07.32 It is a new morning in Montenegro and Kotor, a morning which started with a mild panic. The lock on the door didn´t work. The key just spun around in the key hole. Some calm, however, solved the whole thing and we can get out to yet another day.

08.30 Most of our things are packed, soon Christer has showered and pretty soon we will go out for yet another square breakfast. What about our legs? Well actually not as bad as we feared.

09.21 We are sitting on a green bench in the square Pjaca od Drva. We are waiting for our breakfast restaurant to open. We were here yesterday as well. The sun is shining, it is plenty of cats here and some workers are doing their job. Roberth looked up what Kahunga is/means before we left the hostel. It is apparently a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Who knows, maybe we will go there some day? What should we have for breakfast now?

09.38 We’ve ordered the same sort of sandwiches as yesterday, ham and cheese. We are drinking coffee and orange juice.

09.59 The last things are being packed. Teeth are brushed, but there is unfortunately no water in the bathroom. There is some temporary error. Possibly it has something related to the craftsman who was doing some work in the stairwell.

10.23 A man in a white short-sleeved shirt with the English national football team's badge looked at the timetable. Roberth and Christer are counting and calculating the costs. We are at the bus station here in Kotor with newly purchased tickets. The stay here in Kotor was pleasant. Everything is within reach and the accommodation was great. The town is also an experience in itself with its beautiful setting and charming little squares and alleys.

10.43 Tickets are sold and checked. We are on board the bus. Last time we made a trip Roberth had forgotten something, his towel. Now he has a locker key from the room with him. We are going to Budva. Good bye Kotor! Will we ever meet again?

We have arrived to another town, Budva.

Roberth and Christer is looking at the beach in old town, Budva.

11.44 It is time for a bench break here in Budva. It is quite a distance to walk from the bus station to the old town where we will stay. Roberth is resting, Christer is checking the right direction, I make a note and all of us memorize the route. Our bench is in a park.

12.14 We have checked in at Montenegro Hostel in Budva (http://www.montenegrohostel.com). First, we had to go outside to wait for a while. There was only space for one traveling company at a time at the reception. When it was our turn, there was a certain amount of confusion and panic. The room that we had pre-booked has an acute water shortage due to a broken water pipe. Plumbers are on their way but the room will not be ready in time. Now we stay in an eight bed dorm instead. The price is reduced, partly due to the error and partly because that we had a brochure from Kotor which gave us 10% discount. The check-in lady, the owner Gordana, is a vibrant, emotional spirit. Roberth has left the key he accidently brought with him to her. She also claimed that she had seen us in Kotor yesterday.

We are waiting to check in at Montenegro Hostel in Budva´s old town.

Gordana is welcoming us to Budva.

There is a small beach close to the old town in Budva.

We are too tall for this old gate.

12.51 The beach here at the old town has been visited and feet have been dipped in the Adriatic Sea. Even though the weather is nice the sea is still too cold for a pleasurable swimming experience. There are powerful waves that hit the rocks. Mother Nature is, according to Roberth, in command. Now we are by a church from 1804, Crkva Svete Trojice (The Holy Trinity Church).

13.15 Christer and Roberth have sat down in a hammock and they are rocking back and forth. I'm sitting in a wicker chair. It's time for lunch at the Sky Light Snack Bar Pizzeria. It is a restaurant in the square by the Catholic St. Ivan's Cathedral. We’ve ordered pizzas and pancakes.

13.54 Here we are sitting and eating our lunch in peace and quiet. Suddenly a dog shows up and looks hungry. It has climbed here on various walls and appears to have experienced this before. It has happened before and happens again, where we are, there are dogs. I'll give it some pizza edges.

14.16 The dog was probably just curious or maybe pizza was not according to his taste. It just sniffed at the pieces. Now we are back in the room and are taking a deep breath before we head out to new adventures.

It´s peaceful near Budva citadel.

Narrow streets in Budva old town.

A curious and hungry dog said hello during lunch.

14.52 Our needs are satisfied, at least the most necessary. Now we are at the seafront. There are beautiful boats ahead of us and to the left mountains climbs from the sea. We are heading in another direction. We will walk along the promenade and try to find a café.

15.17 We´ve walked past Slovenska placa (Slovenian Beach). It is 1600 meters long. Out in the sea there are visible rocks and waves. There are quite a few restaurants here and we have even seen offers of water taxi to Sveti Stefan. We´ve also seen a filling station for recreational boats and also a go-cart track.

15.30 There will be afternoon coffee with local pastries at Hawaii restaurant. The coffee was ordered by a waiter, but the pastries were ordered over the counter. The staff wasn't brilliant at English but it worked anyway. We are nicely seated; life is really nice and lovely.

Budva harbour.

The waves are coming towards the beach Slovenska.

Christer and Roberth are ordering some local specialities.

