Montenegro has my Heart ❤

Fair warning, this is going to be a long one…

Wow. Where to even begin. This trip was such a beautiful and spiritual experience for us, and we are walking away from it feeling very emotionally and physically drained if I am being completely honest. Yet, at the same time, we felt a great amount of sorrow upon leaving Montenegro. We experienced so much in such a short amount of time, and literally felt wrapped in the presence of God at every moment. It was truly one, if not thee best week of my life. Not only was Montenegro absolutely stunning, but it was full of life, culture, and religion. In a population of roughly 600,000 people, Montenegro struck an impeccable balance of high fashion city life, beautiful mountainous countryside with an abundance of farms and wineries, striking coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea, and of course, many beautiful churches and monasteries spread throughout the entire country. The cars driving around without crosses hanging from their rearview mirrors were few and far between.

From the start of our journey, which began with meeting our lovely hostess for the week, to the final moments when a kind taxi cab driver rushed Alexis and Otis to a clinic for Otis to get a covid test to confirm his negative results (we were unaware he needed one, and found out at the airport with 1.5 hours before our flight was to depart), we just kept saying to one another, “This was such a blessed trip,” and we feel so humbled to have been a part some very life changing moments for us – not just as individuals, but as a family, and it gave us the assurance our family may have unknowingly needed for the future that lies ahead.

Thursday:

Upon arrival at the airport, we were greeted by our driver who we had arranged to pick us up. We had heard horror stories about driving in Montenegro, so we wanted to ensure we got to our destination hassle free before we embarked on driving new roads in the dark. Everything went fairly smoothly, except we had to walk a block or two to our exact location (which wasn’t an issue, but finding the exact location was tricky, as it was in a tall condominium building). Our apartment was called Korzo Apartarmi and was located in the heart of Podgorica at the Capitol Square, and they shut down the road to be a pedestrian only zone after 5 pm, which was the reason our taxi driver couldn’t take us to the door. A couple of phone calls later, our hostess met us outside and we got situated comfortably. The apartment was just what we needed. Nothing fancy, but clean, comfortable, and cute, and in an outstanding location!

Friday:

After a good night’s rest, we then went on to tour the area by foot so we had an idea of where to head in the coming week. There were loads of fabulous restaurants, clubs, super markets and boutiques. One thing that was relatively unexpected in Montenegro were the great trends! Women were very smartly dressed and, to any single ladies reading this… go find a handsome husband in Montenegro! Haha Seriously, if you want more details, just ask. Before I get any more dirty looks, I’ll stop. 😉 Oh, and the clothes!!! I could have bought up an entire suitcase there of fabulous frocks and boots. The boots!! Yeah, I am kicking myself for not purchasing a couple of pairs.

So, our Friday excursions were wonderful, and we went to find the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ which was nearby, and we were greeted by a rather impressive spectacle. If you follow me on social media (or talk with my mother), you have already seen many of the videos and pictures, but what we had no idea was going on, was the welcoming and enthronement of the new Metropolitan of Montenegro. Now, if you follow American news media, please know, the American Press on this was just so off base it’s ridiculous.

* The Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ

Jumping ahead to Sunday:

We traveled through the town where the Patriarch had landed and where the protesting had taken place. We came face to face with the rubble that was left from the “extremist” group protesting the occasion. In Montenegro, the majority of the country is under the Serbian Archdiocese, and there is a smaller population under the MOC (Montenegrin Orthodox Church), which sought independence from the Serbian Archdiocese. They are, in lay terms, not in communion, with the rest of the Orthodox faithful. Meaning, I could not go there and take communion. Basically, there are Montenegrin’s who are upset that a Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan was appointed because there is some tension between Serbia and Montenegro within the religious sector. There is a lot more to this history, that A. I don’t really know, and B. won’t get into it on this platform, but I found it all interesting.

Anyway, the town where where all this had taken place was called Cetinje. We actually stumbled upon this town coming home from our day trip to Budva.

