September 22 - October 10, 2011
B A L K A N S
TURKEY , BULGARIA,  MACEDONIA, ALBANIA,
MONTENEGRO, CROATIA, BOSNIA, SERBIA
Group Journal
Day 14 Montenegro Oct. 05, 2011 Wednesday
Itinerary:
 Full day excursion to Cetinje - the royal Montenegrian city and Lovcen National Park with Njegus mausoleum Budva. Montenegro

Click here for ►Day 15  Oct. 06,2011 Croatia Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina

Cetinje  is  a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro  with the official residence of the president of  Montenegro. It had a population of 13,991 as of 2011.

 The city nestles on a small karsts plain surrounded by limestone mountains, including Mt. Lovćen, the Black Mountain from which Montenegro gets its name. Cetinje is a town of immense historical heritage, founded in the 15th century. It became the center of Montenegrin life and both a cradle of Montenegrin and an 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.

Many of the old embassies and other administrative buildings are now schools of various kinds, and the town has many young people.


Biljarda Njegos's Museum had a display of historic and ethnographic collections. One of the chests in  the museum display  is identical to the chest I have at my house in Izmir. For some reason it was a tremendous pleasure to see one of my beloved antiques being displayed in a museum.

We had a free time at the city center where many cafés and restaurants were lined up. It was good timing. those who desperately needed their coffee or beer  happily found a right place to order their drinks.

the wonderful thing about this group is their punctuality. Exactly at the right time, we were all ready to board on our bus to drive to the capital of Montenegro.


  
Podgorica lies on the other side of the mountains which gave Montanegro the name - Black Mountain... Podgorica suffered heavily during World War II; the city was bombed over 70 times throughout the course of the war and razed to the ground, causing the deaths of over 4,100 people. The city was liberated on December 19, 1944. Under the name of Titograd,

We had a short cit tour and a wonderful lunch. especially the ice cream was popular . When it was time to meet the bus, the driver disappeared for a while. We did not understand why he was so late. His unpredictable attitude continued through out the tour!!

The afternoon was free . Some of the tour members spent the afternoon and the evening at the town close to our hotel. They loved their fish dinner.

Click here for ►Day 15  Oct. 06,2011 Croatia Bosnia Herzegovina