BUDVA, MONTENEGRO (Week 6)

QUICK LOOK:

Location: A growing neighborhood between Centar (City Center) and Gospotina

Main Attractions: Old Town, Budva Dancing Girl, Beach Greco, Grđevica, Mogren Beach

Transportation: Walking

Holidays: International Women's Day, Daylight Savings (America)

BUDVA - Budva, a hidden gem off the Adriatic Coast, is only about 900km from Vienna or a 1.5 hour flight; but, due to some schedule changes and unexpected challenges, our travel day felt much longer. The morning started with an early cab ride and then continued with a 50-minute flight to Belgrade airport (which was a very nice airport), a 6-hour layover, another 40-minute flight, and an hour long cab ride to our apartment in Budva. The girls did very well.

Although small in comparison to other major cities, Budva is one of the most-traveled cities in Montenegro, and I can see why. It has pebbled beaches lining the Adriatic Sea, a historical Old Town (Stari Grad) dating back as far as the 1st century, cultural attractions, a thriving night scene, possibility for several day trips and weekend excursions, and good prices (especially if you're coming from California).

Our first few days in Budva were spent exploring the Old Town, which included walking through the historical walled city, strolling through cobblestone alleyways, seeing the iconic Budva Dancing Girl, skipping rocks on the beach (even the "sand" feels like small pieces of rock as opposed to fine grains), jumping in rain puddles, and saying hi to the many cats of Montenegro (seriously, there are so many cats wandering the streets of Budva; and, if you know our girls well, you know they love "being" cats).

The girls joined a new ballet/stretching class at Liza K. Ballet on Mondays and Wednesdays. I really appreciate that these classes are a bit more focused on technique than their previous classes and, therefore, are challenging them. I also am proud of how well they are doing given the instructions are not in English. Miss Liza is great with them. That being said, I am also learning that, although they both enjoy ballet, they miss having a gymnastics class. I will have to look into that for our future monthly stays.

Side note: Brad discovered a small eatery called Verde, which happens to be a block away from the girls' ballet school. In less than a week, we have already gone three times. Their food is delicious and the prices are amazing (we order the chicken gyro, vegetarian "soy" wrap, and cornflake-crusted chicken tenders with fries all for 13€)! The owner remembers us each time we go. The restaurant also has sticky notes and highlighter markers for guests to use to write and post a message on their wall. The girls have done it multiple times now. It's become a family favorite.

After staying a few days in Budva, I have come to really appreciate its eclectic style. It has palm trees and pine trees side-by-side, the medieval European Old Town adjacent to the urban concrete buildings (reminiscent of the Soviet-era and East Asian buildings), and a bustling nightlife just a street over from the serene pebble beaches.

Much like the mixed style of the city, though, I had mixed emotions about our stay in Budva at the onset. There was a period of adjustment simply because we were staying in a new city; but, there were also some other factors affecting how we enjoyed the city. In this case, they were related to our apartment:

In addition to an unfortunate mix up with our checked bag, we had trouble with our check-in to our apartment and the apartment itself. For the next few days, we kept experiencing unexpected issues (that I don't need to mention here). Perhaps if they were one-offs or there weren't so many promised amenities missing, maybe I wouldn't have felt so disappointed. But, when you have researched, communicated, worked hard, and even paid extra to make sure your stay will be as smooth as possible for your family, you have certain expectations (thank you, Larissa and Lauren, for listening to my frustrations). I get it—things aren't perfect and we come from an area where certain basic comforts are luxuries elsewhere (thankfully, I learned this at a young age while visiting family in Thailand throughout my childhood). But, I certainly didn't expect the shower ceiling to fall on me or several promised amenities to be lacking (among many other things). Through it all, we found peace with the situation and are learning to disconnect our apartment experience from how we experience Budva and all it has to offer.

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns,

or rejoice because thorns have roses."

-Alphonse Karr

I can be disappointed or I can be grateful. Or, perhaps, I can be both; but, I am focusing on the latter because I am excited to experience more of what Budva has to offer.

Ćao!

Girls playing at airport in Belgrade. When Robot "needs a rest" (really, it's because he is too heavy), Panda steps in.