Post by Bozur on Feb 21, 2009 21:11:11 GMT -5
Uncovering Europe's best-kept secret: Montenegro
By Karen Bannan,
When I turned 60 recently, I decided it was time to cash in multiple Aeroplan miles and other reward points and take my husband Brian on a three-week adventure to Venice, Croatia and Montenegro.
What a thrill we had when we met Trevor Linden and his wife at the Vancouver airport, where he graciously chatted with us, indulged me with a photo and a hug, and wished me a happy 35th birthday.
Our favourite activity in Venice was sitting on the terrace of our lovely little hotel, Hotel Al Ponte Antico, sipping a Spritz (a delicious local drink made with Prosecco wine and Aperol), served by the dashing Matteo, while watching the world go by on the Grand Canal with the Rialto Bridge in the background. It doesn't get much better than that.
We enjoyed our seven-day cruise on the Wind Surf, which included stops at Koper in Slovenia and Pula, Opatija, Zadar, Split, Korcula and Dubrovnik in Croatia -- each unique and most "picture-postcard" perfect.
Disembarking in Dubrovnik, we crossed the border into the gorgeous new (2006) country of Montenegro. Our small hotel, Palazzo Radomiri, a beautifully renovated palace, was perfectly located in the fishing village of Dobrota, overlooking the Adriatic Sea.
We enjoyed glorious sunsets every evening and swam every day right from our dock, always surrounded by the beauty of the mountains that came right down to the sea. Amazing!
Nearby Kotor, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has an atmospheric Old Town with a maze of alleys and streets filled with churches, markets, squares, museums, shops and restaurants, all surrounded by ancient walls. Hubby managed to climb 1,350 steps up the main wall to the very top -- I decided to stop at the half-way point, at the tiny Chapel of Our Lady of Salvation, which was certainly my salvation.
The pretty little town of Perast is famous for its twin islands offshore. One is natural, the Island of St. George, where there is a monastery closed to tourists. The other is an artificial island called Our Lady of the Rocks, built over 500 years on the hulls of sunken ships and many, many stones dropped there. We hired a small boat to visit this little island, on which there is a 17th-century Baroque church where weddings are still held today. I commented that this would be a romantic place to renew our vows, but hubby, as usual, just rolled his eyes.
The road to the old capital of Montenegro, Cetinje, included a not for the faint-of-heart 20 km of 28 hairpin turns rising above the Bay of Kotor, providing awesome views. We visited one of the twin peaks of Mt. Lovcen, Jezerski, where we climbed 461 steps to the mausoleum of Njegos, the poet-prince hero who is Montenegro's most celebrated and beloved figure. From this high location, we could see all of Montenegro.
We visited the Budva Riviera, which is a bustling, vibrant tourist area where the picturesque hotel-fishing village of Sveti Stefan is located. Although now closed for renovations, at one time it was a favourite destination for movie stars, celebrities and diplomats -- Prince Charles and Princess Diana were planning to honeymoon here, until the media learned of their plans.
Returning to Dubvrovnik, from the roof of our hotel in Old Town, we were encircled by a sea of red tile roofs, most of them painstakingly replaced following the bombings during the war of the 1990s. The 2-km medieval wall that surrounds Old Town offered spectacular scenery at every turn.
Every evening we stopped at the Troubadour Jazz sidewalk cafe, where we were treated to great live music and the best people-watching spot ever.
Although we thoroughly enjoyed everywhere we went on my birthday trip, Montenegro holds a special place in our hearts. What appealed to us was that while Montenegro is stunningly beautiful, it is still a little rough around the edges. We hope that as the world discovers one of Europe's best-kept secrets, Montenegro is able to retain its integrity, charm and natural beauty.
Joanne and Brian Bannan are the proprietors of Hyack Tire in New Westminster.
www.canada.com/Travel/story.html?id=1068154