*Oh yes, we did end up getting a car for 4 days which was planned in advance, because we had also read that while driving can be “treacherous” it’s truly the best way to see the country- they were right!! And it really wasn’t that treacherous. *

Upon seeing the town, we thought to ourselves, this is gorgeous and we could totally live here! We drove down into the town and came across a few reporters giving their commentary on the day’s events. Nothing made us feel more like stupid American tourists who had landed themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time than this incident. Luckily, we found some police officers (no, they didn’t find us) to tell us how to get out of that particular corner of the village. One-way streets… I tell yah. As we left the village, we came across the rubble from the protesters. There were tires and trash spattered about from where they had made a barricade, but it was really quite inconsequential, and had been mostly cleaned up at this point… within 24 hours of it happening.

*The Town of Cetinje

Back to Friday:

Okay, so now I have to backtrack a little bit and take us back to Friday. So, Friday, we went to the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ. We found out while there, that there was going to be this huge celebration on Saturday evening. We thought to ourselves, “That’s so cool! We should definitely check it out.” We filed that information away, and finished out our evening eating some yummy gyros at a local hot spot near our apartment.

Saturday:

Saturday rolled around, and we decided to take a short drive with the car we had rented for four days. We headed north to see the sights and upon leaving town (around 2 pm), we saw loads of cars and pedestrians, to include Orthodox clergy members, leading a procession towards the church. There were hundreds of people honking, cheering, and waving flags from countries to include Serbia, Croatia, and of course, Montenegro. We thought to ourselves for a second time (with greater enthusiasm), “We have got to go to this!”

We went about our drive and had a lovely time seeing the countryside of Montenegro and all the beautiful rocky mountains. Plus, the leaves were starting to change, so green and amber trees filled the views around us and it was simply stunning. This was also the day we visited Marca Monastery and wow, how tranquil.

* Marca Monastery

Eventually, we made it back to our room sometime around 6 pm. The ceremony was to begin at 7 pm. We didn’t make it to the very beginning, but eventually made our way toward the church. There were SO MANY PEOPLE! It was truly crazy. There was dancing, singing, cheering, fireworks and movies playing over the large monitors at the front of the Cathedral. From what I could gather, the movies were historical commentaries- very nationalistic and patriotic. I am not unfamiliar with this, but as an American Orthodox Christian, this is not something that blends together smoothly in my world. America is such a melting pot in comparison to most other countries around the globe. We have so many active religions in the United States (and even though some might say we are a Christian country; we are hundreds of Christian denominations vs. just Catholic or Orthodox). My patriotism does not intertwine with my religion, like it does in so many other Eastern European countries. That being said, it was powerful to witness the energy around us.

We ended up heading home around 9 pm, meanwhile, the party was far from over. We were excited to wake up and attend Liturgy the next morning.

* Most of my media from this event are videos, but here are a couple of stills:

Sunday:

We had no idea what we were in for when we headed towards the Cathedral Sunday morning. When we arrived, we were met with a large gantlet of people waiting to greet the Patriarch of Serbia, the new Metropolitan, and the Prime Minister of Montenegro. The church was busting at the seams with people and the beautiful chanting poured out through the speakers for hundreds of feet beyond the church grounds. Sunday was incredible. We got to see, from just several feet away, the Patriarch Porfirije and the Prime Minster. I am not usually a fan girl and don’t get swept up in meeting important or well-known figures, but this was just so cool and so unexpected that it was powerful. Everyone was cheering as they made their way toward the Cathedral in preparation for the Homily. As the Patriarch, Metropolitan, and Prime Minister moved closer to the church, the crowd shifted as well.

We followed suit and pushed our way up to the Cathedral doors. We got pretty close considering how many other people were there. We were able to shout, “Axios!” (which means: “he is worthy”) along with everyone else and sing God Grant You Many Years in Serbian (which, we actually knew!). That was a pretty special moment and turned us from “spectators” into participants, and we felt a part of the community instantly.

