It was a slightly cruel introduction to the country however. At 3.55am my phone pinged, because I had forgotten to turn off the sound. “Welcome to Croatia” the message from Vodafone said. But aren’t we supposed to be in Montenegro today, I wondered, half asleep. No sooner had I wondered a little more than it pinged again. “Welcome to Montenegro” this time. We’d sailed through a small strip of Croatia as we entered the narrow bay on our way to Kotor and though the Captain had recommended we get up early to watch the sail in, I didn’t really intend to be up at 4am. (The picture above was taken around 6…)

Once awake, we were up and out early, for our tour met at 8am and we were eager to get going. Another new country for us, so as soon as we set foot on dry land, we gave each other the nod and yes, here we were in our 88th country (ha, as if we were keeping a list or something!!).

We were on a tour called “Highlights of Montenegro” since we’d not been here before and wanted a good introduction and overview. First of all, we were going to climb (in a bus!) out of the fjord-like bay where we were docked and drive up to the summit of a road known as The Serpentine. It’s a fairly steep climb to reach the start of this notorious stretch of road and once there, there are 25 hairpin bends to navigate.

Thankfully, we had an ace driver - Mirko - to do the hard work for us!

Each bend was numbered and the line of a poem written on the wall. Looking over the edge was not recommended!

Around half way up, Sandra our guide pointed out the “M” in the road opposite, a layout supposedly created in memory of Queen Milena and which cost so much to build that the architect lost his job.

The views kept coming, we kept seeing glimpses of our ship way down there and after more than an hour driving, we reached the summit.

Here we were to have a break for a drink and a snack. Well, it felt like just a short time since breakfast but hey, who knows where the next meal is coming from (!?!) and when offered local cheese and ham, it’s hard to say no. After half an hour or so, we were on our way again. Maybe that was lunch?!

We drove through open countryside and a few small villages high on this plain, to Cetinje, the former capital (good quiz question: what’s the current capital of Montenegro?)

Here, Mirko parked the bus and we walked through some parkland, past a small chapel where the remains of the royal family were buried. It was absolutely silent as we walked - not a sound, save for the occasional car. As we got a little nearer to the museum, we could hear children - there were several school groups visiting too.

Hmm, I needn’t have worried too much about getting my flag shot today, need I?

Arriving at the entrance to the museum, we found a large French group there already. Sandra chatted to their guide and asked if he would move on a little quicker, since there were several groups following. Grudgingly he did so and we were grateful for our assertive guide!

We spent an hour or so in the palace museum here, where photographs were not permitted, sadly. Inside were so many delightful small details of family life: snapshots of fun times playing, skating and sailing. There were lovely portraits and costumes with exquisite embroidery and best of all, small personal bits and pieces that gave an insight to the people who lived here. In particular I was happy to focus on Princess Xenia.

Described as her father’s secretary, we stood in her bedroom where her typewriter was on display together with her camera and bits and pieces of photographic kit. Yes, we learned she was a good photographer too and recorded many moments in her family life. We also learned that she was the first woman to hold a driving licence in Montenegro too - I suspect she was quite a character.

When we left the museum, there were a few more people out and about, enjoying the sunshine. We returned to the bus and began our way back to Kotor via a different route. This took us through Budva, a pretty seaside resort and into the bay along another tricky road which led down into the bay where our ship was waiting.

As we drove, Sandra asked if we recognised it as the M shaped road we’d seen from afar this morning. By now my mental compass was totally shot - I hadn’t a clue what was where or which direction we were driving.

We were soon back in Kotor, where another cruise ship had just arrived and was anchored in the bay; the large Norwegian Epic. Passengers were just leaving the ship on tenders, so Sandra suggested we waste no time if we wanted to take a look around the old town. She would give us a quick overview and then we could go it alone. What a great guide!

It’s a beautiful old town and on a sunny afternoon, it was lovely to be here.

We didn’t spend long exploring too many corners, but just enough to get our bearings and realise that it’s all pretty compact.

The best thing of all was that “home” was just around the corner!

And unlike those poor souls wanting to return to their ship later, thankfully we didn’t have to stand in an enormously long line waiting for the tender!

What a super day in lovely Montenegro.