3 rest days in Prishtine, Kosovo. Sick.

When we arrived in the capital of Kosovo we were really keen on getting out and seeing what the capital was all about.  With the recent history of war crimes, mass killings and the list goes on, we wanted to see firsthand what the UN had done to repair this war torn nation.  

Our first afternoon was walking the streets and eating from local cafes, this is where my story begins.

I went to bed early and woke around 1am feeling sick, I mean sick as can be.  For the next 5 hours I spent my time either in the toilet, laying on the floor of our room because I had no energy to get back on the bed, and also it was closer to the toilet for those emergencies.  I had the worst case of food poisoning for a long time, or a virus.  It didn’t matter what you call it, I was broken.  Those 5 hours seemed the longest 5 hours in years.  I just wanted to go to sleep but couldn’t.  At one stage I rushed off the bed and in doing so, pulled a muscle in my back.  Now I had a real problem, I need a strong back to help push the bike over the mountains that separate us from Macedonia in the coming days.

In the morning Peter went out and got some drink for me and some medication, he was excellent help.  For the rest of the day I lay in bed and didn’t move.  I tried to immobilise my back as much as possible and sleep.  Sleep was easy and I did with perfection for about 95% of the day.  I didn’t eat anything as I remember you starve food poisoning and try and drown it.  I was doing just that.

I had a great sleep on my 2^nd rest day and did exactly the same, never left my room and drank heaps of fizzy stuff and took drugs.  So that’s 2 days of my holiday spent in a hotel room, not exciting but there’s nothing more I could do.  Peter has also come down with the same virus and not feeling well.

3^rd rest day is today Saturday 31 August 2013.  I slept like a bear last night for 10 hours. Felt good when I woke up and wanted to eat something.  There was no way I was going to make it over the mountain out of town if I didn’t eat anything today.  I had pancakes for breakfast, a banana sandwich for lunch and not sure on what I’m going to eat tonight. 

During our walks today my legs felt good but my body was still tired and my back felt bruised.  We visited the Museum of Kosovo which was interesting, saw a couple of churches and mosques and just took it easy.  A couple of cups of tea and a sleep in the afternoon were all we could manage.

Tomorrow we will leave the capital of Kosovo and head to the Macedonian border.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Somewhere in Kosovo to Prishtine the capital.

After an easy afternoon of chilling in the room and out of the rain, we woke to an overcast morning, but blue sky's in the direction we were travelling gave me hope of not getting drenched again.

We went downstairs to pack the bikes and found some of my gearing still wet.  I had to pack up the wet gear and wait till we reach Prishtine and then I can throw it all around our room to dry out.  We always make ourselves at home when we arrive at a hotel.

We rode out of the hotel and immediately came across hotel after hotel around the corner.  At least we would not have had to ride much further in the rain yesterday with all the accommodation just up the road.

Peter led the ride today and once again pushed along at a good pace.  We reached the town of Mitrovice in 30 minutes, but took the bypass road to avoid the city madness.  As we were taking the back road we came across a UN checkpoint with barb wired all over the place and a humby just sitting there ready for action.  No chance to take a photo in this area. 

We pushed on and took our morning tea at the local gym shop.  The 2 young guys were very interested in our tour and one took particular notice of my camera and mentioned he was a keen photographer.  After showing me photos of his girlfriend and eventually of his stomach, it was time to move on.

 The photo above shows the speed of tanks allowed on the Kosovo roads.  There were hundreds of them.

 The photo above is of Peter and the young chap from the gym.

 The photo above shows a car that appears to be advertising that it's no longer working.  It actually says, 'for sale' in Serbian.

The only attraction we got to see this afternoon was the Bill Clinton monument in central Prishtine.
After the Kosovo War, Albanians in Kosovo wanted to thank the former US President Bill Clinton for his help in their struggle with Serbia, and unveiled on November 1, 2009 a monument of him and re-naming the street Bill Clinton Boulevard. Now back to today's ride.

