Podgorica
From World travel guide
Podgorica is the capital of Montenegro, the smaller of the two states that make up the country of Serbia and Montenegro. Podgorica (formerly Titograd) is a modern communist planned community whose order has been disrupted by an inflow of refugees. Nazi and allied bombing destroyed anything that old during WWII. Podgorica is primarily a transit city if you are a tourists trying to get to the coast, Albania or Bosnia.
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Get in
Take the overnight train from Subotica, Novi Sad or Belgrade for 25 EUR. Take a bus from Pristina, Kosovo. Take a plane from Belgrade for 60 EUR.
The bus and train station are located next to each other. If you want to get straight into town you can catch a combi 50 meters outside of either station next to all of the little grocery/snack stands. They will have a big letter or number in the window, but no other visible marking other than that they are sitting waiting half full with people. You can take any combi, they will all go to the center.
Get around
Pogorica is a fairly large city of about 250,000 people. There is a public bus system, but the fastest way to travel is by combi bus. Local people drive the bus routes in their own cars or in small mini buses with the bus route numbers in their windows looking to pick people up and drive them on the bus route. The cost is usually 0.50 EUR and somebody will stop every couple of minutes.
See
- There is a very large refugee camp (made up of three separate camps) outside of Podgorica. One camp is primarily Serb refugees from the Croatian war. The second camp is made up of Ashkalia (Kosovo 'Egyptian') refugees from Djakovice and the third is a mix of Roma (gypsie) from all over Kosovo. The latter camp being a total disaster. If you ever wanted to see what a real refugee camp looks like take a several mile walk out towards 'stari aerodrom.' The camp is safe during the day but it's not recommended to be hanging around late at night.
Do
- During summer the Moraca river can be nice to swim in.
- The Moraca Canyon is located about a 30 minute drive to the North of Podgorica. Coming in either by bus or train you will get a good view of it. It's well worth taking a bus trip up towards the canyon and then hopping off and swimming there. In Montenegro it is completely acceptable to just tell the bus driver to stop and drop you off anywhere along the trip, which is what you'll have to do to get off.
- if you pass all the way through the Moraca canyon on the other side you will find the moraca monastery. It is bright white with a blueish colored roof. It has a waterfall next to it that crashes into the canyon. If you explore a little down into the canyon you'll find the old mill (still operating off the waterfall) where the monks grind their flower. Well worth a visit!
Buy
Eat
Don't miss 'Voda u Krsu' (pr. Voda u Krshu) the best hamburger (Balkan style) you'll ever eat. The restaurant is located near the main library in the city center. Ask anyone in Podgorica and they'll be able to give you directions.
Drink
Montenegrins love to sit in their cafe's and have mixed drinks. In Podgorica there is one street in the city center that has an endless number of trendy cafe's where all of the sons and daughters of the cities well to do hang out. It won't be hard to find. Drinks are fairly expensive but it can be an interesting experience and the locals are more than willing to chat.
Sleep
Podgorica does not have cheap accommodation. The best you'll get is a room for 35 EUR way on the outskirts of the city. Unless you are willing to pay plan to be at the coast by evening time.
Get out
At least once a day there is a bus to Kosovo and Sarajevo.
Several times daily there is a bus to Belgrade.
Frequently there are buses to Herceg Novi. If you arrive in Herceg Novi early enough (before noon) you will be able to catch the bus to the border to Croatia.
Warning Montenegro looks like it would be possible to travel through quickly because of its small size. Almost all of the travel routes are small mountain roads that take considerable amounts of time for a bus to travel on. Don't expect to get through Montenegro in a day.
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