Don’t joke about Montenegro

Bay of Kotor

Our next destination, Montenegro. I couldn’t help but think of the saying that there are no jokes about policemen because it’s all true. Or about blondes. Or about Montenegrins, I gathered. There are many jokes about how Montenegrins are lazy or at least that they take things slow and easy. So, our first encounter with Montenegro, waiting for more than an hour at the border crossing, proved to me that there are no jokes about Montenegrins because it’s all true.

It took us less than fifteen minutes to clear the Croatian side of the border. Assuming that no cars materialize in between the two border posts, it would have been reasonable to expect another fifteen minutes to clear the other side of the border. Instead, the cars moved along a snail’s pace for more than an hour. When we finally reached the Montenegrin border, we saw very official looking officials, who strutted around making sure that everyone noticed how very official they were. They hardly looked at the travel documents, rather walking around the cars pretending to check whatever they were pretending to check, taking their time before they finally let each car pass. They waved us on without even pretending to check anything.

But first impressions can be deceiving as we were able to observe on our way back. In the opposite direction, we breezed through the Montenegrin border in a matter of minutes while we had to wait for nearly an hour on the Croatian side. Who knows why, they just waved us on when we approached the official in the booth.

Petar Petrović Njegoš

We drove to Lovćen, the place with a colossal mausoleum for Petar Petrović Njegoš, an obviously beloved Montenegrin leader who was also a poet. I was awed by the grandeur of the mausoleum, comparing it to the pyramids of Egypt. I don’t recall ever seeing a mausoleum of similar proportions for anyone other than a pharaoh. Or maybe I just haven’t traveled enough yet.

Kotor

We spent the night along the Bay of Kotor, a beautiful area with a charming old city, ruins along the hilltop, scattered churches, perfect for early morning hiking.