Day 139: Podgorica

Aug 20 - A lot of rain at night, that cools everything off. When we awaken we see that next door there are also geese. Out early to take advantage of the heavy cloud cover and low temperatures to see the city.

A statue in Ivana Milutinovića Park.

Hard to translate, but this beautiful mural on a back street may refer to Princess Milica of Montenegro (1866-1951). However, the name Milica is extremely popular in Serbian-speaking parts of the Balkans, so it could be someone else.

In the middle of town, at the confluence of the Ribnica River (now dry) and the Morača River, there are the ruins of the Depedogen Fortress, constructed by the Ottomans in 1474-78. The structure was built on a series of gravel deposits that the rivers have eroded through.

Ribnica Bridge. The original version was constructed by the Romans, now upgraded considerably by the Ottomans in the early 18th Century, in the distinct style we also saw in Mostar.

A view down the Morača River. You would not guess that this is in the middle of the city.

On a bench in Njegošev Park.

A rather unusual statue, which deserved some research. It is of Vladimir Vysoksky, a famous Russian actor and songwriter (1938-80), whose songs and films were widely known all over the sphere of Soviet influence. He traveled extensively in the East and also the West, including New York. Though he did perform in Yugoslavia, I did not see any particular connection he had with Podgorica, and I do not know why a skull appears below him.

Yet another manhole cover, not very interesting but it does have the city name.

The Clock Tower (Sat Kula), built in 1667 by a prominent Ottoman citizen of the city. The clock itself was upgraded in the late 1800’s. This is one of the only structures (along with the Ribnica Bridge) that survived the WWII bombings of the city.

The Osmanagic Mosque, which is clearly still an active place of worship. There was an Islamic learning center nearby. Muslims make up about 20% of the country’s population, though this is the first city that I’ve really seen evidence of that.

There is extra time today, so take care of some boring tasks. One is to rid myself of 230 Croatian kuna and 300 KM from Bosnia. Between two different banks (open on Saturday!) I manage to convert it all to Euros (for a total of about 173). I probably lose about 5-10% on the conversions, but I don’t want to be stuck with those currencies, as we head into yet another monetary system tomorrow.

Also get a haircut for 7 Euros, the barber does a real professional job. The shop is a small room on the street level of a large apartment building, and has the expected group of old men sitting around talking, safe in their bastion of masculinity.

In the late afternoon, head to the west side of town. Finally eat some sushi, which Odette has been asking for. There is some sun but storms in the eastern mountains.

Statue of St. Petar of Cetinje (1747-1830), once head of state and considered to be the founder of Montenegro. He wrote one of the first books on Montenegrin history.

Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, built in 1993, in the New Town neighborhood.

This church had an impressive interior.

Montenegro