Exploring a Fortress in Herceg Novi

We arrived in Herceg Novi by bus after a long haul from Dubrovnik involving two border crossings. It was pouring rain and we had very little idea where our hotel was. An angel appeared, a young Montenegrin woman who spoke perfect English and had spent time in the United States helped us find a cab and locate the hotel that we had booked, which was nearby but very difficult to get to. At last we did (and it was quite nice — The Stanica Hotel) and nearby found an excellent seafood restaurant and then, returning in the rain, put ourselves to sleep.

The hotel means “station,” and it has that name because it used to be the village’s station for a train that ran right in front of it along the Montenegrin coast line. Now it was a small but beautiful restaurant and hotel, perfectly located …. once you find it.

We passed the next couple of days exploring the town, which is not as famous as its cousin city slightly south, Kotor. But we loved this fishing village for its simplicity and beauty. There’s a huge fort right above the small harbor which played a key role in battles between the Venetians and the Hungarian Empire. And somehow Saint Stephen plays a role in the origin of the ancient town, but I haven’t quite figured out exactly how that led to a name like Herceg Novi, which means basically New Herzog. I’m Working on that. Plenty of misadventures on this little leg of our journey which I’ll write about detail in the book.

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