Montenegro: Kotor

This was only the second day of our entire trip that didn’t require an early meeting so for some of us that meant a refreshing night’s sleep with no alarm clock.

We all met for a casual breakfast in the Venetian dining room before taking a 10:30 tender from the ship to the port city of Kotor, Montenegro.

This charming town is nestled at the base of steep mountains and surrounded by fortified walls, giving it a dramatic and picturesque appearance.

Montenegro, which means black mountain,  is known for its stunning landscapes, and Kotor certainly provides exactly that. It is unquestionably one of the most beautiful bays in the Adriatic, offering spectacular views and a peaceful atmosphere.

The country has a rich history, with influences from the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires.

A well-preserved medieval fortress overlooks the old city from high overhead, and provides panoramic views of the town and bay.

We didn’t have a tour scheduled here so we paid for a hop on-hop off bus for a short tour of the town. 

The area turned out to be quite small with only one road that ran across the shore line through several small towns and there were only two stops. We rode it to the end and back to the starting point which only took about an hour. 

Kotor, along with the capital city Podgorica, is one of the rainiest places in Europe. Podgorica receives around 65.4 inches of rain annually, making it the rainiest major city in Europe.

Kotor also experiences a significant amount of rainfall, contributing to its lush, green surroundings and the dramatic waterfalls in the area. Fortunately for us it was a beautifully clear and sunny day. 

Back at the port we walked over to the old city and took a short walking tour, which was part of the hop on-hop off bus ticket.

We took our time and wandered through the narrow, winding streets filled with historic stone buildings, cafes, churches, shops and cats. The whole city was teeming with cats of every size, shape and color. Consequently this was the first place we’ve been to that was absent of birds. 

Before leaving we had to sample some of the traditional pastries. One was white and had something on the top with some kind of filling and something inside it, and the other was made out of something with something on the top that had some kind of fruit or something. We tried to get the names but one was called something and the other was something else. They were both yummy. 

White having a snack, we met a couple from the Uk. He was the Anglican priest for a church in Salisbury, England which boasts of having the largest painting of the apocalypse in Europe. 

We chatted about various things and American politics came up. They told us that they are horrified of Trump getting reelected. They believe Trump would be terrible for the U.S. and for the world and feared for us all should he get reelected. They claimed that everyone they know feels the same. 

We returned to the ship and met for an early dinner at the Aqua dining room. Afterwards we attended a program called Broadway Cabaret. This show turned out to be the worst possible experience. The sound system was not set correctly and the music was too loud and head piercing. Also, there were really no recognizable songs. Their set of songs were from new or little known Broadway shows that were mostly unfamiliar to the age group of people in attendance. It was so bad we all left early.

With the great disappointment of the failed Broadway music presentation looming over us and the need to get to bed and up again early the next morning we went…

…to the buffet.