Montenegro

Montenegro was one of a few countries in the pool of "those Eastern European countries we'll drive through" and to be embarassingly honest, I had never really given it much thought as a country (aka I didn't even know it was one).  But it turned out to be one of our favorite, fun and most interesting stops.  There is only so much you can learn about a part of the world from web searching, or photos, or books... but we got to stay with 3 of the best hosts (thank you airbnb) we've ever met and they quickly became our friends.  They invited us along on a trip to the beach within minutes of arriving.  We learned about modern life in former Yugoslavia, summertime in Eastern Europe, and that "the sea is for everyone!!"  It is really HOT there in August and they'll be damned if anyone is going to keep us from taking a dip.