The first 3 days
Sebastian: Finally we have made it and are on the road!
First destination was Jeruzalem in Slovenia which is located on top of a vineyard giving you an amazing view over the area. The first beautiful sunset was ours! I visited my aunt Titi while Martin stayed with a colleague and a friend of his. After all the preparation and the relaxing after having left we felt horribly tired but still didnt go to bed too early.
The next day we continued to go to Sarajevo – a short trip of 14hrs was waiting for us. Not knowing that before we didnt start before 10.00 am and arrived at midnight. The trip through Bosnia was one of the nicest motorcycle trips I have ever done. After entering the country you wouldnt believe it but south of Banja Luka everything changes. Beautiful scenery and great roads (curves and good quality) through canyons and alongside rivers where the treat of the day – just breathtaking.
After having arrived at the hotel, the parking booked for us was this first typical picture setup that you only find on journeys like this. An old worn down garage with huge sliding doors and stuffed with loads of stuff was waiting for us :). The fotoshooting for the next morning was booked right away 🙂
At 01.00 in the morning we were trying to find a place to have a drink which turned out not to be easy but with the help of Martin’s colleagues we made it. In the end we even got something to eat at a bakery (which is what is a Hot DOG place in Vienna – the last place to find food at night).
Next morning checking out the map to see which of the 2 possible roads direction south we will take. Logically while riding we completetly missed the right turn but ended up on the right road by accident. Yet again the streets and scenery were handmade for motorcycle tourists but also for all others! Impressive are also the contrasts that await you. After hours of driving throught forests and canyons you suddently find yourself on a plateau in a damn ugly village and a huge power plant (lets hope it was not nuclear – Martin had a soft green glow in his face at night…) just to dive into a beautiful landscape yet again right after leaving the village. That Martin and I arrived at this village rolling down the hill with just some drops of gasoline left in our tanks made it a nice place nevertheless – first “at the edge moment” lived… next time we will not pass by a gas station with 40km left in the tank being in a natural park or the like.
In the end we made it without major problems and arrived happily in Budvar where Velisa, a colleague of Martin, picked us up at a gas station to bring us to our hotel and take us out to a great seafood restaurant next to the harbour. What was nice to see about this city is, that even though tourism rules, the landscape was well kept authentic and architecture was nicely integrated into it. Something that you do not see very often in developing tourist locations. The old town of Budva is a jewel and makes you enjoy your stay. Atmosphere is dynamic and party feeling rises while walking through the narrow streets alongside bars and restaurants. The music makes you want to dance without being the typical bumm bumm bumm kind and stereo systems are of a high quality. Those who know me know how much I appreciate that :).
After that we went to the old town before going back to the hotel (www.hotelfineso.com) longing for good nights sleep. The next day we work on what we couldnt do so far, uploading pictures and writing the articles for our blog. We enjoy this day without riding our KTMs and in the afternoon we enjoy another highlight. A boatrip with Velisa who shows us around along the coast of Budvar explaining us which Hollywood or Music star has stayed in which hotel or has bought which house. There is even a hotel on a small island offshore or a restaurant which can only be reached swimming or by boat… all of it beautiful places.
Close to yet another island which calms the sea we stop the boat and have a swim in the sea, sunset included… logically :). And if this wasnt enough, we were offered a glas of whisky to make us feel just perfect.
For the next day we plan to leave early which of course was a task not to acomplish for the both of us… in the morning we tried desperatly to upload pictures and texts and had to go to the office of Velisa in the end to do so. After that we where ready for take of. After two beautiful days in Montenegro we have to say good bye and are at the same time curious about what expects us next.
Hope you could enjoy it a little bit – check out the pics for some more impressions!