Montenegro - Budva & Saint Stefan

Last March, I attended a regional Country Director's meeting for my organization in Budva, Montenego. Flying into Montenegro on a two propeller plane was fairly fascinating and somewhat unnerving due to the high winds. We crossed over the Adriatic Sea and the mountains just jumped out as us. Montenegro is a stunningly beautiful location. One we arrived in Podgorica we set out for the coast by car
Beautiful scenic backdrops dominate the landscape as the mountains meet the sea.

A view of the oldtown of historic Budva.

A view from our resort. Much of the Montenegro's coastline is currently being developed. Russian money is coming in to build luxury resorts, casinos, and hotels. Like their Serbian neighbors, Montenegrians speak a Slavic language similar to Russian and are fellow Orthodox Christians. The mountainous location and isolation of the country kept it from Ottoman rule and allowed it to remain more or less autonomous for centuries. It was later incorporated into Yugoslavia as one of the nation's six republics.

This is the elite luxury resort island of Saint Stefan. Once an upscale resort for European elite during the Yugoslav era - Sophian Loren supposedly frequently visited - the small island resort of Saint Stefan is now undergoing a major rennovation. The King's beach is located on the right. It's called the King's beach because the royal family used this location as their summer residence.

A small sleepy fishing village also serves as a tourist destination. This was the view a few yards from our hotel.

The rocky coastline extends down the Adriatic Sea from Croatia to Albania. I noticed the hills in Montenegro were slightly more forested than in neighboring Croatia, and ths seem less bleech white in color. Most of the trees along the Dalmatain Coast were cut down by the Ottomans and the Venetians, when the great trading empire of Venice ruled the seas.