Ulcinj, Montenegro

Now on to Montenegro where we traveled up the coast, hitting the cities of Ulcinj, Sveti Stefan, Budva and Kotor. Monday we woke up bright and early and the six of us (Travis, Amy, Wes, Penni, Entela, Matt) grabbed a couple of taxis and headed to the buses. In Tirana, there are official bus stations, but many of the buses just congregate on major streets on the way out of town. We found the bus and headed to Shkoder, a northern Albanian city, where, during lunch at a totally local hole-in-the-wall eatery, met a famous Albanian actor who bought us all a round of Raki, a very alcoholic drink that looks and tastes similar to vodka but is made from grapes. He said he was celebrating because he just got back from the States where he'd landed some sort of contract or movie deal. From there, slightly woozy, we picked up a bus that would take us to Ulcinj, a coastal town where, even though it is in Montenegro, the majority of the population is Albanian. It’s a lovely city with a charming old town inside a fortress, long beaches and rocky cliffs. It’s said to have been a favorite destination of pirates and at one point even housed the famous writer Miguel de Cervantes (“Don Quixote”) who was held captive there for 5 years. While we were there, there were rumors flying of Adrian Brody (The Pianist, King Kong) in town filming “The Brothers Bloom”. On a stroll through the old city, we happened upon the production office for the movie. Travis asked if it was the movie in which Mr. Brody was starring and the women in the office dodged his questions fearing him to be a stalker. Travis took the hint. However, we remained vigilant, looking out for him around street corners or relaxing at a restaurant.