Montenegro in relief

A gigantic scale model of Montenegro (below) and the Adriatic shoreline on the south coast are uncannily alike.

In Cetinje, the old royal capital of Montenegro, we found a giant relief map of Montenegro made of plaster and paint in a museum. It was unexpectedly fascinating because you saw graphically how remote and mountainous the place is. Except for a few lakes and the wonderful seacoast in the south, this is wild territory. Cetinje itself was never captured by the Turks ever -- even these famous conquerors could not manage to grab a capital set atop a mountain surrounded by other mountains.

So fittingly, it seemed, one of the first things we encountered driving into Montenegro late 7/3 for a long Fourth of July holiday was a wolf flashing across the road like a shadow.