The road once we left Mitrovice was terrible with no shoulder to ride on and heaps of cars and trucks to challenge us for supremacy on the road.  As we got about 10kms from the capital the road opened up to a dual highway right into the centre of town.  We followed the centre sign and made our way right to the mall of Prishtine.  We did get some strange looks as 2 elderly sportsmen turned up on their bikes, with some people even taking photos of us.  They must have known we were coming.

Peter did the usual walk for accommodation and eventually we found a great place for the next 2 nights.

We got all our wet gear out and hung it around the room, went for a walk, had a meal and enjoyed the rest of the day. I should say that at times I'm blown away at the sincere hospitality of the people of Serbia and Kosovo.  Put these 2 countries on the list of attractions in the future.

Tomorrow is a sightseeing day.  

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Novi Pazar to somewhere in Kosovo.

Before retiring for the evening we went back out for dinner and a casual walk of the city.  I took the above photo in the mall at 8pm.  The rest of the night was sleeping.

We were up nice and early for the planned ride to Prishtine the capital of Kosovo today. We left hotel Vrbak at 7am and headed out of the city.  We were told by at least 3 people the night before the way to go.  After about 15 minutes of riding I checked my satnav and it was showing north.  We did not want to head north.  I asked a lady which way to Kosovo and she pointed back to the way we had come.  I was not impressed.  We rode back to town and were given more directions.

I asked 2 policemen on the side of the road and they pointed us in the direction of Kosovo.  The problem was that these 2 idiots directed us to the longest route to Kosovo.  To make this story brief, instead of being in Mitrovice after 20kms, we are now 12kms away staying in a hotel after completing 82kms in the pouring rain.  Now that's not bad for riding out of the way.

As we were riding out of town this morning I saw an interesting incident.  This chap turned up in his car, opened the door, and his wife put his fur lined gum boots right at the door so he didn't have to do a thing, other than slip his feet into the boots.  Now this is a perfect woman.

After riding 50kms we reached the Kosovo border.  As usual, a long line of trucks waiting to enter Kosovo. The presence of UN peace keepers were everywhere, and also a compound to house the officers was close by.  The UN peace keeper at the border assured us that Kosovo was safe and that we should have a safe journey.

We rode on in the pouring rain for another 30kms until we came to this small motel.  I was wet and we needed to eat.  Instead of eating and then going back out in wet clothes, which is a recipe for sickness, we decided to check out the rooms and call it a day at 12.30pm with 82kms done.  I'm confident we would have made Prishtine if it wasn't for the rain.

The room at the hotel is small but very nice.  We had a great lunch to warm us up and for the rest of the day we'll keep warm, dry out our wet gear and get ready for the ride tomorrow.  The weather is now clearing and I'm sure we'll have a great ride to the capital.

The above photo was taken of one of the nicer buildings in Novi Pazar.

After the rain stopped, Peter and I went for a walk up the road to get out of our room.  We came across a shop and asked the lady if she could make us a cup of tea.  The photo above is the lady making our tea.  We sat back, sipped on our tea and watched the world go by.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Sjenica to Novi Pazar via Nova Varos.

 The hotel Berlin is a great place to stay if you're ever travelling through this part of the world.  20 Euro a twin room with everything you need. After breakfast we made our way out of town for an easy day on the bike.  Our goal was to reach the town of Novi Pazar which is about 25kms from the Kosovo border.  As we rode out of town I paid particular attention to some of the homes and how close they build them to the road.  The photo above shows the roof of the home overhanging the road.  The house sits right on the side of the road.  I would love to be around when a foreign truck driver comes down this street.  Won't need any wind to take that rood off.

Our ride today was through the rural areas of Serbia.  With cattle roaming the roads and men tending to their flock we would wave to each other as we passed by.  The rural people are much friendlier than the city folk,but that's the same back home as well.

Our morning tea was sitting on the steps of a tea house.  Like usual the men are inside drinking tea and the air is filled with a pungent odour of smoke. We opt to sit outside and have our tea.  I walked across the road to the little corner store and purchased some Jaffa cakes, which are basically very sweet biscuits.  I had read that these were a real delicacy in the country and I needed to try some before I left Serbia.  Result, very nice indeed. 

