Holidays

Islands of Croatia on approach to Dubrovnik in the late evening.

The Hotel Montenegro at Becici, Montenegro

Mountains to the East of Becici, Montenegro.

The bus we used while on holiday. We've had just been dropped off for the morning at Budva. Our drivers name was Stephan.

Part of the old historic town of Budva.

Inside the old historic town of Budva.

Inside the old historic town of Budva. All the streets are narrow like this one.

Still in the old town of Budva.

The back of the St. Trojice church at Budva. (Crkva Sv Trojice, Budva, Crna Gora)

St. Trojice church at Budva. (Crkva Sv Trojice, Budva, Crna Gora)

The island of Sveti Mikola off the coast at Budva.

The sea wall which forms part of old Budva town.

Stone and glass urn for the burial of cremated remains - Roman period, I-II Century AD. (Kamena i staklena urna nacin sahranjivanja spaljenog poojnika, rimski period, I-II v.n.e.). This and other artifacts can be found in the Archaeological Museum in Budva. (Arheoloski Muzej, Budva)

On our way to Albania we passed through Bar. From what we saw of it, it was not the nicest of places.

Approaching the border crossing into Albania you get to see reminders of how the country used to be. This is one of a number of pill boxes on the approach to the Albanian checkpoint after leaving Montenegro.

A brightly coloured school that we passed on our way to Shkoder. I think this was one of the best pictures that I took on this day. It was a rainy day, and as you can see, was taken while we were on the coach.

A reminder of the state that Albania still finds itself in. This was on the outskirts of Shkoder. There were quite a few more horse and carts that we past.

A traditional Albanian house in Shkoder. Now used as museum.

This is the entrance to Rozafa Castle near Shkoder. It's on top of a rocky hill (130m), and it surrounded by the Buna and Drini rivers.

One of the many stunning views from Rozafa Castle near Shkoder.

A view from Rozafa Castle looking towards the town of Shkoder. On the left is the bridge that we crossed on our way to Shkoder.

Another of the many stunning views from Rozafa Castle near Shkoder. Would have been nicer if it had not been raining so much on our visit. I got soaked.

Another of the views from Rozafa Castle near Shkoder. In the middle is the lead mosque (Xhamia e Plumit).

A view from our hotel of the bay, with some of Montenegro's black mountains in the distance. Hence the name of the country. (or Crno Gora in Montenegrin)

A view of the coast of Montenegro, on the way to Sveti Stefan on the Budva Riviera. In the distance is Budva. Just in the middle is the house used by President Tito of Yugoslavia.

The island of Sveti Stefan on the Budva Riviera. This was converted to a luxury hotel in the 1950's with the local's being kicked out.

After going to the island of Sveti Stefan, we walked along the coast and found this small beach. The path we were going along goes up and over the outcrop of rock.

More views of Sveti Stefan. This hotel has been visited by many famous celebrities, including :- Elisabeth Taylor, Sofia Loren, Yuri Gagarin, Sylvester Stallone, Kirk Douglas, Claudia Schiffer, Princess Margaret and many others.

The view of Budva and the bay where our hotel is from the island of Sveti Stefan.

Following along from the island is this large house on the coast. This was previously used by President Tito of Yugoslavia.

The pergola outside President Tito's residence. This supports a vine.

A view of the country side as we went to the former capital of Montenegro - Cetinje. The capital is now Podgorica.

The Monastery of Cetinje. It contains the right hand of Saint John the Baptist.

This is the National Museum of Montenegro. It is housed in the former Palace of King Nikola I.

This is the Ethnographic Museum of Montenegro. In 1987, this building was used as the Serbian Embassy.

The mountains of Montenegro, looking east towards Serbia.

More mountains...it takes quite a while to travel any where in Montenegro as the road infrastructure is not in place. Very few tunnels have been made through the mountains, so it a case of going the long way up and then down again.

A view of Kotor from the mountains high above. The water is not a lake, but part of the Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotorska) and is actually part of the Adriatic Sea. Often referred to as Europes's southern most fjord. Kotor is a protected by UNESCO.

A view of Kotor from the mountains high above. Kotor is located on the right, just where there appears the be a 'V' shape pointing out into the water.

The road down to Kotor. This road double backs on it self several times. Which make going down it in a coach very interesting. Especially if sitting right at the back. The "M" shape in the road on the right of the picture was built to extract more money from the person who commisioned it (more details to be added as I can't recall the whole story).

Another view of the fjord, with Kotor on the right near to where the cruise liner is moored.

Two of the small islands located in the Bay of Kotor. One is called St. George Island and the other Our Lady of the Rock (Gospa od Skrpjela). Each of these has a chapel on them.

The small fishing village of Perast in the Bay of Kotor.

The tiny harbour of Perast in the Bay of Kotor.

The castle high on the rocks of Kotor.

On our visit to Lake Skadar, we stopped at a small restaurant. The is also inhabited by birds, hence an umbrella underneath one of the many nests.

Lake Skadar. It's the biggest lake on the Balkan peninsula, and is named after the town in northern Albania - Shkoder.

Lake Skadar. It was very calm on the day we went. This meant that there were some interesting reflections on the surface of the lake.

A dis-used monastery on one of the many islands that can be found in Lake Skadar.

An island off the coast of Montenegro near Petrovac.

The small village on the coast - Petrovac. This picture was taken from a high memorial for the local fishermen.

A closer picture of the rocks at Petrovac.

The entertainment at the Hotel was provided by The Star Animation group. They have their own group on Facebook.