16.21 We continued our walk along the beach and have walked towards the center again. We have passed the stadium where the city's football team FK Mogren plays. The football team and the Mogren Beach west of the center isn’t named after the Swedish skier Torgny Mogren. No, it is an old sailor named Mogrinj who is the guilty one.

16.34 We have planned a trip this afternoon. We are looking for a bus stop. There is no luck with the finds. We can not even find any street names.

16.57 We had walked in the wrong direction. We headed north instead of west. Christer took a new direction and soon we will be on our bus, if it is on schedule.

17.06 The tickets are bought. We have boarded the small bus. Now it's off to the beautiful village and island Sveti Stefan, which is ten kilometers south of Budva.

Roberth is entering the sea.

A security guard stops non-guests from entering Sveti Stefan island.

Sveti Stefan

17.38 Roberth has just waded into the sea and back. We're sitting on a wall next to the bridge out to Sveti Stefan island. We will unfortunately not cross the bridge and enter the island. It is just for the guests staying at the hotel on the island. A security guard with a walkie-talkie is walking to and from in order to prevent an unauthorized person to slip through. One wonders at how smart it is to cordon off one of the country's biggest tourist attractions and make it a private area. As usual, money rules.

18.04 Because the island was closed off, we walked through a beautiful wooded area and back. We took some pictures with beautiful views of the island that we never will visit. Now we are back on the reddish beach. There are plenty of dogs here and the sun has started gazing into the sea.

18.24 We walked up to the road again. We are waiting for the bus that will take us home to Budva. Much remains to be completed today. There is still a long way to bedtime.

A dog wanted to join us in this photo.

Dogs at the beach in Sveti Stefan.

A few dogs entered this photo of Peter.

Sunset in Sveti Stefan.

19.50 Some of the remainder is done. We went shopping at the Mega-Promet. We bought some groceries for breakfast tomorrow and a few things to take home. We have also withdrawn a bit more Euros. Now we are back in the room. Here we are not alone. Someone is cooking their dinner in the small kitchen. It is our roommates, a Dutch boy and girl and an American who are trying to fit into the kitchen. Another man is also resting on a bed, we wonder if it might be the plumber.

20.06 We left the bustling room and are now sitting back on a bench next to the fine boats. It is peaceful here, we’ve aired our feet, looked at boats, it is simply holiday.

21.02 We have walked up and down the streets to find an internet café but have not found anything. According to our guidebook the temporary internet sites exist on the beach during the tourist season but it has probably not started yet. It is now time for dinner at Grill Basta Kralj. We will try their specialty, a form of Mixed Grill. We have been promised a large tray of meat.

22.16 There was a lot, very tasty meat. We are satisfied but the distribution was a bit weird. We only got one sausage that should be shared by three but a lot of chicken. We probably got the meat that was left today as they are about to close for the evening. Now we are packing. Then we will sleep. We talked a bit to our roommates and the American guy from Virginia has also surfed in to our website on his laptop.

Peter and Roberth are waiting for the meat at the restaurant Grill Basta Kralj.

Thursday 28th of April

06.55 The wake up call has been heard. The bathroom is occupied. The Dutch couple will continue to Tirana in Albania today. What's so special about that country on this trip? First Christer was offered a taxi ride there, then it was the Asian man going there and now them.

08.08 We have been consuming that we bought yesterday. The coffee making, the preparation did not go well. It was strong and marshy. However, it was partially drinkable. Soon it is time to begin the long journey towards the White City; it is passed by an old acquaintance. Now let's check out. Is there someone at the reception, we will call 069 039 751 if not. I wonder if we need to dial the country code as well.

08.23 There was no one at the reception. We had to dial the country code. The owner, the woman we met yesterday, will tell her sister to get here. Now she comes down the stairs.

08.52 We have checked out. Smoothly routinely and safely we walked back to the bus station. Along the way we met the pizza dog again. He sniffed at my right leg.

We are waiting for the bus at Budva bus station.

In the bus from Budva to Bar.

Roberth has left the bus. We have arrived to Bar.

09.47 We are a little behind schedule, but we are heading to a place not to far, a place called Bar. The bus host has torn the tickets and charged one euro for each bag.

10.26 The bus is fully loaded as we go in low gear up a long, tough hill. A smell of sulphur, gunpowder fills the bus. The bushost walks back to the bus and looks around suspiciously. None of us passengers have created the smell. Now it flattens out. The coastline is hilly and beautiful. Above the front window there is a sticker with the coat of arms of the city of Göteborg (Gothenburg) in Sweden.

10.58 It says Iberostar on a few of the fellow passengers’ rubber bracelets. They might be guests at some "all inclusive hotel." It might be a good thing if you have young children, but it is absurd to hide in a hotel complex in that way. Local people may not take advantage of tourism and tourists may not experience the country for real. We are now at the bus station in Bar. Now it's off to the railway station, situated just nearby. A taxi driver was kind enough to point the direction even though we haven’t asked him to take us there.