The rest of the 65km day was spent dodging holes, cattle and cattle droppings.  This was perhaps the worst stretch of road thus far on tour, but at least the traffic was good.  We chose this route because we knew it would take us to places not many people would see.  I wanted to meet the locals in a rural setting and that's what we've been doing most of this tour.

We made our way downhill and straight into the heart of Novi Pazar around 11.30am.  It was early to finish the ride but yesterday was very tough with all the climbing and tomorrow has one hell of a mountain to climb so we need an easy day to prepare.

Peter went for a walk and found hotel Vrbak  which is very good for the price.  I would not stay at Hostel Han which is across the road because it's a dump and a complete rip off.  We went for the usual walk of town once settled in and now it's time to eat.

The photo above shows yet another palace we are staying in. 

Tomorrow will be up nice and early, which I always love doing, and then hit the climb to Kosovo.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

The story about a 14 year old boy.

Firstly I'll mention the wedding at our lovely hotel yesterday on our rest day. The first couple who I got to take a photo of was a young Muslim couple. They arrived at the hotel with the car horns blaring and ribbon hanging off everywhere.  They had some photos taken, a chap playing the piano accordion and then they were off to another hotel for the reception.  I could think of other places to have your wedding photos taken than outside the cement bunker we were staying in.

A little later on another wedding party turned up and they stayed on till the early hours of this morning.  Whilst Peter and I were sitting at the bar a 14 years old Serbian lad came up to us and wanted to have a chat with us. His English was pretty good and he was keen to practice on us. 

Now I've met many 14 year old boys in the course of my work, and the majority of them were criminals. this Serbian boy was someone different.  He spoke about playing basketball, his family and his devoted admiration for his father.  He told us he wanted to be a truck driver and went into great detail how his father is a truck driver, and his father's father is a truck driver.  All he wants to be in life is a truck driver just like his dad.  He could tell us the type and model of the truck he wants to drive, and one day he hopes to travel to America to see the statue of liberty.

Many of us today want more out of life, more luxuries, more income, more experiences, more travel, but not this boy, all he wanted was to talk about his family and to be a career truck driver.  He was well mannered, polite, and listened to our story about riding our bicycles through Europe.  I was more impressed with his story than he was of mine. His father arrived and looked at his son and why he was speaking to 2 elderly gentleman.  After a long chat with the father, we were invited to stay with them in the north of the country.  We had to decline the offer, as it was time to start the long ride south. 

The other interesting person we met was the 21 year old lady who worked for the hotel.  She told us she gets 1 day off a month and earns 200 Euro a month.  And there's no overtime payments.   

 The photo above is the young boy and his father at the wedding.  Best of mates, the way it should be.

 The photo above was of the Muslim bride.  She did look gorgeous on her special day.  Getting approval to take the photo is another story for later on.

 The photo above is of the piano accordion player at the photo shoot of the Muslim wedding party.

Now for today's ride.

We left the hotel at 8am for a 63km ride to Sjenica.  We were told to take the road to Nova Varos and then to Sjenica due to the bad road conditions and mountains if we took the most direct route.  Since we had 3 confirmed reports on the road conditions we opted for the long way round.  The first part of the ride to Nova Varos was downhill and running beside a small river.  Beautiful green forests followed us all the way to the turn off at Nova Varos.

We stopped about 5kms before Nova Varos for a cup of tea at the local fish farm.  A cup of tea costs about 40 cents Aussie.  Now that's a bargain.  The waiter at the fish farm told us that the road now goes upwards.  Well that's a surprise, the road going up on this trip.  That's all we seem to be doing of late, climbing mountains.

We climbed all the way to Nova Varos and then a sharp right hand turn off the highway and up it went. The road was so steep for the first 2kms that at stages I thought I would have to get off and walk.  I'm too stubborn for that, so I pushed on to the top.  For the next 30kms we climbed and climbed.  Eventually we made it the Panorama Hotel and took a break.  It was now going to be all downhill to our destination for the day.

