Sutomore

Almost any time you leave Bar to visit the other cities in Montenegro, you have to go through Sutomore. In Sutomore, there is an old monastery on top of a mountain called Haj-Nehaj. After learning about Hej-Nehaj, I have wanted to go. It looked like a really good work-out, plus would probably give you really good views of the sea and Sutomore.

Thursday was a great day to go Sutomore and tackle Haj-Nehaj. Layne and I boarded the train for a short ride to Sutomore, and began walking towards the mountain. As we were walking there, we were trying to figure out how to get up the mountain. Unlike the mountain in Kotor, there is no real path that we could see from the road. We finally reached the bottom and decided on the best side of the mountain to trek up. As we started the climb, I was thinking, "This is not something I would choose to do back in the states, but since I am here, I will do it!" It reminded me of something that my Uncle Ed would enjoy. The 'paths' were one person wide with overgrown thorn bushes surrounding them. We had to constantly stop and choose the next best route. After a little while of hiking, we got to a clearing and Layne screamed. What happened next was pretty funny in retrospect, but scared us enough to get out of there quickly. Watch this video to learn why we stopped the climb to Haj-Nehaj:

 This is as far as we got!

If Uncle Ed or any other courageous male had been with us, I think we would have continued. However, every little noise we heard scared the crap out of us. After our failure, we walked through Sutomore to another old monastery we saw from the train station. This one actually had a well-defined path and was not as high up as Haj-Nehaj. We took the sea-side way up to the monastery. It provided really pretty views of the water and the beach. When we finally reached the top, it was basically a larger Ratac Monastery. The stone work was pretty and we took a few pictures:

 At the top with the beach in Sutomore in the background

 Layne and I in the ruins

Sitting on top of the entrance to the monastery

We climbed down the mountain and realized we still had a lot of time until the next train left for Bar. Both of us were tired and hungry, so instead of walking along the beach, we decided to wait for the next bus. We had no idea what time that would be, but buses are often going to Bar, so we knew it wouldn't be too long. In the end, we had to wait for maybe 20 minutes. Once back in Bar, we watched a movie (actually I fell asleep), went to Palma, and had practice at 9 pm. At practice, we ran for 30 minutes and did Yoga with Verica. Our coaches wanted an easy practice since we don't play until Wednesday. Yoga was funny because all the girls were laughing and being silly, but Layne and I had experienced this type of Yoga from when we used to go. Although I am disappointed we didn't make it up to Haj-Nehaj, the threat of running into wild animals scared me more than my desire to get there! :)

Cup Pictures

Luka gave us some pictures from the Cup games, so I thought I would share some of the pictures. Here are the ones that I am in:

 Milica (our setter) and I blocking vs Rudar in the Semi-Finals

 Tipping vs. Rudar in Semi-Final game

Montenegro Cup and Medals 

 Blocking vs. Luka Bar middle in the Finals of the Cup

Another block with Layne against Luka Bar in the Finals

Recent Happenings!

It's been almost two weeks since my last post, but not a lot has happened these past few weeks. Here is a recap of my past two weeks.

• We lost in the finals of the Cup 3-2 to Luka Bar in Podgorica a few weeks back. The game was televised for all of Montenegro, and we played really well. We just dug ourselves a little too deep of a hole in the 5th set and couldn't get out. Although it was disappointing that we were so close, I think it actually gave our team a little bit of confidence. We had not been playing our best volleyball recently, and playing toe-to-toe with Luka Bar who killed us 3-0 previously helped the team get out of that funk.
•  Layne and I were exhausted after that game, so we did not go anyway on our day off the day following the game. Actually, we have not done much traveling recently because the weather has also not cooperated. It has been cloudy or raining for almost the past two weeks. The only positive about the weather is that is has been in the upper 50s and lower 60s, so it is not too cold. Instead of sightseeing, we have been baking and cooking lots of different things. We have made a funfetti cake that Layne's parents sent in one of her packages. We made chocolate chips cookies one day, and tried to make honey pretzels another day. Unfortunately, the preztels did turn out very good because the dough would not rise. (I think we killed the yeast with too hot of this liquid mixture because we did not have a thermometer to measure its temperature.) We also made an eggplant pasta dish for Lent and sort of a Mexican chicken dish with peppers, onions, avocado and Spanish rice. Sometimes we get super tired of Palma because we order the same thing every 3 days, so those meals were super delicious.
• I have also been reading and watching more movies. I finished a few books that were free with my Kindle and also The Kite Runner. The Kite Runner was a little depressing, but well-written and interesting. I am currently reading Beautiful Boy which is a father's tale of his son's addiction to meth. I am enjoying the story and learning a lot about meth addiction. Recent movies we have watched have included: Winter's Bone, Never Let Me Go, 127 hours, No Strings Attached, Burlesque, and Killers. I was surprised at how bad Winter's Bone was considering it was nominated for several awards. 127 hours was an interesting true story, but a little disturbing when the main character had to cut off his arm to escape. All the others were average, entertaining movies. Next in line for viewing are: The Dilemma, True Grit, Hereafter, Fair Game, How Do You Know, and Frankie and Alice.
• Last Saturday started the semi-finals of the end of the season championship. We had to play a best of three series against Buducnost. Buducnost previously beat us in five games. Well, we won the game on Saturday in five in Podgorica. It was super close and nerve-racking, but we were able to pull out the victory. Our second game was tonight in Bar. We started the game really well and won the first set easily. The second game we were ahead 23-18, but they came back to win that game. After a horrible third game, we won the fourth which sent the game to the final, deciding fifth set. Luckily, we won! Now we play Luka Bar for the championship in a best of five series. This is our chance to make up for the loss in the Cup final. I think we start the series on Wednesday, but maybe not until next Saturday. We have two easy practices the next two days before having a day off Sunday. 
•  I'd also like to wish a Happy Birthday to my nephew and my sister-in-law, Amanda. My nephew, Andrew, turns 5 today. I remember when my brother, Drew, called me as I was walking to class to tell me that they were having a boy. I can't believe that was five years ago! Miss you kid! Amanda's birthday is tomorrow, but as I probably won't have a post, I am going to wish her a happy birthday today. Hopefully you both got my Serbian birthday cards! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW AND AMANDA! Love you both! :)

