A Walk in Budva and Kotor

 

A Walk in Budva and Kotor

Our next port of call was in Kotor, Montenegro.  We also took a side trip to see a bit of another old walled city, Budva.  Both had that wonderful sense of history that we’ve come to expect on this trip.

Before we could start any excursion, we needed to get to port, and it was a rather long entry to the port of Kotor.  Some say Kotor is located in a fjord in Europe, but it is rally a ria, a submerged river canyon. We had a bit of a sail into the Bay of Kotor in the Adriatic Sea.  Yes, the water was truly that blue on this morning, and the church on the hill hinted at what was to come.

As we continued on our journey to the port, we saw what looked to be a restaurant hugging the shoreline – what a view for lunch or dinner!!  The two small islands we passed both had different churches on them.

Isn’t this a lovely view of what I believe is “new” Kotor, the more modern city?  The city has a population of between 13,000 and 14,000 people who all call this picturesque city home.

As we approached the port, we saw many sail boats harbored near shore.  It apparently was too early in the day for them to be out sailing, but their masts reflected in the water nicely.

Once we disembarked, we boarded a tour bus that took us to another coastal town, Budva, so we could tour that old walled city first.  This city had the most obvious wall around it that we saw (and that was easy to photograph).  You can see the entry to the old walled city on the far left of the center image and the image on the left is a better view of the actual entry.  The image on the right is the view of a church steeple from one of the side streets.

There were at least a few churches in the old city, and this is a view of both of them.  One was directly in front of the other, which is why I captured an image of the back of it (image on the left).

The final view from Budva was of the sea off the side of the city.  The image on the right is of the old guard tower that was right on the edge of the shore.

As we drove back to Kotor, we passed some of the old fortifications up in the hills just outside Kotor.  These fortifications were built during the Venetian period, and serve as a reminder that life back then was an often a fight for survival.  On the left is a photo of a church that was up in the area of the fortifications.

Here we are at the entry point of the old walled city of Kotor.  Jeff is leaning against a part of the old entry -he does love to lean against walls that have quite the sense of history to them!  The old clock tower (built in 1602) shows it to be just after noon.  Just about time for lunch!

Once again, this old walled city had some charming side streets.  They just ask you to stroll down each one of them, and we did from time to time!

Here are two more churches in town.  The one on the left is my favorite of them.  It’s St. Luke’s Church, built in 1195.  I love the character of it!  The church shown on the right is Typhons Cathedral, built in 1166.  Did you notice the pattern on the street in front of both churches?  The brick is laid in a checkered pattern.

There are lovely buildings throughout Kotor.  The building on the right is now a charming shop – I love the red awnings!  On the left is the Maritime Museum, and in the center is the Pima Palace, built in the 17^th century.  Walking around this town is the most interesting history lesson I think I’ve ever received!

And, yes, we did stop for a bite to eat and sample Montenegrin wine!!  This time, Jeff chose the white and I the red, but we did sample each other’s wine and both were tasty!  We still got to do some sightseeing while eating.  In addition to people watching, I caught this picture perfect image of an old world balcony!

And, as we left port, it was late enough in the day, for all those sailboats to be out enjoying the day!  Next stop begins our explorations of a few places in Greece!

Enjoy!