After Liturgy, we decided to take another drive and head toward Budva, which is a beautiful coastal town along the Adriatic Sea. Budva reminded us of a boardwalk beach town in California. We made a few stops along the way and visited another monastery on top of the hill in Budva. On our drive home is where we stumbled across the town where the Patriach had been earlier that day. We got back to Podgorica, our home base, and treated our little man to ice cream and pizza… oh yeah, all this happened on Otis’ 3rd birthday. No Chuck E. Cheese for you kid, CHURCH! Haha

Monday:

The drive to Budva was breathtaking, but boy, were we wiped out! We decided to take it easy on Monday and explored the area locally. We ate at some delicious restaurants, drank loads of great coffee, and I honed my briki coffee making skills. Yum! We walked along the Millennium Bridge, a cable bridge that goes across the Moraca River in Podgorica. We crossed this bridge often as it was the bridge that connected the capitol area (where we were staying) with the other side of Podgorica where the church and numerous other shops were located. There was a fabulous park on the other side of the bridge with plenty of places to sit down and enjoy the nature all around. There was also an awesome little Tiki Hut that opened up in the evenings for both mocktails and regular cocktails. The bartender was an award-winning mixologist in Montenegro, and seriously, the best mixed drinks I have ever tasted.

*The Tiki Hut- Alexis ordered the Greek Mojito w/ Metaxa and felt a great amount of Club Mythos pride 😉

Additionally, we toured down near the Ribnica river which flows through Podgorica as well. It is filled with beautiful rock pathways, stairs and an old bridge that used to the main transit area hundreds of years ago. Monday evening, we ended our excursions in the Capitol Square where we bought Otis a light up airplane from one the vendors. The Capitol Square is filled with parents and children in the evenings, and the kids play for hours, so we followed suit, and hoped it would help our little man get out some of his infectious energy. Did it work? Nope. The energizer bunny has nothing on Otis.

* Out and about...

Tuesday:

Tuesday rolled around and we were ready to set off toward the beautiful Ostrog Monastery. This was one of the main reasons for this trip. Ostrog is a popular pilgrimage site for many Orthodox Christians. It is imbedded into the side of a cliff up a steep and windy road full of numerous switchbacks. We had read that the road to Ostrog could be quite hair raising, and many people opt to take a taxi cab from the base to the top. Once there, we decided to embark on the road ourselves. Ostrog was certainly a tad hair raising, but when you have hugged the side of a mountain going through the backroads of Hatcher Pass in Alaska, it seems much more manageable. We parked at one of the lower levels and hiked up 5 or 6 flights of steep rocky staircases (we realized later that we could have just walked up the road which would have been a little less sketchy, but we managed).

Once at the top, there stood Ostrog in all it’s peaceful beauty. Pilgrims and tourists were met with a grand archway with large mosaic icons filling the upper part of the arch. Through the arches was utter and complete serenity. There were, of course, many Orthodox Christians of numerous jurisdictions (for those that don’t know, this is primarily a cultural difference - the tenants of the Orthodox faith and the services are the same no matter where you go, but there are cultural differences between Russians, Arabs, Greeks, Romanians, etc.), and there were also visitors from all over the globe. We first found our way to buying some beeswax candles, and lit them in the candle room on the lowest level of the monastery. This was an unbelievably moving experience. Then, we made our way up to the second level of the Monastery in the side of the cliff. We were able to venerate the relics of St. Basil of Ostrog who is best known for working miracles with the sick and those with chronic or life consuming conditions, as well as, turning doubters or non-believers, into believers.

After this, we headed up towards the top of the monastery. There were 6 or 7 flights of stairs and at every landing there was a different mosaic icon of a saint. At the top were numerous mosaic icons and white rock alcoves. Additionally, the views from the top were unbelievable. You could see what felt like all of Montenegro. Lastly, there was another chapel at the top, where we went in and venerated the icons. We stayed at the top for some time with a few other people and did our best to soak it all in.