Well, I think Layne and I are going to on a little outing tomorrow, so there might be a story and more pictures coming soon! 

Ratac Monastery and Private Beach!

I wanted to get out of the apartment today, so Layne and I planned a short trip to a monastery close by and to check out the beaches. It was within walking distance, so we made a small picnic and headed to the road. We first walked along the beach in Bar where we saw our coach, Luka. This worried us a little because Layne was wearing shorts, and they are always worried about us catching colds. Hopefully, he doesn't say anything at practice tonight! After more walking along the main road that leads to most of the rest of Montenegro, we knew we were getting close to our destination.

 With the street sign!

You can see the monastery jutting out on the cliff. 

To get to the monastery, you had to walk through this forest. It was a little scary because we thought there might be animals running around, but no worries, we were safe. When we finally got there, I have to admit, the monastery was not very impressive. It was similar to the buildings in Stari Bar, just not kept up as well. We took a few pictures, but did not stick around. 

 "Inside" of the monastery

With the monastery and the mountains behind me!

We then walked through the forest more in hopes of finding these stairs we had seen from the car that lead down to a beach. However, we found something much better: our own private beach. It took some climbing to get down there, but it was worth it!

 Our private beach! (At least until it gets warmer)

Queen of the beach!

Luckily Layne had suggested we bring our bathing suits, and although it was not very hot, we laid out. The water was pretty chilly, but the sun felt good! We had a small picnic, but mostly just chilled out on the beach. The rocks were not the most comfortable things to lay on, but there are few sandy beaches in Montenegro. Hopefully it gets warmer so we can go in the water!

 The view from my towel.

We headed back home, ate at Palma, and then watched Conviction. I thought it was very good and would recommend it to all my readers. :) After you watch it, google Kenneth Waters and find out more about his life after what the movie shows. Off to practice!

International Women's Day and Mardi Gras!

Today is International Women's Day and Fat Tuesday. I was aware of it being Fat Tuesday from my many years in Louisiana, but I had never heard of International Women's Day until today. In fact, it is the 100 year anniversary of IWD. As I was walking through the centar today, I noticed a lot of street vendors selling flowers who usually are not there. I thought this was weird, but assumed it was because the weather is getting warmer and more people want to plant flowers. Nope, I was wrong! It was for IWD. Maja tried to explain it to Layne and I, but I looked it up online when I got home for a better understanding. 

IWD is basically a day where everyone around the world celebrates women and brings attention to the challenges that remain in creating gender equality. The first IWD was held in Germany in 1911 and is celebrated primarily in Eastern Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet bloc. In fact, it is an official holiday in Montenegro. IWF is celebrated by men giving the women in their lives flowers and small gifts. The first thing Luka said to us at practice was, "Happy International Women's Day!" And at the end of practice, Luka and Rajco gave each one of us a flower. Very sweet!

 With my red flower (I got to choose between a white flower and red flower. Luka told me that red meant love and white was for funerals. I obviously chose the red one!)

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY and MARDI GRAS!!!!

Ulcinj

Layne's beach artwork!

 

Well... After only less than 2 hours of sightseeing, I can now check Ulcinj off my list of towns to go in Montenegro! Yes, less than 2 hours! Despite its length the entire trip to Ulcinj was entertaining. Let me start with the walk to the bus station: As we are walking down the road, this guy about our age "accidentally" bumps Layne (because she is on the inside of the sidewalk) and says, "F**k off!!" Then he starts laughing. After the initial shock, we determined that he heard us talking English and thought it would be funny to say this to us. I guess he wanted to show off his English skills!

