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Category: Podgorica

  • Balkans Trip Day 6 – Podgorica – Tap Craft Beer

    Balkans Trip Day 6 – Podgorica – Tap Craft Beer

    We only had one night in Podgorica, so I thought it was worthwhile to go out and discover the craft beer bar that seemed to be getting itself some rather positive reviews, namely Tap. I’m not sure whether Jonathan was quite as keen as I was to go, but he’s always enthusiastic.

    We arrived at the right time as although it was busy we were able to get a seat, which wasn’t the case for some arriving a little later. I liked the whole style of this place, there were higher and lower tables to suit the individual preferences of customers, with staff on hand if customers had any issues or questions.

    I’ve experienced bars with similar concepts to this, namely you top a card up with some money and then you self-pour whichever drinks you might so desire.

    I put €10 on the card and that got me five different drinks, which I was suitably pleased about. The self-service system was easy to operate until I operated it, at which point another customer kindly intervened, but that was just me getting muddled up.

    They had a range of Serbian and Montenegrin beers and also some from further afield, covering a range of beer styles although there was a focus on lagers and pales. The screen displayed the price for every 100ml, and the information was available online as well, and it went down as I poured the beer. The dispense amount was entirely up to the customers, so there was the option of just trying numerous tasters or committing to something more substantial.

    The five beers that I went for were:

    (i) Joker from the Belgrade based Docker Brewery, this was a tropical IPA with stonefruit and it was punchy and fluffy.

    (ii) South Dakota 61 from the Nikšić-based Mammut Brewery, this was clean, hoppy and I thought better than the Untappd ratings suggested.

    (iii) Brat Dekan from the Beer Academy Podgorica Brewery, this had a bit of toffee, it was malty and I thought quite quirky.

    (iv) Nikšićko Svijetlo from the Trebjesa Brewery, this was slightly soapy, had some weird creaminess, it was malty but I still rather liked it and I was to encounter this beer a few more times.

    (v) The New Pils on the Block from the Belgrade based Dogma Brewery, this was light, fruity and maybe slightly clumpy in a neutral rather than negative way.

    Incidentally, one slight downside is that I couldn’t find the venue on Untappd, but I’m sure it’ll be added soon enough.

    I also went for a burger with blue cheese and it was a sizeable affair, cooked medium and it had a meaty taste which is always positive from something made from meat. Nicely seasoned and well presented, it tempted Jonathan into getting something similar. I was pleased to be presented with cutlery for my burger, but they just gave gloves to Jonathan, although I didn’t say anything.

    It will likely come as no great surprise to my hordes of readers, well, two, that I really rather enjoyed this venue. The staff were friendly, the surroundings were clean, there was lots of beer on hand, the food was decent and there was value for money offered. I intend to return to Podgorica and I’d certainly come back here. Indeed, I’ve kept the card that I was given to top up with money ready for my return.

  • Balkans Trip Day 6 – Podgorica – Hotel Evropa

    Balkans Trip Day 6 – Podgorica – Hotel Evropa

    Located near the railway station was the Hotel Evropa which was convenient as I arrived around one minute after leaving the train. Jonathan was staying at an apartment around ten minutes away, which all meant that we had time to explore the delights of Podgorica.

    The room was clean, basic and cheap, so that was all rather positive. The receptionist was helpful, although there was a bit of a queue to check-in, likely with others coming from the railway station as well.

    The hairdryer looked like it had seen better days. To be honest, it looked as though it had survived several previous hotel refurbishments and possibly the dissolution of Yugoslavia.

    I also decided that maintaining a respectful distance from the electrics would be prudent.

    The breakfast was excellent, lots of fruit, bread, tomatoes and I had plenty of orange juice, apple juice and coffee. I even went outside onto the terrace which was a little decadent even for me. I’m not sure that I usually eat so much fruit, but it was all fresh and tasted decent so I

    And so I waited on the outside terrace for Jonathan to appear. The temperature was a little warmer than I’d like, but it was cool in the shade here and we only had a short walk to the nearby bus station for our onward journey.