The last 10kms was pretty fast but once again at stages the road was a mess.  Huge potholes that could smash your wheels to pieces and send you to another place in time.  As we got close to Sjenica we pulled over to a small store and ordered some bread and tomato for a usual lunch meal.  As we were about to sit on the footpath and eat our lunch, the old man from the store took us down the front yard and into a storeroom which had tables and chairs for us to sit at and enjoy our lunch.  This is something Josh  and I experienced in Africa many years ago when an elderly man took us inside his home so we could eat off a table instead of a dirty footpath. I'm sure this would happen back home if we were in the same situation.

After a nice lunch we headed to the Hotel Berlin which is a nice hotel in the centre of town.  For 20 Euro we've got a twin room, balcony, TV, wifi and a fridge.  Why put up the tent when you can these luxuries at that price?

After the usual chores we walked the town and came back for an early dinner.  Now we're going to sit back, relax, put my feet up, watch some TV and start counting sheep. 

 The photo above was taken off the menu at the fish farm today.  I don't think I could stomach home made greasy cheese.

The photo above is myself with the old man who allowed us to eat at this table. 

So today was another fantastic day of riding in the mountains and meeting some terrific people.  Tomorrow will be a nice ride to the town of Novi Pazar, and hopefully the mountains will be kind to us.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Rest day in Prijepolje, Serbia.

Because we didn't' have access to the internet in our palace we're a day behind in our update.  Now for yesterday.

Last night was perhaps our last night in Montenegro.  Although I loved the beauty of the mountains, forests, valleys and the hospitality of the people, I certainly won’t miss the mountains.  They gave me the opportunity to push myself to the limit on occasions, but also rewarded me with just jaw dropping scenery around every corner. But the show must go on and Serbia is just over the hill.

Today we hit the road at 8am to ride up yet another mountain to the town of Prijepolje in Serbia.  The ride took us up a 20km mountain right from the start.  It didn’t faze us one bit, as that’s what we’re use to on this trip, mountains.

As we left the town of Pljevlja and rode out past the open cut coal mine we got to see and hear the mine letting off explosions to break up the coal seam. We could hear the explosions going off from at least 10kms up the climb.  Unfortunately there was a lot of haze around so taking photos was not going to happen.

As we reached the summit we rolled along until we came upon the Montenegrin border control.  This took all of 1 minute and now we were on our way to Serbia.  As I handed the passport to the Serbian officer he looked with a dead pan face at me.  I smiled and he did it again, so I smiled again.  He gave me back my passport and I was on my way.  Now we had a 15km descent into Prijepolje.  

Racing down the mountain at 50kph is just an adrenalin rush, and you can never go fast enough downhill in my mind. The road was pretty bumpy and being resurfaced at stages which brought me back to walking pace.  When we got into town we did the usual try and communicate that we wanted a hotel and after 15 minutes we arrived at a concrete building which looked like anything other than a hotel. I went inside and negotiated a price of 10 Euro each a night, and room for our bikes.  It’s not a bad place and only a 10 minute walk back into town. Tomorrow they’re having a wedding at the hotel so I hope Peter and I can go along for the ride.  I think they would be very pleased to have 2 Aussies at their wedding, and perhaps I could sing them a song or 2. 

 I had to get a photo standing in front of the welcome to Serbia sign.

The photo above is of the palace we're staying at.  

After a walk of the town, we returned to our isolated hotel, cleaned the bikes and now laying down watching ‘Blackhawk Down’.  No Wifi in the hotel, so hopefully we find a coffee shop tomorrow to post the blog.  We’re also having a rest day tomorrow our first since leaving Dubrovnik 7 days ago, and then we take the turn south to commence the long ride to Kosovo, Albania and Greece.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

And now for my update on today's rest day.  Doing nothing except drinking coffee, relaxing and going to a wedding.

Savnik to Pljevlja. Serbia tomorrow.

The breakfast in the Savnik hotel I wouldn't feed to my dog, it was rubbish. It was fried eggs in 1 litre of oil or butter, and stale bread.  Needless to say I do not recommend this dump to future cyclists who venture into the mountains of Montenegro.

