After Croatia, we sailed to the port of Kotor in Montenegro. Montenegro is a mountainous country with two main sources of revenue, both based on tourism. The first is skiing in the northern parts and the second is cruising in the southern part, along with hiking and other outdoor activities. The natives of Montenegro are among the world's tallest people, on average, apparently.
One interesting tidbit had to do with their memories of Yugoslavia. In Croatia, people seem generally happy with the current capitalist economy. In Yugoslavia, apparently the government handed out apartments to people in the right jobs. So many of the educated had their own apartments. Real estate is expensive in these places because the area is hilly and there is limited land for building. Those who had apartments are reasonably wealthy as a result. Others, who did not, are finding themselves locked out of the real estate market. Our guide in Croatia told us this matter-of-factly and said, in general, that Croatians are happier now. The Yugoslav government did not invest a lot in Croatia, I believe.
On the other hand, in Montenegro, our guide told us the same thing with respect to the real estate. But she was wistful for the old days and said that most Montenegro citizens preferred the Yugoslavian state. Now, of course, both of these are single data points but I thought the difference in perspective was interesting.
Anyway, Kotor was interesting to me because it was the first time we had to be ferried via lifeboat to the shore. The port is small, there were multiple cruise ships, and therefore we had no berth to dock. I love watching the minutiae of the ship operations. I always watched the undocking and docking if I could. This time we had a lifeboat just under our balcony and so I had a nice view of how they were lowered and then raised, before we left. The one under my balcony was the first one out and the last one in so I had ample time to hang out over the railing and watch.
Kotor is a tiny place, relatively speaking. This was our first view of the town. It is an old walled town. We had chosen to take a trip up into the mountains via a scenic Serpentine drive with 25 switchbacks and then a visit to the house of the only king of Montenegro. We planned to explore the town on our own when we got back.
As we climbed higher and higher into the mountains, the views got better and better. This is the bay of Kotor from various heights. These were all taken from a bus so there are some reflections.
After the drive, we had lunch at a little inn in a village. We were now higher up in the mountains and it was definitely a little on the cool side.
Roses at the inn.
We passed the house where he was born.
The royal palace is really a large house with many adjacent buildings - churches, tombs, etc. The interesting thing about it is that it is completely untouched since the kingdom ended peacefully after World War I. The king had many daughters and they were all married in to various royal families in Europe so he was well connected. The furnishings are really beautiful and the house is well preserved but photographs were not allowed.
I did take a photo of this dog who was having a lovely lazy day in the sun.
After the palace, we drove back to Kotor via a more modern highway. We still got some lovely views.
Here's an example of a switchback.
And a 'Where's Waldo' type of photo. Can you spot the fortress?
More carving on the gate.
The clock tower. Kotor is known for its cats and I saw a lot of them in town. But none of them would pose for their portraits.
It is a pretty little quaint town. This building below is now a posh hotel, apparently. But it used to be a residence of the royal family. They were a Grand Duchy before they were a Kingdom.
Lovely architecture.
There are a number of churches in town.
With icons and beautiful chandeliers.
After wandering through the town, we headed back to the ship.
From the lifeboat, closer in above and then as we got further away.
The rest of our trip was in Greece. We went to Corfu, then to Olympia before disembarking in Piraeus and spending 4 days in Athens on our own. I may have to split some of those days into multiple posts as there is so much to see in Greece.
One interesting tidbit had to do with their memories of Yugoslavia. In Croatia, people seem generally happy with the current capitalist economy. In Yugoslavia, apparently the government handed out apartments to people in the right jobs. So many of the educated had their own apartments. Real estate is expensive in these places because the area is hilly and there is limited land for building. Those who had apartments are reasonably wealthy as a result. Others, who did not, are finding themselves locked out of the real estate market. Our guide in Croatia told us this matter-of-factly and said, in general, that Croatians are happier now. The Yugoslav government did not invest a lot in Croatia, I believe.
On the other hand, in Montenegro, our guide told us the same thing with respect to the real estate. But she was wistful for the old days and said that most Montenegro citizens preferred the Yugoslavian state. Now, of course, both of these are single data points but I thought the difference in perspective was interesting.
Anyway, Kotor was interesting to me because it was the first time we had to be ferried via lifeboat to the shore. The port is small, there were multiple cruise ships, and therefore we had no berth to dock. I love watching the minutiae of the ship operations. I always watched the undocking and docking if I could. This time we had a lifeboat just under our balcony and so I had a nice view of how they were lowered and then raised, before we left. The one under my balcony was the first one out and the last one in so I had ample time to hang out over the railing and watch.
Kotor is a tiny place, relatively speaking. This was our first view of the town. It is an old walled town. We had chosen to take a trip up into the mountains via a scenic Serpentine drive with 25 switchbacks and then a visit to the house of the only king of Montenegro. We planned to explore the town on our own when we got back.
As we climbed higher and higher into the mountains, the views got better and better. This is the bay of Kotor from various heights. These were all taken from a bus so there are some reflections.
After the drive, we had lunch at a little inn in a village. We were now higher up in the mountains and it was definitely a little on the cool side.
Roses at the inn.
We passed the house where he was born.
The royal palace is really a large house with many adjacent buildings - churches, tombs, etc. The interesting thing about it is that it is completely untouched since the kingdom ended peacefully after World War I. The king had many daughters and they were all married in to various royal families in Europe so he was well connected. The furnishings are really beautiful and the house is well preserved but photographs were not allowed.
I did take a photo of this dog who was having a lovely lazy day in the sun.
After the palace, we drove back to Kotor via a more modern highway. We still got some lovely views.
Here's an example of a switchback.
And a 'Where's Waldo' type of photo. Can you spot the fortress?
Once we got back, we didn't go to the ship. We headed into town. This is the entrance to the walled town. There is a lovely carving on the wall.
More carving on the gate.
The clock tower. Kotor is known for its cats and I saw a lot of them in town. But none of them would pose for their portraits.
It is a pretty little quaint town. This building below is now a posh hotel, apparently. But it used to be a residence of the royal family. They were a Grand Duchy before they were a Kingdom.
Lovely architecture.
There are a number of churches in town.
With icons and beautiful chandeliers.
After wandering through the town, we headed back to the ship.
From the lifeboat, closer in above and then as we got further away.
Finally, I ran out during dinner to catch this beauty of a sunset.
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