I was sad to leave Zorica and Dragan after a full week of good food, excursions, hikes and easy friendship but it was time to continue on our huge loop that will hopefully get us back to Zagreb in a couple weeks.
The first 4 weeks of our trip were planned and scheduled but we had nothing lined up for our final two weeks. For some reason on this trip I was having a difficult time choosing where to go next. There are no easy direct roads from place to place and no matter how much I studied the map I didn’t see a practical or appealing route. So I just chose our next destination, the Studenica Monastery in the high hills of western Serbia, and hoped our following stops would become clear.
We had stopped at the Studenica monastery once before, maybe 7 years ago, but this time we decided to actually stay 2 nights at the Monastery owned ‘hotel’ across the street. The drive was pleasant and beautiful and we arrived in mid afternoon. The hotel (we learned after arriving) had been closed since 2008 until last November when it reopened after extensive remodeling. It is very tastefully done, simple and clean. The walls in the halls and restaurant are decorated with etchings of angels and saints and the lobby has a large photo of who I imagine is or was the head of the monastery. We discovered we were the only guests in a building that has probably 25-35 rooms. The very kind young man who checked us in gave us one of the newest rooms, upstairs and larger than most. The room was large and pleasant with a big window that looked out upon the steep green hillside and a basketball court. We were very curious about why the monastery built a basketball court in the middle of nowhere! But aside from a bed and a low table and a small table for a tv there was no furniture. No desk, no chairs, no bedside table. But the lack of furniture was the least of the problem. Our room was at the end of the building and there was a loud mechanical whir-hum coming from somewhere outside. I tried closing the window but could still hear the noise. I am ultra sensitive to this sort of noise and worried it would keep me awake but put it out of my mind and we walked across the street and up to the monastery.
Seeing the fortified walled compound with its large church, small chapel, tower, living quarters and other small buildings again I was reminded of why Studenica is so highly valued and regarded. It was founded in 1190 and of course has been bolstered over the years after attacks (by the Turks) a fire and (I think) and earthquake. But many of the frescoes from the 14th century have been preserved, and the architecture and sculptures are exquisite. No photography is allowed inside the main church which is too bad because I’d love to have photos. All I can say is, go visit the place if you can. Or google it and see what you find.
We bought a few things from the gift shop, then went to dinner back at the hotel. We were the only people in the restaurant although there were a couple guys on the terrace smoking and having coffee. The waitress was attentive and friendly and the food tasty and nicely presented. We asked if we could take a couple chairs to the room and the front desk guy said he would carry them up.
As we got ready for bed I became increasingly stressed by the mechanical sound. I felt trapped with no place to go to escape the noise (which didn’t bother Jim much). I even resorted to using earplugs, something I hate and never use. Sadly the earplugs blocked out the birdsong but not the mechanical noise. I only slept a few hours and was exhausted and frazzled. I woke early and went for a stroll around the monastery. I was surprised there were some visitors at that hour (a bit after 7 am). After Jim woke and we went to breakfast we spoke with the guy at the front desk and he said we could move to the other end of the building, which we gratefully did. However, our new room (much smaller and laid out like a monastic dorm room with 2 single beds) had a different kind of hum, we think from the electrical system maybe not having proper grounding. But at least I couldn’t hear the other horrible noise!
Once settled in our new room we set off to walk up the road behind the monastery to a tiny old church. The road was narrow and winding (as so many are) and passed fields, forest and expansive views of low green mountains. We saw lots of butterflies as we have on this trip. And there were few cars.
We eventually reached a very old overgrown small cemetery next to the very small overgrown church. We didn’t poke around too much because we wanted to avoid ticks and snakes. Once back down to the monastery we went back to the room, then walked down to the river behind the hotel which we were told was the cleanest river in Europe. We have heard this claim made about other rivers but this one could be true, at least up there near the source. We ate another good dinner, again the only people in the restaurant then retired to our room.
We had discovered that if we removed the plastic card that needs to be inserted into the card reader to turn power on to the room the annoying hum went away. So we decided that we would take out the card at bedtime so that hopefully I could sleep better. But there was no need! Around 8 the power went off for a half hour, then went off again for the entire night. So I did not need to listen to the hum and I did sleep better.
While I love the location and the monastery, and find the remodeled hotel aesthetically pleasing, and the staff excellent, the electrical system was really a problem for me. It’s a shame that this otherwise quiet meditative place is marred by a (presumably) poorly designed or implemented electrical system. Probably most people wouldn’t mind the noise but for me it was irritating to my nervous system. But I’m grateful we went. The monastery is one of my favorites and I would go again, but I would likely sleep elsewhere further away.
After breakfast we packed up and aimed for our next stop -Kolašin Montenegro.
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