Tag: kotor

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Montenegro

June 24, 2019

Lord Byron once said of Montenegro, “When the Pearls of nature were sworn, an abundance of them were strewn all over this area”, and I couldn’t agree more.

Kotor is an idyllic place to while away a few hours, I hiked up above the town for a different perspective. Kotor was one of the most important trading centers in this area of the Adriatic Coast and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Not too long ago Montenegro gained its independence, in 2006.

Great picture of Kotor town from above (not mine). Gives you a great perspective of the layout of the town at the end of the long Bay of Kotor.

Ready to start climbing up

The cats of Kotor are famous

The heat is tough, I started around 8am thankfully! The humidity is starting now so I took a break to take in the view. I could just sit here for an hour looking at the Bay. For cruise ships, it takes about an hour to make the nice slow cruise in the bay from the Adriatic to Kotor town.

Church of Our Lady of Remedy was my destination. It’s so tiny and beautiful with killer views of the Bay of Kotor and the town.

The steep, imposing cliffs that plummet to this narrow inlet of the Adriatic Sea form a stunning backdrop to Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor. It is often called Europe’s southernmost fjord but it isn’t a fjord at all because it wasn’t carved by glaciers. This sparkling bay was created by rising sea levels in an ancient river valley and is absolutely breathtaking!

There’s the church I hiked up to

Silversea cruise ship was in town

More of the seafront promenade right outside of the old town.

More like pictures of the atmospheric old town, every where you turn it is more beautiful than the last.

I took a lovely side trip to Perast today for lunch. Perast, called the “Pearl of Venetian Baroque”, looks like a piece of Venice that floated across the Adriatic and ended up here in the Bay of Kotor! There are many Baroque stone villas from the Venetian period (1420-1797) and set them on this beautiful bay and this is Perast. You can almost feel the history of the glory days when it was rich and powerful before Venice fell to Napoleon.

It is all set along the bay so perfect views and great for a walk.

There is only one Main Street but 16 churches and 17 formerly grand palazzi-still gorgeous! Some are more like ruins with bougainvillea growing all over and some are being renovated like so many recently as the town is becoming more popular.

St. Nicholas Church sits right in the center of town on a perfect square lined with date palms.

My yacht is coming to pick me up! Hahaha, I watched this behemoth slowly cruise into the bay as I ate lunch. I was wondering what it was like onboard, who was onboard, what they were doing-I wanted to join them! I couldn’t see the name, usually I’ll look it up to get more information-oh well.

Here was another huge ship that cruised last me as I enjoyed my lunch. Speaking of lunch…

Hotel Conte was my choice for lunch, Conte means count in Italian and reflects the glory days of the hotel and town. The white table cloths, top notch service and location right at waters edge were exactly what I needed.

Tartar od plavog i crvenog gambora or из голубых и красных креветок depending on which alphabet you use means Blue & Red Shrimp Tartare. Today there were only blue shrimp, which are more local and caught closer to Perast so I was just as happy. I paired it with a crisp local rosé and I could stay here all day.

Opposite Perast, across the water, are the popular tiny islands of Our Lady of the Rocks and St George, each with a church.

This is from Fodor’s, couldn’t explain it better!

“St. George’s is a natural island but its sibling, Our Lady of the Rock, is man-made. Folklore has it that in 1452, local sailors found an icon depicting the Virgin and Child cast upon a rock jutting up from the water. Taking this as a sign from God, they began placing stones on and around the rock, slowly building an island over it. By 1630 they had erected a church upon the new island. The original icon, which has been attributed to the 15th-century local artist Lovro Dobričević, is displayed on the altar. Over the centuries, locals have paid their respects to it by donating silver votive offerings, some 2,500 of which are now on display.“

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Russia to Montenegro

June 23, 2019

It was a quick transit in the airport and I was onboard the next flight. We took a 737 to Tivat Airport near Kotor, Montenegro.

Flight was about 3 and a half hours and I slept most of it, after I had lunch-third time having fish but it seemed to be the better choice!

Arrival into Tivat was quick and easy except for the fact that my luggage wasn’t there.

I spent about 45 minutes in the lost and found department then the Aeroflot desk and back-and-forth with no answer, call tomorrow. So I left disappointed and hopeful that I get my luggage. Thankfully I always take a bathing suit, a dress and a few things to hold me over for a day.

So where is Montenegro?

Very excited to see Montenegro, it’s been on my list for quite a few years. Montenegro is one of Europe’s youngest nations, it only gained its independence in 2006 and has become very popular. Just south of Croatia and a bit exotic, Montenegro isn’t as flashy as Croatia’s famous Dalmatian Coast and noticeable less affluent. But it does have dramatic scenery with rugged mountains and a sun drenched coast line that has seen it’s share of rulers from different empires-Venetian, Austrian and Russian to Bulgarian and even Napoleon. While I am seeing the beautiful and history villages of Montenegro, there are many the still have the drab and gritty Yugoslav era look.

My hotel is an old stone building that is about 600 years old and was once the home of nobility. The current owners keep it beautiful and full of antiques of the period.

I love my room, it’s so atmospheric and it’s right in the middle of the old town. The old town is surrounded by walls and is pedestrian only.

The great wall of Kotor is nearly 3 miles long and sits on extremely inaccessible terrain, it was built between the 9th and 19th centuries. Thickness varies from 6 to 50 feet and tallest parts are 65 feet high.

Old town‘s maze like street plan is confusing, but it’s so small and atmospheric that getting lost is fun! Cafes and bars spill out into the squares and tangled alleys, pretty little shops in between. As the streets get narrower, the shops get more interesting.

Kotor has a rich history as a heavily fortified commercial port since Medieval times. It was one of the most important trading centers in this area of the Adriatic Coast. Sometimes called a “little Dubrovnik” but is more low key, less historic, and much smaller than its neighbor.

Wandering around in the evening was so beautiful, the city looks so different in the golden light. I sat in a beautiful square and listened to live jazz music and had the most delicious dinner-Gnocchi with truffles and shrimp!