Eventually, we made our way back down, and visited the gift store where we purchased several icons, and bought an incredibly beautiful cross. I have been looking for a household cross for quite some time, and had something very specific in mind, so when we found this one, it truly felt meant to be. I cannot express how powerful of an experience this was, and I wish I could help others really feel what we felt, but some things just can’t be explained, so I will leave it at that, but if you ever get the chance to visit a Monastery, I would highly recommend prayerfully considering your journey.

We then left after a couple of hours, and made our way down the winding road which led us into a small strip of restaurants, souvenir shops, and the lower monastery. The lower monastery was the old monastery and now serves as the dwelling place for the majority of the monks who live at Ostrog, and, it has a larger chapel/church where regular services are conducted. We first had a late lunch at one of the restaurants and walked away with full bellies toward the old monastery. I got my wish to sing in a chapel at the monastery. Alexis and I sang Oh, Blessed Fr. Herman of Alaska. The man who was watching the chapel came in from the outside and got a big grin on his face. I told him we sang at our church back home, and he smiled from ear to ear. That was a pretty cool moment.

We then had to leave Ostrog and walked away with full hearts and buckets of tears. We processed a lot of emotions on this trip, and came away feeling so thankful.

Wednesday:

Wednesday came and went, which was our last full day in Podgorica. We ate at a lovely restaurant called Gostiona 1928. Otis finally had fallen asleep in his stroller so we went up to the top of the restaurant with beautiful views and a relaxing and sophisticated atmosphere. We were one of two couples there (it was 2 pm), and we had an absolutely fabulous time. I had the best falafel I have ever eaten and some delicious risotto. We have to get our dates in wherever we can these days, and it was the best one yet! Otis slept for 2 hours! Later that evening we packed up our things, and tried to get some sleep before we headed to the airport at 6:30 in the morning.

The next morning, we got to the airport with no major catastrophes, and thank God we were situated toward the front of the line at the ticket counter. 10 days earlier, Montenegro went from an “Amber” to a “Red” zone. We thought we would be fine since Alexis and I are both vaccinated (I am not virtue signally here, promise!), and we both have military ID’s which enables us to enter into Poland since we are temporary residents. Poland has the rule that if you are not a resident and you are coming from a “Red Zone” you have to have a PCR test. After some slightly frazzled communication with the COVID security officer, we learned we had to get Otis an antigen test. Thankfully, Alexis ran outside (we had only 1.5 hours to spare before the plane was set to depart), and found an angel on earth who said to Alexis, “You look stressed. Don’t worry, I am a father, I will help.” So, Alexis and Otis went off with their new super hero, meanwhile, I stayed behind with all the bags. Alexis told me later that the guy said the place the security officer recommended would take too much time, so he drove (only a little fast 😉) and took them to another clinic within closer range. He called ahead for Alexis, went in with them so he could translate for them, and rushed them back just in the literal nick of time. He then followed up with us to make sure we were going to get on smoothly. How nice!!! He had even told Alexis that if we didn’t make our flight, we could go stay with him and his family. Gosh, the kindness and community in this country truly melted my heart.

We hurried ourselves through the security check point, and made it to our flight with just a couple minutes to spare before all the passengers boarded. Phew!

*The Cathedral out the window of the airplane

As we flew out of Montenegro and watched the beautiful earth around us slip out of view, we felt a flood of emotions and spent the next several minutes in the clouds watery eyed and grateful. It was a life-changing trip and one that I will never forget. Montenegro will always have a piece of my heart.

I know this was a Looooonnngggg post, but I hope you were able to enjoy at least some of it, and thank you for listening.

❤

From Poland, to Croatia, to Montenegro, and back again.

With Love,

The Clods

❤