Montenegro was spectacular! We only had a few days in the country so we didn’t see much. The parts we did see were amazing! The scenery is unlike anything we’ve seen before and we thoroughly enjoyed our time.
Montenegro is a new-ish nation after gaining full independence in 2006 from Serbia. Prior to about a month ago, if someone asked me to locate Montenegro on the map I’m pretty sure I would have looked very hard at Africa. While we were planning our trip through the Balkans I happened to see a recommendation for a day trip into Montenegro from Croatia because “it is close and worth it”. After reading this advice and learning where Montenegro was located, we decided to stop for a few days in Kotor, Montenegro.
Once we left Croatia it was clear we were in an area where road rules were more suggestions than anything else. We saw stoplights but we didn’t see any in use so crossing someone’s right of way in an intersection was sometimes a rather hairy experience. Besides driving, the feel is very similar to everything else we had experienced on the Dalmatian Coast and the food was similar too. The city was built in Roman times and then it was a very important Venetian city for trade. The Venetian Republic’s emblem, the lion with wings, can be found in multiple places around the city and in the city walls. The old town itself is tiny and pretty much has no straight streets. The old town had a super-chill feeling to it and there weren’t mobs of tourists like what we saw in Dubrovnik. On our last day, four cruise ships showed up and the town still didn’t feel like it was too crowded.
There are some large walls protecting the city and they go up the mountainside behind the city. I hiked up to the top and enjoyed a great view. In Kotor, the city walls are not refurbished so there’s quite a few areas with loose rocks, big steps, or steep drop-offs. There are multiple paths to the top and there’s really only one good path with the rest being labeled “high risk” in the pamphlet they give all tourists. It doesn’t matter though, tourists can go anywhere they choose and make any adventure they deem appropriate, high risk or low risk. This is pretty common in a lot of places we’ve visited and is pretty different than the US where many things are closed off due to safety concerns. I imagine if tourists die they simply think “no matter, there will be more”.
While hiking the walls in Kotor, I managed to meet a fellow American around my age and quickly learned he had lived in South Dakota and Albert Lea. Being in Montenegro and being someone who has lived in Minnesota and South Dakota, I’m pretty this made us family.
Our time in Kotor was too short! It was a stunningly beautiful place and a place we really enjoyed. Our time there was nearly perfect and I’m not sure how it could have been any better!
Enjoy the photos!
Chris W.
