Montenegro is a gorgeous, relatively pocket-friendly and a lovely destination either for a beach break, skiing experience or just for a random sightseeing tour, depending which time of the year and to which part of the country you go. From our two night stay, we learnt that people are very friendly and welcoming and the roads are great even in winter when the snow is out and about. I heard that it is lovely in summer, but I can really say that it is also lovely in winter : ).
Describe your trip in a few words: we experienced a proper winter wonderland in the beginning of January, 2019.
So let’s continue from the previous post (part 1), where we were astonished by the views and the whole winter wonderland in the mountains feeling at Mratinje Dam. It is worthwhile saying that in was winter and it was cold in Podgorica but significantly warmer than in the north where we ended up. And those gorgeous mountains getting more and more covered in white… I love beautiful winter, you know : ). It was really beautiful, and the feeling driving on those relatively narrow, pretty much empty, quiet roads and enjoying those spectacular views of Montenegro north was somehow majestic.
Views and stops on the way 
As the roads were being cleaned to prevent any unpleasant accidents, our journey from the Dam was supposed to continue to Tara Bridge. It did not look too far away but then we took the longer way to drive south and then to north again in order to avoid Durmitor National Park. I am sure it would have been an amazing experience to have a little hike there or just stop and find some nice views without too much hiking. But we really wanted to go to the bridge and it was getting late. You know, sunsets in winter are early… Unfortunately our stay was too short for everything ; ).
When looking at the map, there definitely are some shortcuts to reach the bridge. However, we did not want to risk it: we do not regularly drive, especially in winter conditions and were not sure how clean and easy roads will be everywhere. The downside of the beautiful snow and winter wonderland is that driving was significantly slower and it took us significantly more time to get from A to B via the longer road. As we were approaching Žabljak, it was getting darker and darker. But we still had a little hope we will make it. Once we passed by the little houses for skiing tourists and approached a very dark road going down the hill we gave up. There were no lights, the road from google maps looked curvy enough for an adventurous drive in a daytime not to mention at night and as it looked like we would driving to the end of the world, I am pretty sure it was a properly steep downhill. We got so so close, just like 30 min drive away from the bridge but we got there too late. For us it will have to be a next time to see this gorgeous landmark but I hope you make it!
On the way back we stopped for a coffee in this Žabljak town, which appeared to be a proper skiing tourists town. Earlier that day we had tea for 50 euro cent and in this place the prices were as usual business everywhere else in cities. Fair enough, I am not complaining 😀 but the crowds, people drinking, smoking inside, loud music was not our type of vibe. The Christmas decoration son the streets were cute so of course I wanted a picture. But then wee left asap to move towards Podgorica :D.
Let it snow in Zabljak 
As one would imagine, it has been a long day and were exhausted. But also hungry :D. So without too much research we went to this a bit fancy looking place, as I am allergic to gluten, it was getting late and we were just too tired to bother wondering around too much. The menu was gluten free friendly, the inside decor was really nice, the music was pleasant, it was spacious and the waiters were even wearing white gloves so it is a class place. We tried the soups and seafood risotto, which was literally the best one I have ever had! Even the tea was amazing. I highly recommend Porto.
After the meal, the concert in the square just next to out home started like last night and we stayed out for a bit longer. It was so beautiful and so Christmassy that my words can not describe that. But it was to rest before another day of sightseeing and the flight.
As such, we actually did not manage to properly chill in Podgorica and I really feel like it is a shame and I would love to go back. Since our flight was in the evening and we had a car, we decided to explore further and so there was no more time left for the capital.
Our destination was this gorgeous city Kotor. But we chose to drive through Lake Skadar, which is the largest lake in the southern Europe. We thought it would be cool to get at least a glance of it! And we did :D. It was worth the stop for sure, the lake and the mountains make a gorgeous landscape. Maybe after previous day’s adventures it felt a bit simple but now I am looking at the pictures and it is really cool :D. The little castle nearby (Besac Castle) for more views was still closed (we got there before 10 am) and so we walked up a hill, down and we were good to move on. Nevertheless, I think it is worth a stop for sure and I think going from different sides of the lake would also give some pretty cool views.
Lake Skadar impressions 
And then, after just over an hour drive we got off in the incredible, really incredible Kotor city, which deserves a separate (hopefully shorter) post : ). But a take away message is: Montenegro is sooooo gorgeous everywhere you go! (Or at least everywhere we went. :D)
OzisRuke 