What a delightful combination; the historic city of Dubrovnik and the emerging country of Montenegro. We stayed in Mlini on the beautiful Croatian coastline and our hotel looked out over the Adriatic Sea.

 

It was a lovely, sunny day when we arrived and it was not long before we were strolling round the bay, peppered with small pebble beaches, where the locals were braving the still cold water. We stopped at a beachside bar in the next village, Srebena, and succumbed to the temptation of some mouth-watering ice cream. Dinner that night was my first experience of Croatian obstinacy, in the hotel restaurant a table for ten was 'not allowed' so we had to have adjacent tables, one for six and one for four.  

 

The next morning we stopped on our way to Dubrovnik to take a panoramic picture of the city situated on a promontory in the sea and still completely surrounded by walls. We, and hundreds of other tourists, disembarked at the Pile Gate where we met our guide for our walking tour of the city. It soon became clear that a cruise ship was in port as we stood on the terrace overlooking Fort Lovrjenic and group after group from the same ship thronged around us. We solved the problem of overcrowding when two of us got separated from our group and by the time we were re-united the rush was over and we could enjoy our tour in peace. We started at the circular Great Onifrio's Fountain, opposite which was the small church of St Saviour and the oldest working pharmacy in Europe at one end of the main street, Stradun. Stradun was once a river that separated the original two sections of the town but had since been filled in.  We walked a short distance along Stradun before turning off into a narrow street lined with restaurants.  At the end of this street was a lovely church, St Nicholas Church and around the corner from the church the Church and Confraternity Rosario and the Dominican Monastery. Our route brought us back into Stradun by the Cathedral and then to St Blaise Church and the Rector's Palace. Finally we entered the Hall of Memories where Tamara told us about the last Balkan war in 1991 when Montenegro bombed Dubrovnik as we stood under the pictures of all those killed during the war. After a coffee break we walked around the city walls, a very pleasant experience and a chance to appreciate the city in it’s entirety. Lunch was taken in one of the large, busy touristy squares where we had another dose of Croatian charm. The large, stolid waitress would stomp to our table and bark “Drink?” or “Food?” but it was nice to feel a part of this bustling city. After lunch there was more time to explore the narrow streets where shops and houses were crammed together as a result of the original necessity to build everything within the walls. That evening we strolled round the bay to the Restaurant Lanterna situated on the small harbour where we were warmly welcomed and a large table was organised by an open window overlooking the harbour. A daily boat service operated from this harbour to Dubrovnik. Both the service and the food were excellent and we dined there the following evening as well.

 

Passports at the ready we headed for Montenegro and once the formalities were completed at the border we met up with our guide Rade at the first service station we came to.  Rade was larger than life and twice as loud but proved to be a very entertaining and informative guide. We drove round Kotor Bay, a beautiful bay just like a fjord that demanded a photo stop. This was followed by a brief sojourn in Risan to see the Roman mosaics although some of us just strolled into the town where it was market day.  The bay was shimmering in the sun and the buoys of mussel farms and fish farms bobbed on the water.  From Risan we drove to Kotor where we had a very interesting walking tour of the old town. Rade happily posed at the post where prisoners used to be strung up for days as a punishment.  From Kotor our route took us up into the mountains above the bay as we headed for the old royal capital Cetinje. It was a narrow, winding road but the stunning views made it well worthwhile. Just before Cetinje we stopped at a rustic restaurant, Etno Selo Kadmi to eat what Rade called a snack that consisted of a great wedges of home made bread with smoked ham and the local cheese and would have been sufficient for two meals! Next stop Cetinje and first we went to the Royal Palace and had our picture taken with the guards before we walked around the town stopping at the entrance to a cave where the vanquished had hidden and then when their conquerors were off guard emerged and slaughtered them. At the Monastery we were taken inside and the casket where the relics were stored was unlocked for us so that we could see them. They consisted of the body of Petar II (a spiritual ruler of Montenegro), a hand of John the Baptist and a piece of wood from the cross of Christ.  The hand provoked a lot of debate as we walked back to our bus. In Budva our first stop was a local café where we indulged in very reasonably priced cakes and ice cream but there were no facilities there so we then had to pay fifty cents each to use the toilet in a local hotel. We walked through the hotel and emerged on one of the beaches for which Budva was famous. Skirting the city walls we arrived in a harbour bursting with expensive catamarans in the 'A' parking area.  After strolling along another section of the city walls we got back on our bus and made our way back to our hotel taking the ferry across the bay that shortened our journey considerably. 

 

On our last day I took the opportunity to visit Cavtat on the local bus. This pretty resort was a real contrast to the less commercialised Mlini that sprawled around the bay. Cavtat bristled with fresh fish restaurants and jewellery shops in front of a harbour were luxurious catamarans bobbed at their moorings. During my wanderings I discovered a café with a display cabinet full of sumptuous cakes. I could not resist the temptation so I sank into a comfortable sofa and indulged myself as I watched the world go by. Back in Mlini I resumed my search for the elusive ‘local bank’ that I finally discovered on the main road, a forty five minute walk from the hotel. On my way back I found a restaurant Konoba Marinero, perched above the road overlooking the bay. We dined there that evening enjoying some more of the local cuisine and friendly service, a very agreeable end to an interesting trip.