I’m going to make a bold statement: Montenegro might be one of my favorite places I’ve ever been to.

I think it came at the right time for me. I was tired from the cold and the snow and the English teaching. I just wanted to go somewhere. Crystal was flying out of Podgorica on a Friday, and so on a Tuesday we decided to shake the icicles off of our eyelashes and head to the Montenegrin coast.

At 10 pm we went out and waited on a very cold street corner in Prizren for 45 minutes, were mistaken for prostitutes twice, and finally loaded onto a way too crowded bus for a 5 hour bus ride to Ulcinj, Montenegro.

It was about 4 am by the time we got to the bus station. We talked for a minute about getting a hotel room, but the sun was going to come up soon and we didn’t feel like spending the money, so instead we walked in the direction of the sea. After a lengthy stop at a 24 hour bakery and a near miss with a suspicious police officer, we made it to the beach and dropped into the sand. There we laid, shivering, for an hour and half until the sun came up.

Once the sun was up we wandered around looking for a warm place to sit. We felt like hobos. A little old Albanian man welcomed us into his tiny cafe and made us Turkish coffee. He was very proud of his single English phrase: “Good morgan!” He said it over and over to us, but we didn’t have the heart to correct him.

It was still too early to check into the place where we were staying so we stopped at another cafe where a group of old men was sitting around smoking and drinking coffee. They gave us free macchiatos and let us sit there for a long time warming our little hobo-selves.

Finally, we were able to check into the little room in an apartment that we had found online. A sweet old lady who spoke no English welcomed us and gave us juice. We napped most of the morning and after showers and food, we were finally able to appreciate where we were. And by the way, Ulcinj is glorious.

We walked through groves of olive trees, climbed rocky cliffs along the sea side, and got lost in the winding streets of the old city.

It was the dreamiest two days in Ulcinj, Montenegro, a city with the kindest old people and the bluest water I have ever seen.

“I’m restless. Things are calling me away. My hair is being pulled by the stars again.” -Anais Nin

Where I stayed: Apartments Zuto

Best place I ate at: We didn’t really eat out because it was a bit expensive, but you can never go wrong with byrek.

Favorite Cafe: Marinero (the nicest owners who let us overstay our welcome and gave us free coffee)

Favorite thing I did: Walked along the paths by the coast for 4 hours