Retired Nomads - Part 2 : Kotor, Montenegro – Budva & Kotor & Surrounds

Kotor, Montenegro – Apr 5

It’s our second time here. The first time was warm and sunny, and we did the climb to the top (over 1,000 steps) and had lunch in Kotor and then walked all the streets and alleyways in the afternoon. This time I booked a Highlights of Montenegro tour with Miro and Sons who were very responsive and helpful. https://www.miroandsons.com/montenegro-private-tours/kotor-cetinje-budva/ First, the weather today was COLD and breezy. It even snowed at the highest point we went to.

Here is the link to the album for our last tour here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1G9p5bDF5mFej3re8

What a great day we had despite the weather, and we were joined by Cathy & Tom, Roberta & John, Bob and June. Phyllis opted out due to all the switchbacks required to get there. If we had not arrived in the dark, it would have been a beautiful sail in. (last time we watched it for over an hour out on deck) It also was a tender port this time, though it’s so narrow in the mouth of the bay that it was just a couple of minutes.

We met our guide Bruna, and we walked to where the van was waiting. They have escalators now that take you under the street instead of crossing directly like before and our van had to circle a few times due to school traffic, but eventually we got in and had hoped for warmth. It didn’t warm up, so our driver Branco got out and did something outside the vehicle that gave us heat. Yay!

So, we took off driving to a mountain village named Njegusi. It was a steady climb via 25 switchbacks with breath-taking views. We took a photo break overlooking Boka bay. Here it was snowing a bit, and some had accumulated on the ground.

our ship in the bay

snow on the ground

the winding road

The highlight of the trip for many of us was the stop in Njegusi which has a population of around 100 people. She joked we would see about twice as many houses as most have smokehouses where they hang the prosciutto that the town is known for.

It was now snowing harder when we got out of the van to visit a smokehouse right next to the restaurant kafana - Kod Pera na Bukovicu where they gave us a nice morning treat.

In the smokehouse they served us a shot of rakija, a ferociously powerful brandy. (like Italian grappa) Did I mention it was 10:00 in the morning? I come in last, and everyone is still holding their shots and trying to sip it. I said, the best way is just to throw it back and downed my shot. Wow did that warm you inside and out. Next, we went into the restaurant and were seated in a small room with an iron stove warming the room. The owners served us a plate of prosciutto and cheese and some olives and bread. Incredible tasting prosciutto. We then had a choice of a glass of red or white wine. I think we all had the red which was very tasty. (Yep, it’s still around 10:00 in the morning) As we are sitting in the toasty room full of food and drink and I said if we do nothing else today it was a perfect day. How special to have these experiences with good friends.

arrival at the restaurant - kafana Kod Pera na Bukovicu

outdoor patio for better weather

cute knothole in the tree

in the smoke house where we drank the firewater

in the restaurant

Roberta & John

Bob, Tom & the owner

owner's wife

Bob, June, Tom, Cathy

Greg (those are large glasses of wine)

prosciutto and cheese and some olives and bread

our guide demonstrating the instrument

owners truck in front of a huge stack of firewood - snow kept gently coming down

A bit drunk (I don’t drink, so it doesn’t take much) we prepared to get back in the van and drive towards our next stop in Cetinje, the Old Royal Capital of Montenegro, through the mountains. I looked out at one point and saw some huge icicles hanging from something on the side of the mountain.

There we visited King Nikola’s Palace. It was an interesting stop where medals, impressive weapons, decorated furniture, portraits of dynasty members and different gifts from all over the world that showed the popularity that Montenegro earned at the end of 19th century. Through Bruna’s talks in the van, she really helped us understand the Montenegrin spirit, culture and identity that survived the turbulent history of Balkan. She explained that she has lived in the same house, but in 6 different countries.

“From the late 14th century to the late 18th century, large parts of southern Montenegro were ruled by the Venetian Republic and incorporated into Venetian Albania. The name Montenegro was first used to refer to the country in the late 15th century. After falling under Ottoman Empire rule, Montenegro gained its semi-autonomy in 1696 under the rule of the House of Petrović-Njegoš, first as a theocracy and later as a secular principality. Montenegro's independence was recognized by the Great Powers at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. In 1910, the country became a kingdom.

After World War I, the kingdom became part of Yugoslavia. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, the republics of Serbia and Montenegro together proclaimed a federation. Following an independence referendum held in May 2006, Montenegro declared its independence in June 2006 and the confederation dissolved.” (from Wiki)

smokehouse - they say there are more smokehouses than homes, to tell them apart look for no windows

Mausoleum on Eagle Hill

Court Church

Muzej Kralja Nikole - King Nikola's Museum

(no photos inside)

We opted not to have free time here to save the time for Budva and Kotor. So, we had about a half an hour’s drive to Budva. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budva riviera, is the center of Montenegrin tourism, known for its well-preserved medieval walled city, sandy beaches and diverse nightlife. Budva is 2,500 years old, which makes it one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic coast.

We however were not here in tourist season. Too cold for the beaches and not much was open. We had some free time after our walking tour, and we probably walked all the alleyways and grabbed a slice of pizza. There were a couple of restaurants near the front gate that might have been the better choice for local food with indoor seating.

Budva from above

St Nikola's Island

walled village of Budva

our guide, Bruna

entering Budva

Church of the Holy Trinity

well, that says it all.....

quick lunch

walking back to the vehicle

We drove back to Kotor, and she did a brief walking tour of Kotor which is a larger walled city and bustling for the cruise passengers. Bruna said when she goes out with friends they always go to the walled city. Of course, those who had not been to Kotor before would have loved more time to wander here, but we had less than an hour before the last tender. We’ve been before and we would have loved more time here.

arrival to Kotor

Tom, Cathy, Annette on the right - entering Kotor

waiting for the tender back to the ship

We grabbed some pastries at a bakery and brought them back to the ship. We went upstairs for the sail out. Not sunny and the windows in the ship were so dirty you really couldn’t see much as we sailed out. Greg did stand outside and about froze to death taking some photos. Finally, out of the fiord-like mountains dotted with churches and towns and past a couple of small islands; one was trees and the other a monastery.

sailing out of the bay

jellyfish

cemetery

We grabbed dinner at the buffet which was very good. Then, to prepare for 7 ports in a row we did a load of laundry and caught the late show which was a Flamenco Show with a duo called Flamenco Express. Very impressive! Ole!

Then, I went to work on changing our tour from Sorrento to Naples for our trip to Capri. No biggie, the tour company handled it easily.

Tomorrow, we have one sea day before 7 ports in a row. Valetta, Malta; Catania, Sicily; Naples, Italy (which was Sorrento, but got a notice that the port had changed to Naples); Rome, Italy; Villefranche, France; Marseille, France and Barcelona, Spain. Phew!