Kotor City, Montenegró
Many moons ago a couple in my cycling club went off on an adventure fulfilling
a dream to sail the world. A fantastic looking photo was shown to me, and I
asked where is this place ? Montenegró was the response. Oh, that looks
interesting I said. Little did I realise that that comment became a catalyst
to a real visit. Both Caroline and I enjoyed the visit very much.
I am standing on the city wall of the old town of Kotor which dates back a long time ago - around the 12th century. It not only dishes out the sea view, but looking the other way it also displays the city's innards, my lovely wife and then up the mountain sides which are adorned with man's constructional activities for all of his reasons over the centuries.
This entire area can and did keep a couple of tourists occupied for a few
days, and I am grateful for that chance viewing of my friend's photo and to
stand here now. It's special - so much so
UNESCO has it on their list
of areas of cultural importance. I have dozens of photos on
my Flickr album, below is an
excerpt that briefly shows our visit to the city.
Markets on the seaside. Anyone for some quality olives?
Markets on the seaside. Anyone for some quality olives?
The city wall to keep out the riff raff, or perhaps to keep them in !
Cats, cats and more cats. This for Caroline was her heaven !
Great dining and shopping in funky narrow streets.
A bit of culture here and there......
For the adventurous me, a climb up to the fortress of San Giovanni just had to be conquered. Caroline left that exercise for said person.
For the adventurous me, a climb up to the fortress of San Giovanni just had to be conquered. Caroline left that exercise for said person.
Kotor: great place to visit, plenty for the shopper, the historian, the
gastronomic and the adventurer.
The perimeter wall is worth a stroll around. It gives a good look into the
city compound and of course the watery frontage.
As we strolled around the wall we do got a good glimpse of the rigorous safety standards in Montenegro.
Though the food was good in the city centre, we preferred to head out to the 'burbs a bit ie closer to our residence. The restaurants are on the water front, a bit cheaper and you just can't beat the setting !
Montenegro, glad to have made the effort to come here. The mountains, the sea, the history, the vibe and the adventure thank you !
Luckily our during our stay we missed the cruise line visits. Apparently they
swamp the town centre.
My little side trip.
- Climbing up to San Giovanni
It was hot, luckily I had plenty of water - there are vendors on the way up
ready to spruik some business in that regard. It involves a bit of physical
effort, luckily I'm well tuned to clambering up mountains. It involves a small
fee, oh well the peoples need to make a living. If you are really skint
you could sneak in by another entry point - which I'll leave for
discovery - but it's precarious and not for the faint-hearted (I exited that
way !).
The incline is seemingly endless, though it's only in the vicinity of an
hour. Looking up can be daunting as that's what you see - up !
All the way, the views are outstanding, both looking up and looking down into
the city.
My exit point was down a steep grassed over track via a discrete gate.
Precarious in places and perhaps non too wise, but then that is how I'm wired
!
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