Montenegro..

 ..I don't have many words for beautiful, beautiful Montenegro..!!!   Certainly very high -maybe the highest- on our list of "places to go back to".  We crossed the border from Bosnia and Herzegowina near the National Park Durmitor in the North and went southwards to Skadarska Jezero (lake).  Unfortunately, the good-weather season had already passed, so we didn't make it to the high peaks, neither to the east (going to Kosovo).  It is supposed to be even more beautiful over there - hard to imagine for us, we were so overwhelmed by the places we traveled through..  but good to know there is much more awaiting us for future trips.  Many people had warned us in Bosnia that it would rain everyday in Montenegro.  The truth was that it stopped raining the day we crossed the border.  Luck us, once again! : )

Riding bike through beautiful landscape not only is simply enjoyable but it is actually like food for the eyes and soul, literally.  I forget about hunger, forget about the exertion of going uphill and find myself singing instead.  Everything flows a bit easier, even when the ride is hard or uncomfortable (e.g. due to rain) - simply because there are beautiful things to look at.  Very nice experience.  I wonder in what way the view of ugly, dull modern square buildings must affect us in the cities we live in..

It was in Montenegro where we slept in temperatures below zero degrees for the first time - and woke up from the gentle sound of snow falling on the tent!  Thanks to our superduper sleeping bags (& my friends who sponsored me!!!  KISSES to you) we did not have to freeze (to death) at night.  On cold nights, we turn into mummies with our red noses being the only parts of our bodies exposed to the cold.
Indeed, the downhill ride in the next morning was a freeeezing...!   We were not yet prepared for this kind of weather- with improvised gloves and scarves (made of socks and other clothes wrapped around us, ever seen mummies on bikes?).  Though again, the breathtaking view of mountains, gorges, small villages and seeing friendly people who either waved to us from a distance or gave us water, made our experience in Montenegro magical. 

Confronting the zig-zag road on the other side of the valley that we would take.  Mental preparation required!

Alexander invited us to camp on his camping site for free.  He would not charge us because the season was already over.  This picture was taken in his very cozy living/dining/bed all-in-one room +kitchen +museum where we prepared our dinner on his oven (he actually advertises for the "museum" on his business card for the camp site).  The drawing in the backgound shows his grandfather on a horse in the time of the war against the Turkish.

 

I am writing all this from Greece now.  As you see, it is not easy for me to keep things up to date but it is nice for me to write about all these places with a few weeks of delay, because I can re-live everything : )  It is our plan to go to the South of Turkey for the winter and hopefully find a place to stay for a month or two.  We will continue our trip in March or so.  If you know of any nice places to go, have any suggestions, let us know!

By the way, I changed the settings and it should be possible now for anybody to post comments on the blog.  So go ahead, feel free, drop a line if you like, we are always happy to hear from you!