Written by Indu
with edits by Caleb
Something that surprised me most about visiting Bulgaria, Serbia & Montenegro has been how many friends or friends-of-friends we have in the Balkans.
It becomes a completely different experience when you actually know someone who lives where you are traveling. You get recommendations that strip out the tourist traps and leaves only the local gems. You get treated more like a local when you visit restaurants and bars. And, best of all, you get to enjoy traveling with great people you wouldn’t normally get to spend time with.
During our trip, Caleb reached out to our friend Branka. She is Serbian & Montenegrin, with family still in both countries. Branka’s mom (Geri) quickly got in touch with us and virtually introduced us to her cousin Milica. Milica lives in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, and has been kind enough to be our friend and impromptu tour guide over the last few days.
After meeting Milica for drinks downtown one night, she gave us recommendations for things to check out around the Podgorica area. First on the list was Rikjeka Crnojevica, a river in Montenegro with old historic bridges.
Exploring Rikjeka Crnojevica for an Afternoon
Rikeja Crnojevic is only a 40-minute drive away from Podgorica, making it a perfect afternoon trip. In order to access the town and adjoining river, you can take two roads: a straightforward path or a curvy, steep road without guardrails. We opted for the latter.
Our route gave us scenic views of the hilly countryside. The trees were turning red and orange in full fall fashion.
After traversing the twisty roads —that had me gripping the handrail of the car tightly— we finally arrived in Rikjeka Crnojevica. Given the time of year, there weren’t many people, but there was a tourist bus with group of elderly people getting off. I was glad to be doing this now in my life…but also inspired.
Milica texted us the number of her brother-in-law (Duška or Duca) and told us to give him a call if we wanted a boat ride down the river. Among other jobs, Duca gives water taxi rides to tourists for €25 and up. Milica spoke to Duca and he said he would be happy to take us down the river for just the cost of gas.
We decided to walk along the river for a bit before giving Duca a call. There was a small stretch of shops and restaurants along the river that led up to Danilov Most, or “Danilo’s bridge.” People were sitting outside, eating & drinking, and enjoying the slow-paced life by the river.
We ate a late breakfast so decided to skip lunch & meander over to the bridge.
The limestone bridge was built in 1853 by the Montenegrin Prince Danilo. He built it in memory of his father. Right next to the bridge, Prince Danilo also built a two story house that has since been converted into a restaurant.
While it was cool to see the bridge, we were interested in seeing the rest of the river so decided to wander back to the car. On our way back, we saw a handful of stands selling homemade honey liquor and rakija. A woman offered us a shot of the liquor — honey liquor for me and rakija for Caleb. We attempted to converse a little as she filled up the glasses, but she only spoke Montenegrin. Luckily, a lady sitting nearby got up and interjected, translating for the woman.
We clinked our shot glasses together. My honey liquor went down smoothly, but Caleb’s rakija did not. He coughed as it went down and the ladies laughed.
“Usually we give honey liquor to women and rakija to men because it’s a man’s drink,” the English-speaking woman said as she snickered.
We laughed with them and proceeded to buy a bottle of honey liquor. It only cost me my manhood.
I gave Duca a call to let him know we were ready to go on the boat ride. He gave us directions for where to meet him, approximately a 1km drive away. “It is the first stone building. You can’t miss it,” he said. Boy, was he right.
. . .
I’m not great with navigating – understatement of the year – regardless of if the destination is 1 kilometer away or 100 kilometers away. However, Duca’s house was hard to miss. Among the modest-sized houses in the hills was Duca’s house: a large, white-stone structure paved with colorful flowers and a patio that could sit several families.
As we got closer, we could see tables and chair set up as if the building was a dining establishment. It didn’t look open.
We didn’t see anyone, so I gave Duca a call.
“You are in the right place. I can see you. You can’t see me because I am downstairs, but I will be up shortly. Feel free to sit anywhere.”
We walked towards one of the benches and were taken aback by the beautiful views you could see from the terrace. The surrounding houses on the hillside, the autumn foliage next to the river – it was all so very serene. “I would love to eat here later tonight when it is open,” I thought to myself.
A few minutes later, a large man with long, curly hair walked upstairs. It was Duca. He looked like a manlier version of Hurley from Lost. He had a plastic bag fashioned as a glove on his left hand and gave us a handshake with his right hand.
“Sorry, I am doing work downstairs and left my gloves at home today,” he said with a chuckle.
He told us to sit and asked us if we wanted some grappa. Of course, we accepted eagerly as we took a seat.
“Is this your restaurant?” I asked as Duca set a small pitcher of grappa and two Coca Colas down on the table.
“It will be soon,” he responded.
