Sveti Stefan

Kati Snapped this of Sveti Stefan Right Before Sunset

August 30--Today was the perfect day.  We departed Kotor in the morning for Sveti Stefan, the crown jewel of the Montenegrin coast.  To get there we first had to take a bus to Budva and then catch another bus to Sveti Stefan.  Altogether, the trip took just over an hour.  I've been looking forward to Sveti Stefan for a very long time.  I don't think you can't find a more picturesque destination anywhere in the world.  To make the day even better, I woke up to find that I had passed the NC bar exam!

Sveti Stefan is a very unique place.  It's essentially an island that's connected to the mainland by a very thin sandbar isthmus (I know, that technically makes it a peninsula, but it's much more island-esque).  The island is surrounded by fortress walls.  At the top of the hill on the island sits the Church of St. Steven and a number of beautiful red-roofed houses cover the rest of the island.  People used to live on the island, but the communist government nationalized the island in the mid-1900s and then sold the entire island to a private company.  The island is now closed to the public and has been made into one of the most fantastic hotels in the world.  I've gotten conflicting reports from Montenegrins, but the cheapest rooms in the hotel range somewhere between 500 euros ($715) per person per night and 2000 euros ($2850) per room per night.  The hotel has monopolized the better beach on one side of the isthmus and, while it is free for hotel guests, the public must pay 50 euro ($72) just to use it!  Needless to say, we stuck to the public beach.

We celebrated my bar success in style.  Sveti Stefan is very much a resort town and there are no hostels there.  Instead, we sprung for a very nice hotel: Vila Drago.  It was one of the best decisions we've made this trip.  It wasn't overly expensive, but it had air conditioning, a refrigerator, and free breakfast at it's incredible restaurant.  Additionally, the view of Sveti Stefan from the balcony was unbelievable!  After a very relaxing day on the beach, we splurged for dinner.  We had some traditional Montenegrin meat dishes, including a lamb and chicken dish and a unique take on veal cordon bleu.  Of course, we choose the meat to match my celebratory bottle of wine: a very nice Vranac, a uniquely Montenegrin grape and the best the country has to offer.  The wine was fantastic, as was the food.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate finding out that my miserable summer wasn't wasted and that I still have a job when we return to the states!

Our day was so great that we tried to stay in Sveti Stefan for two more nights, but unfortunately our room was only available for one more night and if we stayed we wouldn't be able to make it to the Ostrog Monastery.  Thus, it's off to Budva in the morning.