The ride out of the hotel was going to go up because that's the only way we seem to ride of late.  The first climb took us 2 hours high up into the mountains.  Today we reached a new record of hitting over 1500 metres in altitude.

We were planning to reach Zabljak nice and early to try and visit the friends we met on the mountain yesterday afternoon.  Well, we couldn't find the number of their house or in fact a number on any house.  So the visit has to be put off until another day.

As we crested the first mountain we came across a tunnel which was roughly 3kms in length.  Now this is a terrifying experience being in a pitch black tunnel with a little red flashing light on your helmet and Peter's headlight to pick up the road in the distance.  We had to ride so close to the kerb so as not to hit our panniers on the gutter.  We had may cars, buses and trucks pass us from behind and from head on.  Each time they gave us plenty of room, but still it was a bad feeling with the horrendous noise these vehicles emit in the tunnel.  You think for sure you're going to be bolded over.

We took a break after exiting the tunnel to try and compose ourselves.  We were both hoping that we might get some downhill for a change.  We did for a short while after Zabljak, but the road went up again, 2nd mountain for the day.  This one peaked out at 1540 metres, another record for the tour.  It was time to stop for lunch.  We found a shack with a good area to sit and eat our tuna, tomato sandwich, washed down with water.

Whilst eating lunch we could see that the only way the road was going to go was down into the gorge.  The base of the gorge is Tara Gorge which has a huge bridge across it and some young people flying across in harnesses and wire rope.  There was no way I was going to give that a go, I had mountains to climb.  After a couple of photos at the gorge, it was time to get back on the bikes and ride back out.  I did enjoy the adrenalin rush roaring down into the gorge but I always had in the back of my mind that I had to climb back out again.  Yep, 3rd mountain for the day.

The climb out of the gorge was spectacular, pristine pine forests and a gorge to peer down into each time we rounded yet another switchback.  By the time we reached the top we had covered 10kms, that's about 1 hour 30 minutes of climbing.  I'm starting to get over mountains.

 The above photo was taken yesterday when we left Ostrog Monastery.

 The photo above was taken soon after we left Savnik.  We had plenty of mist this morning to start our ride.  It also a bit chilly.

 The above photo was taken during mountain No.2

 The photo above is the end of the 3km tunnel.  We had no other option other than to ride the tunnel.

The photo above was taken at the top of mountain No.3 looking down at the bridge that spans the Tara Gorge. 

The photo above is the bridge at Tara Gorge.  The mountains in the background are ones we love to play with each day.

We stopped at the top for a drink and some fruit and to sit and look at what we had just conquered.  To some riding a bike out of a gorge is 2nd nature, but to us old fellas, it is a huge sense of achievement.  We look across the gorge and can see a beautiful landscape that we'll probably never see again in this part of the world.

Once we hit the top of the mountain we still had about 25kms to reach our destination and the town of Pljevlja. The majority of the 25kms was downhill at a speed of 50kph.  I don't touch my brakes much when going downhill, I think the faster the better.  We reached our destination at 4pm and quickly checked into the only hotel in town.  After a shower to wash our smelly bodies, it was time for a walk of the town.  There's a lot of people walking the streets, up and down, with their friends, not playing on the internet or watching TV to all hours of the night like so many do back home.

We had a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant which cost 10 Aussie dollars for a feast. 

Tomorrow we head to the town of Prijepolje which is located in Serbia. I think I need to do some reading tonight to see what the place is all about. 

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Bogetici to Savnik, somewhere in the Montenegrin Mountains.

The hotel we stayed at last night in Bogetici was OK, except for the noise caused by some young loud mouthed Americans.  I went out and told them that 2 old men wanted to sleep and that they were not helping the cause at all.  After our brief exchange of words, things did quiet down.

We got up nice and early, packed the bags and headed down to the restaurant for breakfast.  I think it is a restaurant with one of the most amazing views in the world.  We had bacon and eggs, something I haven't had for a long time, washed down with a cup of tea.

