Day 72 The old city Ulcinj!

Friday 01/06/2018 Apartment Miles UTJEHA - BUSAT, Utjeha, 85000, Montenegro

Slow start again that’s becoming routine lately... getting the diary and pics up to date is taking me longer and longer...

Once done and we managed to book a room in Split, it was time to head to Ulcinji.....

Driving there was a bit further than we imaged, it felt longer as there were hardly any houses along the route until we got closer...like other places along this coastal strip, it’s got that dirty feel, rubbish around, very dusty and unkept.... No one seems to take the time to look after anything... half built buildings everywhere..... getting closer it becomes very busy, so we quickly realise it’s pretty big... driving through it to we hope would be the old city area, the road narrows considerably and road works everywhere.... I am not sure how the cope with everything so tight, the cars barely are able to pass each other.... we were on a mission as well to get a hair cut just possible and waxing for me.... but trying to concentrate on the road and traffic we found it hard to look for what we needed.....

We eventually squeeeezed through the town, and stated heading to what we thought was beach, the further we went the less homes, what did appear where heaps and heaps of Olive Groves... we had read this was a big olive oil producing area, now we found why.... some if not most of these olive trees would be 500 yrs old or more.... you can tell by their bases all twisted and knotty and the size of them, like wise old men standing around together....... we finally reach the end if the road, you could see the property at the end of it was facing the ocean and the views of the ocean bays were only a glimpse but looked breath taking...

So we turn around right at an olive oil stand where an elderly man was selling his wares, but John was on a mission and wanted to keep going... it would have been great to get some of their local oil.... but not to be...
Back we head through the tight traffic again, to the round about that had the mill wheels in its middle, turned right and yes it lead to the beach... again the street only one street down was tight and full of road works which made it tight.... but we got through and kept driving to the end hoping we didn’t have to turn around... by now we were at the harbour and fortunately there was a big car park free to boot at present anyway right at the base of the Castle walls...

Wow are the big, and the harbour which is only small very quaint with views I front of it to the bay opening the main beach in Ulcinj..... heaps of straw covered umbrellas at either end if the beach which was a dirty dark grey colour.....

We headed up to the castle and became very disappointed as all it is now is a heap of hotels and restaurants.... it may once have been a castle and even though they call it one in reality it isn’t anymore.... so a look around, a coffee and a juice looking over the ocean and people watching.... from here we headed up the street and in no time John had found a barber, I found a hairdresser shop, we seperate John for His haircut, I set out to see if I could get mine done... the lady at the store couldn’t speak English st all, so she phoned another girl to interpret for us... I asked fir a haircut and to see if I could get my legs waxed.... Da da she kept saying... after we had it all sorted I was to come back at 2 pm, she would cut the hair the other girl would do the waxing.... what a round about way to organise this event... let’s hope it works...
I meet a John the guys in his shop speak very good English and have a map of Australia clock in the wall... some Aussie gave it to him I think the story is!
Off to have a bit before my procedures.... the meals here so far have been great good to finally get good food.... we people watch then off I go to the hairdressers John had to kill time....
My hairdresser I could see was very nervous and she kept asking the other girl what I kept saying as I tired to explain what I wanted... she went very conservative, I kept say more, more... in the end she had done what she felt was what I wanted I thanked her but new straight away I would have to do some chopping myself.... off for the wax, what lovely girl she was... from Serbia only married 9 months and her husband is from Bosnia.... they moved to Montenegro for work.... she to,d me all about the Season, how 90% of hairdressers only open in the Summer the one she works for here and another are the only ones working all year... she said the winter was just awful, she is used to cold in Serbia, but here it was wet miserable and very cold the whole time making it hard to go outside. she said even though it gets cold in Serbia you can still go outside.... she was just full of information about herself and living here... she also said it is just awful in the summer season here with so many people you are shoulder to shoulder... the road we drive down in 2 weeks time will be shut off to traffic and only pedestrians can use it....

So once finally finished we headed for a drink at the bar John sat at while waiting for me... people watched here for a bit, funny how so many cake themselves in the grey sand.... John had read somewhere the think it has therapeutic benefits, that would explain why they do it.... we finished there and walked along the esplanade seeing all the restaurants had placed tall,tables all along the roadside. Unreal to see them setting up for the big onslaught that converges onto this place in just 2 weeks...

Checked out all the dead looking umbrellas laying side by side laying against the rock walls of the red faced cliffs.... heaps of them who would know if they used them again.... they don’t look usable but what I think is different to what will happen...

