Old Budva...

It was just a short walk from our apartment to the historic city of Old Budva, which was quite charming.

It was hard to resist taking photos of Ashlynn as there were many spots for photo ops.

In addition to restaurants and tourist shops, there is housing within the old city.

We didn’t visit the fort, but enjoyed the views along the fort walls.

Apartment Life in Budva...

Our two-bedroom apartment (the one with the luggage rack in the window) that I booked on Booking.com was exactly as advertised: ocean views, spacious, fully kitted out and in a great location.

Only downside was that it was next to a parking lot, but otherwise it was perfect.

Montenegro isn’t part of the EU nor the Eurozone, but uses the euro as its official currency. I was surprised when I used the ATM and €100 notes came out. While there’s no way I could use a €100 at a grocery store in the Netherlands, the cashier didn’t even blink when I pulled out a €100 for a €5 purchase. 

The grocery store obviously doesnt just cater to rich visiting Russians, but to dog owners as they had this special parking area out front.

Beautiful Budva...

After a hasher warned me that Budva was very touristy, I was worried that maybe I’d chosen the wrong city for us to spend the rest of our vacation, but we loved it! The historic city was lovely....

....the sunsets from the beach were beautiful...

....and the food was delicious.

The Scenic Route...

We were bummed that neither girl could join us for the hash weekend because of upcoming exams, but were glad that Ashlynn flew down on the Sunday afternoon to join us for five relaxing nights in Budva on the coast. We hadn't planned on renting a car until another hasher told us about the scenic route that we’d miss if we took a bus to the coast.

The road was very curvy and scary, but the scenery was stunning.

Ashlynn was amazed at seeing real examples of what she’s been learning in geography class.

Last Minute Haring...

At about 10 p.m. on Saturday night, Bun Bandit asked Opee if he could fill in for him and hare Sunday morning’s hangover hash. Not only did he know nothing about the city, but since we missed the trail on Friday night, he didn’t even know where the previous trail went. He downloaded some maps on his phone and took about 20 minutes to scout out some urbex across the river. 

Luckily for Bun Bandit and the entire pack, Opee was up for the challenge of laying a live trail with no advance knowledge of the area and did an excellent job.

He was really hoping that we’d be able to get into this abandoned pool complex, but he was caught by a security guard who demanded that we vacate the premises.

Eventually we made it down to the river itself where some of the braver (or dumber) hashers waded across while the rest of us used the nice dry bridge to get across. 

He found a very tiny bar with just enough outdoor seating for our group for the beer stop. After one of the hashers mentioned that she was surprised that he hadn't taken us up into the hills, he decided to accept her challenge and wound the trail up and over the nearest hill.

Since it was a busy Sunday at the cemetery, we crossed next to rather than through the graveyard. I was amazed by the number of shops just outside the gates selling very colorful plastic flowers. Eventually we made it back to the hostel where Bun Bandit was busy making us a fantastic BBQ lunch. All-in-all, another fantastic hash weekend!

Montenegro Nash Hash...

It didn’t take long before the trail veered off road and then straight uphill. Although I don’t consider myself a violent person, I was imagining ways to push Bun Bandit, the hare and organizer of the weekend, off the giant hill. He laughed when I told him and said it was even worse before he used a machete to clear parts of the trail. The blood on all our legs were proof that he didn’t clear quite enough. The saving grace was our destination at the top of the mountain: Haj-Nehaj, a 16th century Venetian fort.

There wasn’t much left of the fort, originally built to defend the coast against the Ottomans, but the views were amazing.

Luckily, our trail combined with the main path used by tourists, so the way down was much easier.

Once down on the road, we could look back up the hill from the other side to get a better idea of how large the fort was. Eventually we made our way up another hill where we gathered on the top for down-downs. Bun Bandit had to drink an extra down-down for not bringing us to his village, which was the impetus of the hash weekend in the first place.

After a lazy train journey back to Podgorica, we had time for showers before jumping in taxis to a restaurant for a giant buffet dinner and dancing to a great local band.

Heading to Montenegro Nash Hash...

We eventually arrived at the hostel at about 10 p.m. on Friday night. Too late to hash, but still early enough to party with the 30 hashers attending the weekend. The following morning, we caught a train for a one-hour journey to Sutomore on the Adriatic coast. 

While our train appeared modern, the tracks were ancient so we chugged across the country. At one point the train stopped for 20 minutes to allow the oncoming train to pass through the tunnel first. The stations on both ends were very sparse with no official train times posted.

Sutomore was still pretty sleepy, but was clearly getting ready for the upcoming summer season.

After enjoying an ice cream, it was time to start hashing.