Brian our driver from yesterday told us to ride back up the hill a kilometre and take the alternate route to Niksic as it's much flatter.  Well Brian is a complete idiot when it comes to flat roads.  This road went up and up for 1 hour of riding with a belly full of bacon and eggs.  The one good thing about the first hour was the magnificent views back into the valley behind us.  Once again no photos as the wifi in the town is very slow.

After climbing for an hour we rolled down into the town of Niksic, confirmed our directions north to Zabljak and kept going.  We eventually stopped for morning tea at a small cafe and met the son of the owner who could speak some English.  Noval, that's his name, told us the road from his cafe to Zabljak has 2 big climbs and then downhill to the finish line.  Well, another mountain to climb, that's a real surprise.

After 5kms on the flats the road went up.  To make this story brief, we climbed from 450 metres to 1450 metres up 2 huge climbs.  This was the highest point on the tour thus far and thank God, the weather had dropped somewhat for us handle the ride.  We rode uphill for 4 hours until we reached the summit overlooking the town of Savnik.  This is a beautiful little village with 1 hotel that is run down, and looked after by a female ogre.

On the way down the mountain, we were asked to stop by a local family.  We pulled in to have a chat and found out the women had a sister in law living in Sydney.  I told the lady that we must be next door neighbors as I live close to Sydney.  I didn't tell her it was 80kms away.  The family live in the town of Zabljak, where we wanted to reach today but due to all the hills we were going to call it quits in the town of Savnik.

The family invited us to stay with them in Zabljak tonight, or at least call in for morning tea tomorrow on our way through.  Peter and I will definitely be calling in for our Aussie morning tea and to get some great photos.  Not sure if we'll make it out of the house tomorrow or the next day.  Who cares.

On the issue of our hotel tonight, the TV didn't work, and the hot water system was turned off.  That meant I had to have a cold shower and boy was it cold.  I argued with the lady of the price of the room because we had a TV that didn't work and the hot water system was not available when we wanted it.  After some brilliant negotiations we got the price down form 36 to 30 Euro for the night and with breakfast. 

We went for a walk up the road and found the local cafe had wifi.  So it's time to update the blog, have a light dinner and get a good night's sleep, because tomorrow we're going to see my next door neighbors sister.

We had a terrific day riding in the mountains, very demanding, but the rewards were just amazing.  Views that you could look at for hours, and not from the seat of a bus.

Tomorrow we are heading closer to Serbia.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

The road to Ostrog Monastery. Bogetici.

Our apartment was just fantastic last night.  Had a great sleep and was ready for the 40km ride to Bogetici. Leaving Podgorica at 7.30am, we made our way on a back road which met up with the main highway heading north.  The traffic wasn't that bad today, but the climb went on forever.

Once again we stopped for our morning tea stop at a roadside coffee house where I had my first cup of Montenegrin tea.  It was so nice and no sugar required. Cost about 50 Aussie cents.  Another bargain.

Back on the road with 15kms to go, the  road went up and up for over 450 metres.  The valley below was disappearing and we had to work hard to get to our turnoff.  Our goal was to make it to the most religious Orthodox Christian site in Montenegro.  We were heading for Ostrog Monastery.

We turned off the main highway and found a very small village with some men doing very little and a man I'll call Brian, because I can't remember his name.  I asked Brian for some help with accommodation in the town.  He immediately got on the phone and arranged a double room for 13 Euro each about 1km up the hill.  Peter also arranged for Brian to take us and our bikes up the mountain for 5 Euro each.  I wasn't in the mood to ride another 8kms up the mountain considering the heat of the day.  And it would be much better riding down than being in van.

After booking into our room and showering, Brian was waiting outside for the trip up to the monastery.  Fabulous trip and even better scenery to the top.

We had to queue in line to get into the monastery for about an hour.  The visit was worth the wait and the quite rewarding.  I'm not that much into religious sites but to visit a major religious site in the world is quite impressive.

