KOTOR, MONTENEGRO (Week 7)

QUICK LOOK:

Location: Old Town (Stari Grad)

Main Attractions: Old Town city walls, St. John's Fortress, Kotor Beach

Transportation: Bus, Walking

Holidays: Ides of March, St. Patrick's Day

KOTOR - With stunning views of the Bay of Kotor, Venetian architecture preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and history in every stone of the city wall, I can absolutely see why Kotor has become one of Montenegro's most-visited destinations over the past few decades. After a short bus ride from Budva, we only had to walk five minutes before entering Kotor's Old Town city walls through the city's original South Gate (Gurdic Gate). This gate is one of three gates (the other two are River Gate and Sea Gate) in which to enter Old Town. It is the narrowest and was of strategic significance during the Middle Ages. Known for their Venetian architecture, the city walls served as a fortification system to protect it from invasions by sea and land.

Side note: our short travel day pleasantly surprised us. The Budva bus station is small, but it has a mini zoo and a nice, casual restaurant with a free indoor play area for kids starting at noon. We enjoyed a nice lunch and played in the indoor play area before heading to our bus. We planned to pay the 50 cents each to use the restroom ("wash closet"), but we only had 80 cents (I know we could have been better prepared, but it happens) and, as you might already know, small stations tend not to take credit cards. The lady at the booth was very sweet. With little verbal communication due to a language barrier, we paid for Noe to go use the bathroom by herself. When the lady saw her going in by herself, she waved for me to pay for Vienna to go, but I showed that we only had 30 cents left and tried to gesture that Noe was okay by herself and that Vienna was okay to wait. The lady took the money and waved us off to all go in. I still waited by the door because we hadn't paid for me to go in, but she kept smiling and waved for me to go in, too. After we were all set, we thanked her and she sent us off blowing kisses.

Our bus arrived just minutes later. It was more like a large van with bus-like features, so I am thankful we used the restroom. We paid 2€ for our small handheld bag and backpack and headed in. To our surprise, the bus was full. The bus driver motioned for the girls to share a seat in the very back next to two young ladies kindly trying to make space. Then, the bus driver motioned for me to go to one of last seats, which was toward the middle of the bus. The girls looked a little nervous, but they seemed okay with my being so far. Thankfully, a kind man asked if I wanted to switch seats and I got to sit just one seat in front of them. When Brad hopped on board after helping with the bags, he had to sit in a seat at the front that required him to get up every time someone needed to exit. I think it was an emergency seat. Either way, this travel day reminded me of the good that is still in this world and how much we rely on the kindness of strangers.

"Kindness is a language

that the deaf can hear and the blind can see."

-Mark Twain

After getting lost in what seemed like a maze of stone walls and monuments, we finally found our apartment situated on the second floor of the historical Clock Tower of Kotor. It didn't take long before we ventured out to explore Kotor and discover its much talked about beauty. We threw rocks on Kotor's pebble beach and the girls found the city's largest playground (of course). Over the next few days, we climbed Old Town's city walls, walked along the Bay of Kotor, admired the iconic red roofs and green shutters, and attempted to climb the 1,350 steps to St. John's Fortress.

About the famous fortress hike, it is an upward climb of about 1,350 steps. Although an intense hike, we were planning to do it with the girls willing stopping as many times as we needed to or even turn around if it was too much. However, our plans were put to an end when we discovered that all three entrances (two official, one unofficial) were either blocked by a turn about with an entrance fee of 15€ (apparently, it was just 8€ a year prior) or a fence with a closure sign stating its danger. Honestly, people could hop the turn about, but one official entrance said there is a 1000€ penalty fee if you are found to have not paid and the other had a person guarding it (which we heard is sometimes a non-worker trying to scam visitors and reap the financial benefits). So, sadly, we didn't make the attempt as we had hoped.

Although we didn't make the steep climb, we still enjoyed the stunning views from atop the city walls, played with the many cats of Montenegro, roamed through the many cobblestone alleyways, strolled along the pebble beach, and simply enjoyed the serenity of the city during the winter season.

Doviđenja!