Once again Montenegro

After the phenomenal days in Durmitor NP, we were tired of hiking and it was too hot for cities... so we took a (in retrospect unnecessary) detour to the south to Lake Skadar.

We had two more small stops to make and took the scenic route along the Tara Gorge instead of the direct route.

Another panoramic road! No matter where you turn here, every major road in Montenegro seems to be one, and some even have an audio guide! Well, the country seems to consist only of mountains and gorges, and everything is very beautiful - so they are actually right 😄

Our planned stops were not very rewarding: the medieval tombstones (Stecci) were still quite beautiful, because they were impressively located on a green hill in front of a mountain panorama and were even part of a multinational UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The highly praised Tara Bridge was then

1. ugly, because made of concrete and compared to the views of the past days, it only offered a mediocre view into the gorge. Besides, it was way too hot and therefore not a pleasant stop for us. (Hansi's version)

2. indeed impressive, because huge and really high above the gorge, but it was simply too hot and we couldn't enjoy it and even cross the bridge (Ari's version).

Our onward journey was promptly interrupted by a landslide on the road. Luckily, right next to a campsite where we found shade and got something to drink. By now, we were really unsure if this detour was worth it 😅

After we could finally continue driving, we quickly arrived at the main destination of the day: shopping in the capital city 😄

But not clothes or souvenirs, we urgently needed to find:

1. toothbrush and toothpaste for Heidi's first tooth (yes, you heard right 😍💪)
2. portable mini fan with battery and USB for the car for Heidi's baby car seat

There was a lot of stuff, clothes from Lacoste & co, and also everything we were looking for - an excellent stop; but we also love shopping in foreign countries. 😄

Next, we went to the Montenegrin side of Lake Skadar, the largest lake in the Balkans, known for being home to many, many birds and carpets of water lilies.

Our highlights were a very nice campsite with a great atmosphere and super friendly neighbors (yes, we old free campers have apparently come to appreciate that 😄).

And a boat trip in the morning across the lake, which combined both panorama and speedboat 😄. We sailed through really beautiful channels, saw countless birds take off, and Heidi fell blissfully asleep during the speedboat part.

After two nights, too many mosquito bites (Ari) and too warm weather (everyone) drove us further and back towards the mountains 😊. This time we're really heading to Albania!