Our Winter Family Farm Stay Getaway
Of all the adventures we have had as a family in the past couple of years, this last one has to be my personal favorite. Our family ventured up into the mountains in northern Montenegro for our first winter family farm stay getaway. We invited some friends, so there were 10 of us ready for this snowy adventure. It was definitely both crazy and good.
A Wintry Family Getaway
The drive was breathtaking as we wound our way through the snow-capped mountains. Fluffy white blankets covered the rocks and tall pine trees. Large pieces of ice formed on the side of the mountains creating beautiful mosaics of icicles. This amazing winter wonderland reminded me of the fantasy winter setting of Narnia.
Just before dusk we arrived at the Vucjelic home nestled high in the village of Talanovac. The traditional style home constructed from local stone looks out over a vista comprised of mountains, trees, and valleys spreading out below. This farm stay provided the perfect setting for our family getaway. We spent the next two days enjoying life and each other all the while making unforgettable memories.
Sneža Vucjelic graciously prepared delicious organic meals and brought them to us. Simple, hearty, and full of flavor, the Montenegrin mountain diet brings health to a people that live and work hard in a rugged land. We played hard both indoors and out. Still, we were stuffed and still had lots of food left over after each meal. Using the retro wood-burning stove in the dining area, we were able to reheat meals as needed.
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Our hosts showed such kindness and hospitality wanting to take care of any needs. They were also gracious in interacting with our kiddos.
On our first evening, we played games in the main room downstairs. We enjoyed hot chocolate and tea around the table together.
It was chilly that first evening as the wood stoves replaced the cold in the concrete walls with warmth.
A Farm Stay Sledding Adventure
The next morning we woke up to a blue sky and the sun shining on the glistening snow. It was time for sledding.
The guys thought it would be a good and economical idea to use plastic sheeting to slide down on the snow. You want speed? Plastic sheeting is the answer.
The hill right next to the property was perfect for three teenagers, an eight year old, a three year old, four adults and a dog to slide down. Some flew. Some raced. Some crashed.
It was a forever memory experience.
Our day was filled with laughter (maybe even some snorting), flying through the air, dodging trees, lots of bumps, and even the loss of a shoe in barbed wire.
There was also some red lipstick in there for a bit of flair for those who are amping up their adventure levels.
So. Much. Fun.
To top off our adventure, our last day met us with what seemed to be a Montenegrin blizzard. We had to hurry to pack up and leave before getting snowed in. Driving down in quickly accumulating, billowing snow was just crazy. We plowed through a couple of snow banks. Thankfully it was a dry snow. The third snow bank came up to the windows in our car. It plowed into us. Scraping with a small folding shovel, digging with a small child sled, some male bonding, and then two hours later we were able to finish our trek down the mountain.
What an amazing, unpredictable, and unforgettable winter family farm stay getaway in Montenegro. We’ll go back–and take the plastic sheeting.
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