From here we walked back to our car, taking the only road out if the closed in port area, we had to drive up a steep road to the top of the Ricky outcrop point and follow the road around the cliffs... from here you could see heaps of little bags and in each bay was another big heap of umbrellas ☔️ being set up for the season... only about half of them looked like they were being fixed up to start, others look in disrepair and it makes us wonder if they will get set up at all.... unreal again to see them getting ready for the summer onslaught... it will be you pay for your umbrella, there will be a bar and a restaurant and that’s where you will be fir the day... not like home where you can wander from one restaurant to the next if you want to... here it seems it will be different, just a different way of looking at it I guess... we hoped in and out if the car a few times, looking at little bays and there going on.... eventually coming to an out of the way one, we checked out the bay on one side this area led to 3 bays with a big hotel up top of the ridge which obviously had one bay even though it wasn’t set up yet they had signs to say it was theirs... another bay with nothing at all just rocks and water.... then as I headed around a few trees I spot families playing down lower and up top on a flat cement area where nudies.... as I had both phone and camera in hand I thought I had best back peddle fast... they might take offence thinking I was some sort of perv...back to the car and off we set to have a bit more of a look before heading home...

We drove up the coast to check out other beaches, my little wax girl had told me to check out the pearl of Montenegro a beach area that is just beautiful the Montenegrins are very proud if this area as it is so lovely...
we see a sign that mentions heaps of different beaches so off we go... past fruit and veggie stands and farms, Caravan Park signs, old groves and the odd restaurant and hotel.... then sign after sign appear for the beaches... we soon discovered that these beaches are privately run, setting themselves up like the bay areas with umbrellas , bars, restaurants and of course beach... as we drive up a road you could have taken any road of 3 into a beach area... we took the middl one... it was lined with dead palms but was getting ready with their set up, as were the others that you could see from where we were... heaps of cement posts, firstly I thought were to park your car, but I know think they are to put up shade areas to put beach chairs under so people could be in the shade, only thing is it wasn’t on the beach..... I am not sure only speculating 🤔 here.....

The sand we could see was a dirty grey again like the town beach we have just come from, as we never got out of the car and any closer to the actual Beach we can’t be certain on this either again speculation.... but it looked dirty unlike the pearl we thought it would look like....

Getting very late we head home...buying a very expensive water melon on the way..... so have to try an eat a whole water Melon in 5 days, see how we go... once back we have dinner try to watch TV but hopeless their channels are all paid for we think and having to do that our apartment owner must only pay the basic, because the only thing we can watch really well is the BBC news station.... thrilling! Another day of adventure complete!

Info below about the old town and the castle!

The Palace and the Court
It is believed that the castle was the residence of the Venetian administrator for Ulcinj in the Venice Palace. As a result of its beauty and convenience, subsequent rulers also used this building as their court. Not far away from the Palace of Venice, on the southern level of the Old Town, is a beautiful edifice called Dvori Balšića. Both of these edifices are used now as luxury accommodation for guests and visitors coming to Ulcinj.

Ulcinj Old Town (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Стари град Улцињ / Stari grad Ulcinj, Albanian: Qyteti i vjetër i Ulqinit) or Ulcinj Castle (Albanian: Kalaja e Ulqinit), is an ancient castle and neighborhood in Ulcinj, Montenegro. Today mostly inhabited by Albanians, it was built by the Illyrians and Ancient Greeks on a small peninsula at the right side of the Pristan Gulf, which is part of the Adriatic Sea. Today, oldest remains are the Cyclopean Wall. The castle has been restored many times since it was first built although major changes were made by the Byzantinians, Serbs, Venetians, and Ottomans. The modern city of Ulcinj was built outside of this castle.

Ulcinj's Old Town' is one of the oldest urban architectural complexes on the Adriatic Sea. The castle, which some believe resembles a stranded ship, and the surrounding areas have flourished for about 25 centuries. Through the centuries, a variety of cultures and civilizations melded together. The Old Town represents a cultural and historical monument of invaluable significance due to its Illyrian walls, its citadel, the network of streets, the markets and town squares. It was built 2,500 years ago under economic, military, and cultural conditions quite different from those of today. The town’s walls were often destroyed in wars, and just as quickly rebuilt by residents to keep their fortresses and residences safe. In doing so, they also preserved the beauty of this ancient town.

Old town has picturesque narrow and curved streets typical of the Middle Ages, densely packed two- and three-story stone houses decorated with elements of the Renaissance and Baroque, and finally a series of valuable edifices from the Ottoman time. The oldest remnants of the walls date back to the Illyrian period. In the 6th century, the town had two gates: the lower (eastern), which can be reached from the sea-side and the upper (western), which can be reached from land.Weiterlesen