Kotor

From Dubrovnik, Croatia we drove to our next stop, Kotor, Montenegro on 16th of October. Actually not a long drive – only 150 km but slow going for a great part. The coasts of Croatia and Montenegro are beautiful due to the glacial activity during the last ice age. There are bays, inlets and harbors one after the other. Kotor is at the end of one of those inlets and large cruise ships dock at the jetty – deep water! The entire area is mountainous and very rugged. There is little land that is useless for anything other than scenery.

Kotor wasn’t as crowded as Dubrovnik – not as “touristy” either though that seems to be about the only income generator around. Hard to farm when there is nothing but hillside and rocks to do it on.

There was a nice little shopping center where we had dinner and stocked up for the next day. We now knew where we had to go the next morning and that it was best to leave the car at the apartment and walk back to the old city.

A few words often seen here are stari, most and grad - we determined the meanings as old, bridge and town.

The next morning we started up the steps to the old Kotor Fortress (also called St John’s Fortress)  – steep going but some rather heavy old folks were even making it up the hill! It was about a 220 meter climb The sights are fantastic in all directions. Part way up there is an old church where someone was selling refreshments and had many customers.

At the top we had a fantastic view in all directions. There were more old ruins in a valley between the fortress and the hill side which continued on up another 300 meters. Those were not easy to get to and I believe it was discouraged.

After returning to the old city we found a nice eatery and enjoyed lunch. 

In the afternoon we visited Dukley European Art Center, a big building hosting international artists from around the world. For some period of time the artists live and work in that building and also exhibit their works there. An interesting and impressive collection of contemporary art.