I had heard of Montenegro, I knew where it was geographically and I knew that the name Montenegro meant Black Mountains.... but that's about it. So, since we were so close, and it was part of our planned tour with Jakov, we went there for the day.
The border is only about a 40 minute drive from Dubrovnik
This is the final fort on Croatian soil. It sits on the very end of a peninsula that looks back to the border control hut on the mainland.
The mountainous terrain continues down the coast. It's amazing how they have any room to build anything here. Most of the land is on a vertical angle, but oddly enough they don't have grapevines with the same enthusiasm as the do in Croatia.
You can see from the map the little tiny peninsula on the left is where Dubrovnik ends and Montenegro begins. It is a really protected water way all the way into the main old town of Kotor. On our way we met up with some gypsies who tried to sell us some table cloths.
Montenegro, like Croatia and most other countries in this area were once occupied by the Ottoman Empire, the Venetian's, the Roman's, the Diocletian's and/or under communist rule. There are signs of all these rulers all over the city. There are Roman Catholic churches and Eastern Orthodox churches, there are Venetian winged dragons with the open book sculptures and communist stars like this one.
This coat of arms is the emblem of the former Yugoslavia from 1946 to 1963. This version has five torches that represented the Brotherhood and unity of the five Yugoslav nations, with sun rays emanating from the red star. The sixth torch in a later version of the emblem was added for the Bosnian Muslims.
The sign underneath says:
"What belongs to others we don't want, what is ours we will never surrender."
Kotor had just had an art festival and this was apparently one of the pieces that you could come and admire.....
What is art really?
As with most old towns there was a shaming post, where you would be tied and publicly mocked. Luckily Jenny got away with not having to pose on this one as it was already occupied with this dunce..... I wonder if this is where the 'Dunce Hat' originated?
For all you crazy cat ladies out there, Kotor has a cat museum housing all your famous cats throughout history. I would have liked to have a look in there, being an apprentice CCL myself, but our guide couldn't believe that anybody would actually pay money to see something like that, so we moved on.
Lots of live music around the old town. The poor people on the left kept being interrupted by the church bells that drowned them out.
This was the gates into the city on the mountain side which also had a massive "Great Wall of China" type wall built on the face. My eye was caught by the face of the poor winged lion carved into the gates and wondered if he was meant to have that look on his face or if it had perhaps become like that over the years due to the amount of pigeon poo he had to endure?
Gorgeous little streets with one of the only modes of transport allowed in the old city.
Old churches that had been built and torn down and rebuilt and then burned in a fire before being rebuilt again. Notice to the two different tops of the towers?
One of the jewels on the Montenegro coast is the island of St Stefan. It has been made into a 5 star resort with prices up to the ridiculous to stay there for a night. They charge you €50 per person just to go and have a look! The beach to the left is a public beach that anyone can go to..llll
But the one on the right and two extra bays around the corner belong to the resort and they charge €50 to sit on the beach... even on the sand.... with your own towel!
In fact, you're not even allowed to sit on the towel - the use of the beach equipment is mandatory!
I guess it keeps the beach looking tidy and keeps the riff raff away.
I mean, it's a nice beach and everything, but €50? One thinks not!
This is one of the other bays that charges €75......... €75!
So after our day in Montenegro, I'm glad I went and saw it, with it's spectacular mountains and beautiful sea, but I think I can tick it off my list of places that I've been to and don't have to return.
Jenny's reply to my asking her "what did you think of Montenegro?" was "Oh, I thought it was spectacular, but you'd never go back!"
So that's that!
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