Kotor, Montenegro

After the wonderful 3 days in Croatia our little crew made its way down into Montenegro. I had never seen a fjord (nor do I even know how they are defined) before, but I always imagined it would be beautiful. I was not disappointed. The bus into Kotor, which itself sits at the end of the fjord, follows said fjord for a long time. A deep water channel with steep mountains on each side that disappear up into the clouds...it was like being sent into some sort of fantasy world. A normal person shouldn't ever get to see something so cool. Our hostel was located within the walls of the old city and unfortunately our arrival coincided with some lower clouds that brought rain. A brief tramp from the bus station to the hostel gave us a chance just before the rain started to get a feel for the city. It seems that the car horn is used differently in ever place we'd been so far. Frankly it was irritating as hell in any form now but I would eventually get used to it. When we got to the hostel, I finally saw what I had been expecting a hostel to look like the whole time: a single hallway - two rooms on either side of the hallway with 4-6 beds, a bathroom on one side, a kitchen on the other - that ends with a common room with couches, main desk and a computer with internet. The girls working there were very nice and I was excited to use the computer, as the posts from Sarajevo and Dubrovnik were written there. But, about the layout or image if you will of a hostel in my mind, this place finally fit the bill. Sarajevo didn't have a common area or computer and the main desk was a city block away and Dubrovnik we were actually living with a family. Moreover, here in Kotor we met two guys (one from Pasadena and the other from New Zealand) who then shared our room.

Due to the inclement weather, we started just by wandering around the Bay of Kotor. I loved seeing the deep water and all the boats moored there. It got me wishing that I owned a boat. Since it isn't tourist season at all, we found a small restaurant on the water that was open and had a coffee machine as well. We sat down, ordered what turned out to be a crap load of meat *giant thumbs up* and then sampled some of the local beer. Speaking of which, I will be posting separately all the different beers and food we tried since I think it would get out of hand here. Anyway, something odd happened afterwards. We tipped, because that's what we do, and then stepped outside to where it was still drizzling to have a smoke. Basically you could say we were loitering. Not one minute in and our waitress comes out again and in her pretty good english asks if we'd like an espresso. We had money so we naturally said yes and thank you. We sit down outside and start petting the local kitties when out comes a fantastically pulled shot and some sort of gelatin dessert. It was quite tasty. When we tried to pay, she said no it is on the house! Thus we were first introduced to the generoisty of the area. I don't know if it's because we tipped, tipped to much, they're bored, or they really are that generous, but it was much appreciated.

Moving on, the next day was a nice morning, partly cloudy and we decided to climb up to the old fortress at the top of the hill that the old city is built at. Mind you, this isn't to the top of the fjord, but it was still pretty stinkin' high up there. It was quite the trek but the view as we continued to ascend was amazing and I can't wait to post pictures. Once we made it to the top and had explored the ruins, we discovered that this hill was separate from the real fjord mountain and so on the back side, there was a steep drop that led to small valley before proceeding vertically again. Nestled in this valley was the remnants of a small cloister or chapel (I'm not sure on the word) and the ruins of what could have been a village. We climbed down, explored and made our way back to the bay by a different path that zig zagged down behind the first hill. It began sprinkling and raining again by the afternoon and so our exploration of the Kotor was limited to the old city.

Earlier that morning, before the trek up the hill, I had inquired of our hostess if there was a bakery nearby for some breakfast. She told me of a place that had just opened, was cheap and really good. She was not lying! We walked into this hole in the wall place and our glasses instantly fogged up and our nostrils were blessed with the savory aroma of fresh bread. Our breakfast was so good, we decided to come back in the afternoon for lunch. The couple who owned the bakery were from Slovenia and they were so nice to us. The owner visits New Jersey every year to visit some family so his English was great. We talked to him for a bit while having our lunch and he up and gave us a free beverage from his cooler! If you should ever go to Montenegro, contact me and I will tell you how to get there.

Although our stint in Kotor was only two nights, we felt that we had seen what the old city had to offer. Had we stayed longer, we would have explored some of the other small towns along the fjord and perhaps hiked more up the mountains. I left with a good feeling since we were blessed with two free items from different establishments. Pictures and more specifics to follow.