MONTENEGRO - Croatia and Slovenia - page 615

more Eastern (you'll see more Cyrillic lettering). Country farmhouses sell smoked ham,
mountain cheese, and medovina (honey brandy). Before long, you reach a broad plain and
the hamlet of...
Njeguši
The humble-seeming village of Njeguši (NYEH-goo-shee) is actually well-known among
Montenegrins, with two very important claims to fame. This was the hometown of the
House of Petrovi ć -Njegoš, the dynasty that ruled Montenegro for much of its history
(1696-1918). The family's favorite son was Petar II Petrovi ć -Njegoš (1813-1851). Aside
from ruling the country, Petar II is remembered most fondly as a great poet and play-
wright—sort of the Montenegrin Shakespeare.
Njeguši is also famous for producing its own special type of air-dried ham, called
Njeguški pršut. Locals explain that, because this meadow overlooks the sea on one side,
and the mountains on the other, the wind changes direction 10 times each day, alternating
between dry mountain breeze and salty sea air—perfect for seasoning and drying ham
hocks. For good measure, the pršut is also smoked with beech wood. The blocky, white
buildings lining the road that look like giant Monopoly houses are actually smokehouses,
jammedwithfivelayersofhanginghamhocks—thousandsofeuros'worth—silentlyaging.
(More industry than you realize hides out in sleepy villages.) A couple of traditional res-
taurants at the heart of the village are happy to serve passing tourists a lunch of this local
specialty. For more on pršut, see the sidebar on here .
From Njeguši to Cetinje
Continuing through Njeguši toward Cetinje, you'll twist up into more mountains—soon ar-
riving in an even more rugged and inhospitable landscape than you passed on the road that
brought you here from the coast. Eyeing this desolate scenery, you can understand why the
visitingLordByronsaidofthisplace,“AmIinparadiseoronthemoon?”Alongthemoun-
tain road that drops you down into Cetinje, each rock has the phone number of a vulture-
esque road repair service (auto slep) spray-painted onto it. Low-profile plaques mark the
site of Tito-era ambush assassinations.
Keep an eye out (on the horizon to the right) for the pointy peak of the mountain
called Lov ć en, which is capped by an elaborate mausoleum, designed by the great Croatian
sculptorIvanMeštrovi ć ,anddevotedtoKingPetarIIPetrovi ć -Njegoš.Withmoretime,you
could actually drive up to the top of this mountain for sweeping views across Montenegro.
When you get into Cetinje, take a right when you hit a fork and find a place to park. To
find your way into the old center, ask “guh-DEH yeh TSEHN-tar?”