    I rather liked this hotel, it had some historic charm and the staff were friendly, it was mostly clean, there was air conditioning and nothing annoyed me so that’s one for the win. The hotel had modest standards and, fortunately, I was able to meet most of them. The room cost just under £40 for the night including breakfast and so I would happily stay here again. As a side issue, I’ve realised that there is now an airport bus from Podgorica airport which runs 24 hours, so it is very likely that I will get a direct flight here in the future.

  • Balkans Trip Day 6 – Belgrade to Podgorica Rail Journey (Part 2 to Podgorica)

    Balkans Trip Day 6 – Belgrade to Podgorica Rail Journey (Part 2 to Podgorica)

    We safely arrived at Bijelo Polje which I’ve wittered on about in my previous post and this is where we changed trains to get to Podgorica.

    It’s fair to say that this didn’t look like the most decadent train that we were switching to.

    The passengers began boarding with considerably more enthusiasm than the appearance of the train appeared to justify.

    It was a compartment train and the rail operator hadn’t really burdened themselves with cleaning it. It was quite hot, but fortunately for those of us sitting by the window there was some cooling going on, so that improved matters a little.

    The views were impressive and I should mention at this stage a little more about the Belgrade to Bar railway line. This line was conceived in 1952 as one of socialist Yugoslavia’s grand national projects, intended to connect the federal capital directly with the Adriatic coast. Serbia and Montenegro were each responsible for constructing their sections, which opened gradually between 1958 and 1976, so there was obviously no great hurry.

    The final rails were joined south of Kolašin in November 1975 and President Josip Broz Tito formally opened the completed line on 28 May 1976, with electrification following in 1977. Building its 476 kilometre route through the Dinaric Mountains required 254 tunnels and more than 400 bridges, making it Yugoslavia’s most expensive infrastructure project and it was evident from the terrain just how challenging this must have been.

    The short section passing through Bosnia and Herzegovina was the location of the Štrpci massacre in 1993, while parts of the Serbian route were badly damaged during NATO’s bombing campaign in 1999. Years of underfunding allowed the track and equipment to deteriorate, contributing to slower services and culminating in the Bioče derailment in Montenegro in 2006, which killed 47 people. Reconstruction of the Serbian section began in 2016, but trains still take substantially longer than the approximately seven hours achieved when the complete line was new. But at least it is working again and it offers some of the more beautiful views that I’ve seen from a train.

    We shared the carriage with a group of friendly young Germans who were heading off on a long walking trip. We encountered them again the following day, but more of that in another blog post as I maintain my increasingly complicated network of narrative cliffhangers.

    The large window on the side of the train gave extensive views of the valley as we started to approach Podgorica, it really was quite beautiful. This sort of view went on for much of the journey, it wasn’t just for a short stretch, all something of an engineering marvel. By this time I had long since eaten all my snacks that I had acquired in the morning, but fortunately still had sufficient drinks to keep me hydrated. This train wasn’t blessed with anything like a vending machine and it was something of a clunky beast that made all manner of noises as it trundled down the track. This wasn’t a long rail journey, it took around three hours and so was shorter than the first section.

    I struggled to open the door when it was time to leave, but another passenger and Jonathan came to my assistance. It required what I considered to be an unreasonable amount of physical effort, although everyone else appeared to regard it as the routine operation of a door.

    The locomotive that got us safely to Podgorica. We were on time and I was ready to go and walk the 100 metres to my hotel before we had chance to head into the centre of the city.

    The two trains had provided a rather lovely experience and the total fare of around £20 felt exceptionally reasonable. It was my first proper visit to Montenegro and the first time I had experienced border controls taking place before the train doors were unlocked. The journey had beautiful views, fascinating history and a splendidly rickety second train that made enough noises to ensure that no-one became complacent about reaching Podgorica. A marvellous and memorable experience.