Monday, May 11, 2026
Route: Žabljak area → mountain pass attempt → organic farm breakfast → Ostrog Monastery → Kotor, Montenegro

The day began with unfinished business.

The mountain pass had defeated us the day before, and I wanted to see the snow for myself. This may not sound like a normal tourist activity, but road trips do strange things to a person. Some people collect fridge magnets. I apparently collect evidence that roads are truly blocked.

Daniel looked at me when I explained the plan.

“You want to drive back up there?”

“Yes.”

“To confirm the road is blocked?”

“Yes.”

“And if it is?”

“Then we will know.”

This sounded more logical before I heard it out loud.

Driving Back Up for the Snow

We drove back toward the high mountain pass. The air grew colder, the wind picked up, and soon we reached the culprit: a snowdrift across the road. It was not a towering wall of snow. It was not an avalanche. It was just enough snow to block the road with the smug confidence of something that knew it had already ruined yesterday’s route.

There was no way through.

So naturally, we climbed partway up a steep mountain nearby.

From below, it looked manageable. Mountains are good at this kind of deception. What appears to be a firm grassy slope from the road becomes, after a few minutes, a nearly vertical lawn with consequences. At times I was climbing on my hands and knees, using grass and dirt for support, trying not to think too much about the long undignified roll down if I leaned the wrong way.

Daniel was somewhere nearby, probably questioning my route-planning credentials.

At the point where the grass gave way to rock, I decided we had proved enough. I like adventure, but I also like returning to the car without needing a rescue team and a short documentary.

We climbed back down and went to breakfast.

An Organic Farm Breakfast

The organic family farm we found had excellent reviews. When we arrived, they told us breakfast would be ready in 10 minutes.

That was the entire menu discussion.

No options. No “how would you like your eggs?” No complicated decisions. Just breakfast.

This can be risky. It can also be wonderful.

It was wonderful.

They brought out omelette, meats, local fried breads, honey, berry sauce, and food that tasted like it had come from nearby rather than from a truck with a barcode. Many, if not all, of the ingredients were grown or produced on the farm. After the cold mountain pass and our questionable vertical grass experience, it tasted like a reward issued by the universe.

Pilgrims at Ostrog Monastery

Then we headed toward Kotor, with a side trip to Ostrog Monastery.

We did not realize we were arriving on May 11, the day before the Feast of St. Basil of Ostrog, one of the most important pilgrimage moments at the monastery.

That changed everything.

The road filled with people. Thousands of pilgrims were making their way toward the monastery, many young, some barefoot, some carrying Serbian flags, all moving steadily uphill. Cars were parked everywhere, and the whole mountainside felt alive with movement and devotion.

Apparently, Daniel and I do not visit holy sites.

We arrive during peak spiritual traffic.

Because of the crowds, we could not simply drive to the upper monastery like visitors might on a quiet day. We parked by the lower monastery and walked about 45 minutes uphill with everyone else. The monastery itself is spectacular, built into the cliff face, but the line to enter was enormous and barely moving. We decided not to wait several hours.

Even without going inside, it was unforgettable. The climb, the crowds, the flags, the prayers, the cliffside monastery — it felt less like a tourist stop and more like stepping into a living tradition.

From there we continued to Kotor and checked into our hotel. I fell asleep for about an hour, which was not a nap so much as a temporary system shutdown.

A Fortress That Would Not Let Us In

Around 6 p.m., we decided to hike toward the fortress above Kotor. The main route cost 15 euros, but we had heard there was a back route where people could enter through an opening in the wall.

This sounded adventurous.

Also suspicious.

We climbed the longer back trail and eventually reached the supposed entrance, only to discover it had been bricked shut three days earlier.

The fortress, annoyingly, was still fortified.

Daniel looked around for another way in, but the options involved too much sketchiness and a drop that made saving 15 euros seem like poor life planning. We turned around.

Kotor Old Town redeemed the evening. Narrow stone lanes twisted through the walls, opening suddenly into little plazas filled with tables, lights, music, and life. We ate handmade pasta at La Catedral Pasta Bar, and it may have been the best pasta I have ever had.

Then came ice cream.

My mom says she eats ice cream every day. By this point, I was beginning to think she had discovered a spiritual law.

The day had included snow verification, accidental mountaineering, a farm breakfast, pilgrimage crowds, a failed fortress entry, pasta, and ice cream.

Not efficient.

Excellent.