While driving back to Kosova today...on the "autostrade", the new super highway in Albania...where did the 3 cows come from, how did they get on the highway with guardrails everywhere and no villages in site...? They seemed to be happy just standing there, traffic was very light. Where were the "humans"...?
What is "discount pizza"???
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Montenegro tidbits...
Having spent the last week in Montenegro, I want to share things that really made me smile or wonder...huh...?
Ulcinj and most of Montenegro is coastal, with beautiful beaches. Fashion here includes a visible swimsuit under your clothing...men don't wear shirts in restaurants...men are often in speedo swimsuits, not so much the younger generation, and everyone has sandals on. No stiletto high heels here. Younger children, 4 years and younger...well, most of them wear nothing on the beach.
Bacon and pork chops in the stores. Eggs in cartons in the stores.
There is a rooster in a yard across from my hotel...he starts crowing everyday at noon, not when the sun comes up, but in the afternoon...
Most buildings and homes are white brick with red roofs, rarely were there red brick buildings so common in Kosova.
Mosquitoes are especially fond of American blood, I think my "OFF" repellent was a sweet nectar to the little critters that partied in my room last night.
I saw lots of Toyota Yaris cars...bigger brothers though, they all had 4 doors. I was very pleased to get 65mpg on this trip, driving 731km on 27 liters of diesel.
There is a more open display of affection. Older couples walking holding hands, younger couples also. Albanian and English are spoken in Ulcinj...but as you drive further north, there is very little Albanian and almost no English. It was fun to watch families playing in the ocean, grand fathers, parents, siblings...they were all having a great time together. I know this is a tourist community, but the kindness that was shown me was genuine...not because I was an American, but because I think the people of Montenegro are very nice.
Tomorrow...returning to Kosova, the holiday is over...
Ulcinj and most of Montenegro is coastal, with beautiful beaches. Fashion here includes a visible swimsuit under your clothing...men don't wear shirts in restaurants...men are often in speedo swimsuits, not so much the younger generation, and everyone has sandals on. No stiletto high heels here. Younger children, 4 years and younger...well, most of them wear nothing on the beach.
Bacon and pork chops in the stores. Eggs in cartons in the stores.
There is a rooster in a yard across from my hotel...he starts crowing everyday at noon, not when the sun comes up, but in the afternoon...
Most buildings and homes are white brick with red roofs, rarely were there red brick buildings so common in Kosova.
Mosquitoes are especially fond of American blood, I think my "OFF" repellent was a sweet nectar to the little critters that partied in my room last night.
I saw lots of Toyota Yaris cars...bigger brothers though, they all had 4 doors. I was very pleased to get 65mpg on this trip, driving 731km on 27 liters of diesel.
There is a more open display of affection. Older couples walking holding hands, younger couples also. Albanian and English are spoken in Ulcinj...but as you drive further north, there is very little Albanian and almost no English. It was fun to watch families playing in the ocean, grand fathers, parents, siblings...they were all having a great time together. I know this is a tourist community, but the kindness that was shown me was genuine...not because I was an American, but because I think the people of Montenegro are very nice.
Tomorrow...returning to Kosova, the holiday is over...
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Montenegro...
I am currently in Ulcinj, Montenegro...for a time of rest and restoration.
Yesterday I drove along the entire coast of Montenegro, from Ulcinj to Herceg Novi. The Adriatic Sea is between Italy and Montenegro. I was able to take my time, I would turn off of the main road to stop and take pictures, or to just enjoy the beauty. Ok, I confess...I got lost a few times turning down a road that I thought would give me a great view...to discover it was a one way road that twisted and turned into a small residential area. At one point I took a ferry across a bay to Herceg Novi. I took the long way around the on the return trip...it took me about 45 minutes, but it was beautiful. There was one place, Kotor, that I would have loved to stop and explore more. There were steep mountains on one side, the ocean on the other...but on the side of those mountains were remnants of the old city fortress walls. It was getting late in the day, and I wanted to be back in Ulcinj before dark.
There were areas that were so colorful with oleanders of every color...white, pink, red. There were also bougainvillea mostly bright pink and purples. There were also palm trees, pine trees, rose of sharon, and magnolia trees...in some areas, all of this was a canopy along the drive.
The one thing I have to remember...I am no longer driving a Jeep...and I need to be careful turning down dirt roads to take pictures. My little car just is not made for those kinds of adventures. I was really happy when several times when I found myself on a very narrow one way stone street, and I had room to spare getting through. A Jeep would have never made it through those narrow streets.
The server at my hotel is too slow to download any photos at this time...
Yesterday I drove along the entire coast of Montenegro, from Ulcinj to Herceg Novi. The Adriatic Sea is between Italy and Montenegro. I was able to take my time, I would turn off of the main road to stop and take pictures, or to just enjoy the beauty. Ok, I confess...I got lost a few times turning down a road that I thought would give me a great view...to discover it was a one way road that twisted and turned into a small residential area. At one point I took a ferry across a bay to Herceg Novi. I took the long way around the on the return trip...it took me about 45 minutes, but it was beautiful. There was one place, Kotor, that I would have loved to stop and explore more. There were steep mountains on one side, the ocean on the other...but on the side of those mountains were remnants of the old city fortress walls. It was getting late in the day, and I wanted to be back in Ulcinj before dark.
There were areas that were so colorful with oleanders of every color...white, pink, red. There were also bougainvillea mostly bright pink and purples. There were also palm trees, pine trees, rose of sharon, and magnolia trees...in some areas, all of this was a canopy along the drive.
The one thing I have to remember...I am no longer driving a Jeep...and I need to be careful turning down dirt roads to take pictures. My little car just is not made for those kinds of adventures. I was really happy when several times when I found myself on a very narrow one way stone street, and I had room to spare getting through. A Jeep would have never made it through those narrow streets.
The server at my hotel is too slow to download any photos at this time...
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