No alarm clock and didn’t go down for breakfast until 10:00. Breakfast was very similar to all the others here in Montenegro. It was a small dining area and we had to wait to have a table cleaned. One item that was new was pizza! Actually quite good.
We hit the streets by 11:00, they were all deserted because, as Milija had explained, everything would be closed on Sundays. The exception would be restaurants, cafes and bars - only the essentials!
It was a beautiful sunny day that would see temps in the mid 70’s. We were in search of the Clock Tower, described as an old town area with cafes and restaurants.
From our pedestrian street where our Hotel Alexandar Lux was located, our first point of interest was a large square with a fountain in the center and a 40-foot obelisk at the head, surrounded with sidewalk cafes. Lots of children playing with foam airplanes and blowing bubbles.
We entered the riverside park and followed the river to several overlooks, one with a statue of Tito. We had been told he was a figure either revered or loathed. Montenegro was one of the first countries, after the civil war to remove everything Tito, and also the first to put things back up.
We were told at the Lux’s front desk that the Clock Tower was a 7-minute walk. They gave us a terrible city map, an hour and a half later, we found the Tower! We asked some people along the way and realized we are happy we had guides all week. Not as much English as in other European cities. Glad the Hilton was a landmark.
The bigger motivation to find the Tower was that the restaurant Pod Volot was located in the same square. Sue had it in her notes as one of the places to go and it was also recommended by Milija and the front desk at the Lux. We made a reservation for 7:30.
We had been walking for almost two hours; this was an hour and a half later than we wanted to find a sidewalk cafe for a coffee. We headed to the fountain square, got our coffees and worked the blog while watching all the children playing and all the adults (and teens) smoking. We didn’t really notice it so much in Zabljak, Perast or Kotor, but in Budva and here in Podgorica, it seemed that 80% were smokers or vapors. Most indoor restaurants and maybe all bars allowed smoking. The drifting smoke at the outdoor restaurants was even an irritant.
It was about 4:00, breakfast was at 10:00, and dinner wouldn’t be until 7:30. Looking for an outdoor place with few smokers, we found the Zeppelin, which was on the Lux’s pedestrian street. Sue ordered a pizza for under 4 euro and Dave a calzone for 6.
Based on the price, we thought they would be small - not!!! We finished about half of each and were stuffed. No way would we be able to have dinner at 7:30.
Back at the hotel we worked on the blog and decided that dinner at Pod Volot would have to be scaled back. We headed that way around 8:00. They had one room that was nonsmoking, you know how that worked out in the US and all of Western Europe!
We started with two local brandies. Our dinner was sharing two grilled veal skewers, those excellent European French fries, and a glass of Chardonnay - perfect amounts. We really liked our waiter, always had a smile. The seating areas, on the two floors and an outside patio had to be big enough for 100+. All the food coming out of the single kitchen looked great. Lots of wait staff and everything seemed to work smoothly together, very efficient. However, there was a woman server who was constantly grabbing and eating food from the used plates as she returned them to the kitchen, she was especially fond of the bread but also had a taste for half-eaten sausage - kidding or exaggerating, we’ve never seen anything like it!
Back at the Lux we finished the last 1/4 bottle of wine. We could still hear revelers on the street and we didn’t want to think this amazing adventure was about to end. The only way to extend it was to head out for one last harrah! Right across the street from the Lux was the Scottish Bar MacCloud where we had a glass of Rose’. It was nearly midnight when we finally called it a day. That 5:30 alarm was closing in. Oh, the O’s beat the Yankees for the 2nd day in a row! Not playoff bound, but what a turnaround season!
2025-02-14