 
Monastery Ostrog, is classed as a miracle built by nature and human interaction, carved almost in its entirety in a vertically positioned mountain cliff, is today the pearl of Montenegrin spirituality which is visited by more than a hundred thousand pilgrims from around the world and of travellers of all religions every year. Today Peter and I were 2 of them.

It is one of three most visited Christian destinations on the planet with its cave-like chapel and the Monastery complex that preserves the sanctity of Saint Basil the , Orthodox Christian Saint of Miracles. The only problem with the site is you can't take photos inside.  All our photos today were taken from outside.

All of Montenegrin spirituality, beliefs and cultural treasures found their home high up in the Ostrog cliffs. This breathtaking destination will fill your soul with high elevated feelings of devotion and reverence to God.

The Monastery was founded by Vasilije, the Metropolitan Bishop of Herzegovina in the 17th century. He died there in 1671 and some years later he was glorified. His body is enshrined in a reliquary kept in the cave-church dedicated to the Presentation of the Mother of God to the Temple.

 The photo above was taken by Peter as we rode back down to the hotel for the evening.

 The above photo was taken in the courtyard of the Monastery.

 I took the above photo of the monastery about 2kms away.  You have to see it in the flesh to appreciate the magnitude of this religious site.

The present-day look was given to the Monastery in 1923-1926, after a fire which had destroyed the major part of the complex. Fortunately, the two little cave-churches were spared and they are the key areas of the monument. The frescoes in the Church of the Presentation were created towards the end of the 17th century. The other church, dedicated to the Holy Cross, is placed within a cave on the upper level of the monastery and was painted by master Radul, who successfully coped with the natural shapes of the cave and laid the frescoes immediately on the surface of the rock and the south wall. Around the church are the monastic residences, which together with the church building and the scenery make this monument outstandingly beautiful.

It is visited by believers from all parts of the world, either individually or in groups. It represents the meeting place of all confessions: the Orthodox, Catholics and the Muslims. According to the stories of pilgrims, by praying by his body, many have been cured and helped in lessening the difficulties in their lives.

After visiting the monastery it was back down the mountain for an easy afternoon.  The weather is beautiful and the view from the restaurant balcony is worth a million dollars.  Unfortunately the wifi is too slow to try and upload anymore photos.

Tomorrow will be heading closer to Serbia.  Where?  I have no idea.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Cetinje to Podgorica the capital of Montenegro.

Due to the slow speed of the 3G dongle I'm using, no photos for this blog.

We left Cetinje after a great night's sleep.  The Pansion 22 was an excellent place to stay in a really nice town.  As soon as we left the city there was a slight uphill and then mostly downhill to Podgorica.

The views down into the valleys were hard to look at at 60kph, hanging  close to the barriers and not being bolded over by trucks, buses and cars.

I did round one bend and notice a tunnel right in front of me.  Now that's a concern.  I quickly turned on the light on my helmet, took off my sunglasses so I could at least see and hoped no one run me over from behind.

All was good and more downhill was to follow.

We had an Aussie morning tea stop for 30 minutes, as the award allows, and then made for the city.  After riding around for 10 minutes we took some back streets and this young man stopped his vehicle to see what we were after.

After a couple of phone calls, we were riding to meet Dhuska out the front of Hotel Kostas with her headlights flashing. Now this was something I was waiting to see.  Low and behold Dhuska was there and she took us to an apartment which had everything, air con, 3G dongle, sat TV and full kitchen for 30 Euro.  What a bargain.

Tomorrow we head for the town of Bogetici and the ancient Ostrog Monastery. We're hoping to find accommodation in the town of Bogetici as we don't intend to climb 7kms up to the monastery with all our bags on.  If we can't find accommodation, then we'll just have to keep going.  All reports say we can't secure our goods up in the mountain.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Black Mountain accomplished.

We knew today was going to be hard but at the end it had really drained me. 

We left the old city of Kotor on the bay and commenced the clmb out of Kotor.  I had researched the route a couple of days earlier and had told Peter that we should consider going over the mountain instead of the route most cycling tourists take, and that's to Budvar and then up to Cetinje.  I'm never one to take a short cut if there's a mountain in front of me.

