About a week ago we took another day trip to Montenegro. This time we were accompanied by our friends Gjon and Juli who acted as our guides. First stop was Podgorica. The city is the capital of Montenegro and although very nicely laid out, clean and easy to navigate it was, to me, just another big city. I wasn’t really attracted to it much, it seemed kind of sparse, not many people walking around, large streets, it could have been any large city in middle America, but we spent about an hour there and walked around their main drag where I did manage to do a little clothes shopping. We drove around and did some sightseeing from the car :).

Then we headed to Cetinje, the old capital! Now this was more my speed. Cetinje is a town of great historical heritage, founded in the 15th century. It became the center of Montenegrin life and both a cradle of Montenegrin culture and Serbian Orthodox religious center. It is because of its heritage as a long-term Montenegrin capital that it is today the honorary capital of Montenegro. Walking around the city was lovely. We parked in front of the old French Consulate building, it was a beautiful architectural edifice with painted tiles and majestic looking. We saw the National Museum of Montenegro, the Royal Palace and the Biljarda-Museum of Petar II Petrovic-Niegos (1813-1851). He was the Prince-Bishop of Montenegro, the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan of Cetinje and a philosopher and poet, who, throught his establishment of Montenegrian secular organs, is considered to have been responsible for the secularization of Montenegro. 

We had lunch at a lovely restaurant and a coffee afterward at an even lovelier bar, on the main plaza across from the Royal Palace. We made our way home in the late afternoon and enjoyed the stunning scenery that both Montenegro and Albania have to offer!