11.27 It is rather quiet at the station. Few trains run from here. We will be going with one of them. Tickets for the train trip are purchased. It costs about US$37, not expensive for a nine-hour trip. Christer has visited the station's toilet and met a creature that might come from Lord of the Rings. A hefty one meter tall lady with a rough husky whiskey voice received the payment. Now we will have lunch at the restaurant Konoba Kod Dzema. We are drinking the Montenegrin beer Nikðiãko.

Roberth in front of the railway station in Bar.

Cheap and very tasty lunch at Konoba Kod Dzema.

We bought soft drinks, fruit and other necessary things here.

12.31 Our lunch was; pljeskavica, lettuce, cabbage, red onion and more. The price for it was US$ 7,70 and that included beer and some delicious bread. It was great food and even more amazing prices. Apart from us it was a bunch of painters who had lunch here. Prices are on a different level when you eat with locals. Now we are in the cart 464 and seats 24-26. Soon we will go by train to another country. Before the day is over Roberth would have arrived to his third new country on this trip. We have bought supplies in a small kiosk and await the train ride which is longer than one working day at home.

13.14 We are going past the 550 km² Lake Skadar. It is The Balkans' largest lake, and forms the border between Montenegro and Albania. It is known as a bird lake and Roberth have sighted a vessel on it which he calls a "swamp boat".

13.51 The hillsides are steep and the ground is dissected by a stream. We just left the capital, Podgorica, where we stood still for a moment. A young lady and her mother have entered our compartment. The mother insists offering us some snacks. She offers it to us again and again. There is hospitality on board the train as well.

Peter is looking forward to a long train trip.

Road and rail, side by side.

Lake Skadar, on the other side you can see Albania.

14.33 The train rushes through tunnels and over a ravine, Moraca Canyon. Far down in the vegetation you can see the river Moraca. Now we go into yet another tunnel. I've had some Serbian coffee. Roberth takes a nap. This was a long tunnel! Along this stretch, there was a terrible accident 23 January 2006. The brakes stopped working on a southbound train and it plunged into the canyon here. 45 people were killed and 184 injured. We have seen a rusty railway car far beneath the rails, but we do not know if it comes from the accident.

14.39 We just came out into the light again at the other end of Trebesica tunnel. There are around 7.5 hours to go before we reach today's destination.

Our train has made a stop in the capital Podgorica.

This railway is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in Europe.

Moraca Canyon north of Podgorica.

The river Moraca has eaten itself deep down in the valley.

Some people really live in the countryside.

15.24 According to the timetable we are supposed to be in Mojkovac. However, we are standing still. Now we roll again and actually we are coming to Mojkovac. Good, then we are going as planned.

16.03 We are at the border post Bijelo Polje. Here two different men after each other checked Roberth’s passport. The other gentleman looked at me, saluted and left. Now a man comes and offers pivo, sok, voda or if you prefer beer, juice, water. He carries his goods in a bag. A smell of urine can be detected, probably from the train toilet. The snacks woman and her daughter has got off. Now it's just us in the compartment again.

SERBIA

16.51 Now it is a Serbian landscape which can be seen outside. It is similar to the other side of the border and again there are tunnels. In the villages on both sides of the border, one can see a lot of mosques. We have discussed if it is Bosnian Muslims or Albanians who use them.

17.14 Here in Serbia the petrol costs 133 dinars per litre. We are now in Prijepolje and have seen that from the train window.

17.46 It was not Prijepolje we had stayed at. We left that station now. The train is around fifteen minutes late.

18.24 We left just Priboj and are increasingly delayed, now nearly 40 minutes. A man got on, put a sports bag on a shelf in the compartment and then went away.

19.38 The bag owner returned and talked a bit with us in broken English. He said that he comes from Priboj but also knows Belgrade well. He informed us about the part of railway that runs on the Bosnian side of the border and that some eagles are nesting in these areas. We have as mentioned occasionally travelled some distance through Bosnia Herzegovina but now returned into Serbia again. Now we are standing still on a bridge over a small river. I do not know why we are standing still.

We have entered Serbia and are traveling through a Norway-like landscape.

An orthodox village church somewhere in western Serbia.

We had to look at this closed station for over an hour.

20.11 We continued only a short distance. The darkness falls and we are standing still. The station we are at is called Stapari. The station looks closed, dead and abandoned.

20.37 The stop may have been due to a passing clearance between trains. The meeting train finally got here but our still standing time still was very long. Now we are over 1,5 hours behind schedule as we comes into Uþice.

22.07 We should, according to the timetable, be in Belgrade now but we are definitely not. In fact, we seem to become more delayed. It looks bad for Roberth to take a new scalp this day.

23.42 It is no longer hard for Roberth to enter a new country today. It is impossible. Sure, he can hop on and off again at a stop but it feels a bit daring. We will not be on Serbian soil this day.

AFTERWORDS: Read more about the Bar-Belgrade railway here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade_-_Bar_railway