 

When we got to the bus station, there was a little gypsy boy begging for money. However, this was not just any gypsy boy. We have ran into this boy two previous times. The first time was while eating Layne's burek birthday lunch. The owner of the restaurant had to scare the boy away because he just stood by our table with his hands out. Then a few days later (again on our way to the bus station), we run into the boy again. I notice it is the same boy a few feet before we are to cross paths and as we cross, he jumps at Layne (again in the middle) to try to scare her. She jumps a little, he starts laughing, but keeps walking and leaves us alone. So today we see him again at the bus station, and he will not leave. He keeps repeating, "Daj mi 5 cents." This means, "Give me 5 cents." Finally, Layne gave him 10 cents, and he left. 

 

After an eventful walk to the bus station, we got to Ulcinj around 12:45. We knew we wanted to see Old Town, a super long beach, and maybe a mosque and church. Layne had been to Ulcinj once, but only for a super short time to eat. We had no idea where to go, so we stopped that this place that had a sign outside that read "Tourist". We stopped in there, and the man working spoke really good English. He showed us on a map where everything was and as we were about to go, he asked us to have some coffee in his restaurant right next door. We felt kinda obligated because he provided us with information. Little did we know that he was going to sit with us and talk the entire time. We talked about him meeting people from Oklahoma, him going to America, us playing volleyball, and his son. He even offered his son to take us to Albania and show us around some other time! It was getting to be a long coffee stop, and we wanted to get sightseeing so we told him we were going to head out. We offered to pay for our drinks, but he wouldn't let us pay! He gave us his business card, and we left (only after we took a picture which is on Layne's camera). After a block of walking, I realized I forgot my gloves so I had to go back! He told us to stop back by before we left.

 

Once on our way, we spotted this store, and I had to take a picture for my dad. He had been asking me about this type of store, and I finally found one!  

 

 A 1 Euro store!

 

Our first stop was Old Town. It overlooked the sea, but was not very impressive. There are a few hotels, a few restaurants, and some homes in Old Town. The other parts are not very well taken care of, but the views of the sea were great. 

 

View of sea and some of Old Town

Layne and I on some stairs in Old Town

 

 View of Ulcinj and the beach from Old Town

After Old Town, we headed down to the beach. The day was super cold and windy, but it was still nice to see a sandy beach. Layne walked barefoot, but I decided to keep my shoes on. Here are some pictures from the beach:

Two random boats sitting on the beach

 

Hanging out on the beach 

 

Sitting on the ledge at the beach (CRNOGORSKA means Montenegro)

We then headed back into town for lunch: cevapi! It was really good, and we wasted some time until the 4:15 bus would take us back to Bar. (You may be thinking, you said you were Ulcinj for less than 2 hours. If you do the math, we were technically in Ulcinj for 3.5 hours, but most of that time was spent with the man at the cafe and at lunch. Seeing Ulcinj took less than 2 hours.) We did not stop back at the cafe, but Layne is going to email him the picture!

When we got back to Bar, we decided to go a basketball game. I have been wanting to go, and finally we did not have practice or a game that conflicted. It was a blow-out: we won by more than 30 points, but it was still fun. The refs called very few fouls, and it was different than American basketball. I'm not sure if I would go to another game because I don't know any of the guys and the basketball was not all that great, but it was a good experience.

Here is a picture of the game in our "big" gym

 

After the game, Layne and I finally watched The Tourist. I don't know why, but we have been putting this movie off for weeks. We made an agreement that before we watched any other movie, we had to watch The Tourist. Last week we bought Conviction (the one with Hilary Swank based on the true story of her brother getting wrongly convicted of a crime and she goes back to school to be his lawyer in order to prove his innocence.) and both us want to see this movie really bad, but we couldn't because of The dang Tourist. Now that it has finally been watched, we can move on. Final grade: 6. It was okay, worth $1 at Redbox. Until next time...

Sunday's Match

Today was our last game during the regular season. We played a team from Podgorica called Moraca. Although we have not played them since I have been on the team, we have scrimmaged them a few times, so I knew a little about who we were going to play. After losing the first set (which should have never happened), we won the next three pretty easily. Now that regular season is over, we have the Cup next week and then start the Championship. 

After the game, we headed over to a different gym to watch the finals of the Men's Cup. I had already seen one of the teams play when we went to Budva to watch the CEV match. This team is definitely the best team in Montenegro and won the match 3-0. It was fun to watch, but not as exciting as when they played in Budva. I did learn, however, that our Cup Final will be televised for all of Montenegro. Guess I might style my hair for that game! :)