Follow Me To Montenegro!

I have to admit that I would have needed to 'follow you to Montenegro' before this cruise as I wasn't exactly sure where it was.  Now after having been there I think that is is one of the most beautiful places we've visited.  It is sort of like Switzerland by the sea! 

For our shore excursion today we saw the 'Highlights of Montenegro'. 

 The drive up into the mountains was exciting!  Narrow snowy roads with precipitous drops!

The views made it worth it! 

Do you see the 'M' shaped road?  The engineer who designed the road was enamored with the beautiful Queen of Montenegro Milena so he designed the road in this particular way to honor her.  Our guide says that they were glad that her sister Olga wasn't the queen! 

Way up in a pretty valley we stopped for traditional snacks.   The smoked ham or Njeguška Pršuta is a specialty of the village.  It reminded us of jamon serrano from Spain or prosciutto from Italy as it is a dry cured, raw ham.  They told us that the unique flavor and smell come from the use of sea salt and the very specific curing process used.

  The 'pig leg' is salted with sea salt and then dried over beech wood fires in little huts.   Just behind the restaurant there was a line of these A-frame drying huts.  George and I enjoyed the ham, parmesan-like cheese and the delicious bread. 

Next we went even higher to the traditional capital of Montenegro. More snow!

I always love watching children play.  Reminded me of our boys playing in the snow.  I remember them making slides in Grandpa's back yard in Utah. 

These boys were throwing snowballs at the cars passing by.  When I took their picture they yelled, "Facebook, Facebook....Like...Like".  First time that has ever happened to me! 

We added a new and very beautiful country to our country count!