Duca explained to us that he has been working on converting the building into a small hotel & restaurant. He currently lives in Podgorica with his family, but his goal is to move his family out here when the building is finished and start his own business. Prior to this, Duca owned his own restaurant in town by the river, but decided to buy a new location & expand due to the city requesting more and more money.
We sat with Duca for a couple hours drinking grappa (which by the way, he distills himself) and discussing everything under the sun. The Serbian Orthodox religion. Duca’s children. How Yugoslavia has changed over the years. We had such a nice time, we didn’t even care about seeing the river anymore.
Still, we decided it would be worthwhile to see. So, we finished up our drinks while Duca loaded things in the car for the boat. We drove down the hill back to town, where he had us drop him off. Duca instructed us to park just down the road from where we dropped him off and grab a few beers at the restaurant for the boat. He would pick us up from there on the boat.
As we proceeded to turn onto the bridge that brought us to the restaurant, Caleb hit the brakes as the driver in front of us started to reverse. We wondered, what’s going on? Then we saw the flock of sheep leisurely walking across the bridge.
After the flock passed, we crossed the bridge and parked across the street from the restaurant. Duca’s explained that it was no frills, but had excellent fish soup and fried carp at reasonable prices.
Though the building itself was modestly sized and a little tattered, it was beautifully set on the river and we were eager to return from our boat ride to feast.
We ordered a few beers to go. Right on time, Duca pulled up in his boat. The owner screamed down “Duca!” excitedly. We collected the beers and walked down to meet him.
We were about to board when Duca motioned us to hold on. “We have an unexpected visitor joining us,” he laughed and pointed at a water snake on the boat. Without a second thought, he picked the snake up and threw it off the boat.
Once we got on the boat, we cracked open the beers and Duca started guiding the boat down the river.
We peacefully floated down the river and enjoyed our surroundings — Trees turning for autumn. Gorgeous stone houses. People pulling their kayaks into the water. Fisherman parked on tall stones waiting for their big catch. Hills surrounded us on both sides of the river and we could see cranes and various birds soaring through the brush.
Towards the end of our ride, Duca pulled into a river bog and stopped the engine. He stuck his hand into the river and pulled out a green plant with spikes.
“We collect these and eat them. They can be eaten raw or boiled, which is when they are the tastiest.”
He pulled a few out of the river for us and Caleb cut them opened so we could try. They tasted like jicama mixed with a water chestnut and maybe a hint of coconut.
After about an hour on the river, Duca brought us back to the area where he had picked us up. Before we left down the river, Duca had asked his friend to make his famous fish soup and fried carp for us. We could smell it as soon as we pulled up to dock near the bridge.
We climbed up the stairs to the restaurant and saw a big bowl of soup & sliced vegetables waiting for us. We ordered a few drinks and chowed down.
The soup was delicious! I’m typically not a fan of fish soup because the many times I have had it, it just tastes too fishy. This was different. We couldn’t even tell there was fish in the soup until we got a tender bit of fish meat with a few small bones in it.
We took a beat to digest all of the fish soup we just scarfed down when Duca’s friend came and cleared off the table. Caleb looked at the bowl, which still had some soup in it, with a look of “noooo, not yet!” in his eyes. However, it was good we saved room because a few minutes later, the man set a large fried carp on the table.
It was so good — garlicky and fried to perfection. We took our time sifting through the bones and devouring the meat while we enjoyed the scenery. While we were sitting there, we saw a few more unexpected friends crossing the bridge. It is so weird to see animals roaming so freely!
Duca rejoined us later and we headed back to his restaurant. When we got there, his two cousins were sitting at a table outside, having a smoke and drinking. They didn’t speak English, but we were able to communicate well through Duca.
We told them about how our perception of the Balkans is much different than how it is in reality. Duca laughed and said “yes, you can’t trust everything you see on TV.”
He explained that the Balkans are very safe, but not as safe as it used to be in the days of former Yugoslavia. “There were good things and bad things,” he said alluding to the communism, “but I always felt safe leaving my door open.” It was interesting perspective. This was the second time we had heard a local relay positive thoughts about the former Yugoslavia. This was a very different outlook from what we’ve ever heard back in the states.
After a few drinks and good conversation, Duca gave us a tour of his hotel & restaurant. He walked us to an area that will be a wine cellar downstairs, into different rooms that guests will be able to stay in, a huge kitchen that is separated into two separate cooking & cleaning areas, and then finally back to the restaurant.
“Do you have people helping you with this?” I asked him.
“Not yet, I don’t need any yet but I will soon and find workers to help,” Duca said nonchalantly.
I was so impressed with the hard work he put into this structure. It was functional and beautiful, and he did it all by himself.
After the tour, we collected our things and got in the car to drive home. The day on the river was nice, but my favorite part by far was meeting Duca and hearing about his future plans. I hope in a few months we can return and dine at his restaurant.