The climb to the top of the ridge is 25kms out of Kotor and it goes up all the way.  We had 25 signposted switch backs to negotiate till we reached the summit of Black Mountain.  The only touring cyclists we saw were the pussy's going down the mountain.

Each time we negotiated a switchback it gave us the chance to pull over and take some photos of the bay below.  I've seen some pretty cool views when cycling in the past, but this has now crept into the top 10 of all time.

 The photo above is looking down to the city of Kotor

The above photo is of Peter coming around 1 of the many switchbacks today. I think he loves mountains now.

We reached the summit after 4 hours of riding and hauling our 45kgs of gear with us.  So I thought it was a huge achievement for both of us.

We found a nice cafe at the summit and ordered a cold coke and some local food.  Now everyone knows cyclists can eat like horses and the dish we were served filled the whole perfectly.  I thought that this would be the end of the climbing and that we should now descend to our final destination to the town of Cetinje. We roared down into the valley below and then before us was a huge mountain.  Bullshit, not another climb.  Yep, we had to climb to a higher altitude which took another hour of climbing.  We were both tired and were happy to finally reach the top of the mountain.  There's no way we could climb anymore for the day.

During both climbs today we had people cheering and clapping us as we struggled up the mountain.

After making it over the final mountain it was all downhill to Cetinje.  A fast descent was just fantastic.  I passed an elderly gentleman riding his motorcycle and having a cigarette as I roared down into the valley.  I suppose any time is a good time for a cigarette.

As we cruised into town we asked for assistance and this lovely old lady took us to Pansion 22.  It was a place that Peter had found when researching accommodation the other day.  We took a room for 30 Euro for the night.  I took first shower, laid on the bed and had a sleep.  The sleep last night was not that good due to the heat in the room.

So, we've accomplished Black Mountain and rode 45kms in total today.  30kms uphill with 45kgs of weight.

Tomorrow is a short day to Podgorica to recover from today's beating.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.

Dubrovnik to Kotor. Black mountain is tomorrow

We both had a great night's sleep and the French guys were quiet for a change.  We were up at 6am and left camp at 7am for the 1 hour climb out of the city.  The photo below was taken after 30 minutes of climbing.  Dubrovnik has been a special place on tour. 

 Today we rode about 50kms before reaching the Montenegro border.  The border control was straight forward and we rode ahead of all the cars and buses waiting to the front of the line to check out of Croatia and sign into Montenegro. 

 The road was very narrow and bumpy once we entered Montenegro.  With a lot of traffic and people wanting to pull out in front of you or cut you off, I was really being tested.  The photo above was taken during our ride today after leaving Herceg Novi.

 The photo above was of one of the many bays we rode past.  We rode through so many today and each was just as spectacular as the other.

 The above photo was taken about 20kms from the town of Kotor, looking out to one of the islands.

 We rolled into Kotor around 2.30pm and after a bit of stuffing around we found a nice guesthouse with a double bed. Peter has elected to sleep on the floor and I've got the double bed.  The photo above is of the wall overlooking the city.

Cetinje (Montenegrin: Cetinje, Цетиње; Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [tsětiɲe]) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro (Приjестоница / Prijestonica), with the official residence of the President of Montenegro. It had a population of 13,991 as of 2011.It is the centre of municipality (population 16,757 in 2011). The city nestles on a small karst plain surrounded by limestone mountains, including Mt. Lovćen, the Black Mountain from which Montenegro gets its name. Cetinje is a town of immense historical heritage, founded in the 15th century. It became the center of Montenegrin life and both a cradle of Montenegrin culture and a Serbian Orthodox religious center. It is because of its heritage as a long-term Montenegrin capital that it is today the honorary capital of Montenegro.

 The above photo is of the main church inside the old city.  You can see the walls of the fortress rising high above the city on the mountain.

 The old city advertises wheelchair friendly alleys.  I have to doubt this big time.

We had a good ride today and are looking forward to heading up Black Mountain tomorrow.  We rode 95kms today and tomorrow will be very tough on the old body.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.