Montenegro day 9: Tea and cake

Monday, 10th October 2022

What better way to say goodbye to Durmitor NP than to have breakfast by the Black Lake? We enjoyed it so much yesterday that we returned today.

It was 8.30am when we got to Nacionalni Restoran Crno Jezero. The park rangers were having their morning coffee. We were the first tourists. The wood burner was on.

Café latte (they love their plastic straws in this country!)

Lake breakfast (trout paste and trout carpaccio)

Popara (mashed bread, milk and cheese) - tasty but sickening.

Warm bread

Last photos of the lake with the morning mist.

We are now heading to the coast for another week but stopping on the way to see Njegoš Mausoleum near Cetinje.

Instead of taking the road towards Podgorica and then turn at Cetinje, we took the mountain roads via Nikšić. It would take longer but we wouldn't be repeating a road we've already driven on and it would be more scenic.

A quick stop halfway at Restoran Kastel in Nikšić to stretch our legs and we learnt Montenegrins like their tea with lemon and honey.

We went past an artificial lake after Nikšić, Slano Lake (Slansko Jezero). The name means 'salt lake'. It is a karstic lake (formed as a result of the collapse of caves) with many islands and it was very very dry. The road goes on top of the dam.

At some point there were road works and new tarmac alternated with no tarmac. We feared we may end up in the same situation as 3 days ago. We didn't think the car would take another beating!!

Finally one of the road workers stopped us, told us we couldn't use that section of the road yet and directed us unto the correct detour. What a relief!

Not very far from the mausoleum, it was time for lunch. We stopped at Konoba Krstac. A small cat had been left there a few days before and had now become their resident. She was tiny and absolutely adorable. She demanded lap and cuddles, purred to keep me going, when my veal soup arrived ate the veal pieces and left me the broth, then stretched herself in a very cat-like manner and left me. A proper cat! Absolutely loved her.

After a week of having cappuccinos, I confirm that Montenegrins know how to make a proper espresso.

Njegoš Mausoleum

On the Jezerski vrh peak (1657m), at the Lovćen NP, sits the highest mausoleum in the world.

The mausoleum was built for interring Petar II Petrović-Njegoš in 1974. It was built on the same location of the Njegoš Testament Church which Njegoš had built in 1845 with the intension of being buried there.

The parking for the mausoleum is small and it seems that the local way is to park along the road downwards from the roundabout, which is what we did and saved us having to walk further.

I read that there were 461 steps to walk up to the mausoleum but it really did not look like from the outside.

Until we went in and realised there were more inside.

The mausoleum is surrounded by high stone walls. In the middle there is an atrium with a well in the middle. At the entrance, two caryatids, female sculptures that support the building like pillars, stand dressed in traditional Montenegrin costume.

Inside, the above-ground chamber is made from marble from the Bay of Kotor and from Brač in Croatia. The ceiling is covered by 27,000 gold tiles with a total weight of 18kg. A 28-tonne granite statue of Njegoš sits with an eagle on his shoulder and an open book on his lap.

Underneath, the crypt holds Njegoš's marble sarcophagus.

Behind the mausoleum there is a viewpoint with spectacular views. It was cloudy so we couldn't see the open sea, the Bay of Kotor and Skadar Lake as one would see on a clear day but we could see Lovćen's mountains and the Cetinje plateau.

Mausoleum

Viewpoint

Cetinje plateau

Štirovnik, the highest peak of Lovćen NP, at 1749m. 

Mount Lovćen is the inspiration behind the names 'Montenegro' and 'Crna Gora', both of which mean 'Black Mountain', referring to the appearence of Mount Lovćen. Mount Lovćen has 2 peaks: Štirovnik and Jezerski vrh.

I was desperate for the toilet and there wasn't any at the mausoleum so we went to Vladika Restoran at the base of the mausoleum. Obviously we had to have something so we sat for cake because they had fantastic-looking cakes. What we weren't expecting was for the cakes to be fresh and absolutely delicious and the tea (mountain tea) amazing. It delivered exactly what we were craving for: tea and cake.

The restaurant has the same type of heating system we saw in Latvia:

It wasn't the cheapest, tea at €2.50 and cake at €3.80, but you were also paying for the modern décor and the fantastic views. I couldn't recommend more to visit the mausoleum for the views, preferably on a clear day, and the restaurant for tea and cake.

The mausoleum is open daily 9am-5pm and it cost €5, plus entry to the national park.

It started raining and we were tired so we went straight to our accommodation. We are staying in Budva for the next week at The Old Town Terrace Apartments.

The flat's common areas are spacious, the balcony is big and it has sea view and view to Budva's old town, free parking and it's a short walk to the centre.

However:

• It has a cracked bathroom window.
• Some drawers are nearly falling down.
• The bedrooms are small and the only place to keep clothes/jackets is the hallway cupboard which, albeit very spacious, needs new doors as they look like they may not last the week.
• Doesn't have many glasses and only has small plates.
• We can now confirm that you shouldn't expect microwaves or toasters because, yet again, there aren't any.

Oh well, we have a view!

Out and about looking for dinner, me and Jorge being tired of meat, we chose a restaurant with plenty of fish options by the marina: Restaurant Porto. The food was good though we thought the octopus portion could be bigger. Again, no interesting desserts. The meal cost €70.

Roasted octopus with roasted vegetables for 2 persons

Karadjordjeva (rolled steak)