Our original plans were to pass through Montenegro on our way between Serbia and Croatia. However after several people we've met along the way mentioned how beautiful the country is, we rethought our itinerary. Boy were they right! We booked a train from Belgrade to Bar, Montenegro and as our first European train we had high hopes of what it would be like compared to Asia. Unfortunately this particular train had some mechanical difficulties and gradually became more and more delayed. As we nervously looked at the time we eventually came to accept we were going to miss our bus connection from Bar to Budva. In the end we thought c'est la vie and made an impromptu decision to get off early and forgo a night's accomodation that we had previously booked. Being 6h behind schedule we thought China and India trains were pretty good in fact. However despite the inconvenience, the scenery along the way was worth it with lush rolling hills and quaint farming villages.

The next day we bussed to Kotor which was recommended to us by a NZ couple we met in Turkey. Kotor is based in a secluded and unique bay with the main draw card being a preserved medieval Old Town. Wandering down the cobble stone lanes and looking up at the distinctive shutter windows reality hit that wow - we really are in Europe! The Fortifications of Kotor look over the Old Town and as we made the sweaty climb up we were rewarded with breathtaking views of the coast.