To make the most of my stay in Budva, I took advantage of the tourist infrastructure today, and went on a guide tour. On this tour, we visited Cetinje (the former capital), and the Ostrog monasteries.

Our first stop was the historic capital of Montenegro, Cetinje. First, our tour guide took us to the local monastery. However, after he explained to us how we should behave ourselves, and what we should expect to see, I decided to explore the town rather on my own: We were supposed to spend some 20 to 30 minutes within the monastery walls, before we were to be admitted into the interior of the monastery. There, we should see the attraction of the monastery: the hand of John the Baptist. We were told to make the sign of the cross twice when entering the room, then kiss the relic, and then make another sign of the cross, before leaving the room again.

So, I spent the one and a half hours in Cetinje by myself. I climbed up a small hill with a good view of the town, and took a short stroll through the city center. After that, we continued to our main destination (at least in my view): the Ostrog monasteries. There, I got to see a relic after all: Immediately after the entrance to the upper monastery, there was a long queue which I dutifully joined. As it turned out, the queue led to a small room where the bones of Saint Vasilje, the founder of the monastery, were on display. As soon as I was in the chamber, a monk pressed a small wooden cross to my lips. However, I refrained from kissing the bones (or the nearby icon). Afterwards, I did not dare to enter the hermit cave of Saint Vasilje. I rather marvelled at the ingenious way the monastery was built into the rock face – very impressive!