner was delicious gyros, overflowing with chicken and salad.  So far we are loving Montenegro and are very pleased that we took Ella's advice and planned a visit.