Montenegro Adventure

Dubrovnik is at the far south of Croatia, less than an hour's drive from Montenegro. Being that close, we couldn't pass up the chance to add another stamp in our passport so we drove down for a half-day adventure to the town of Kotor.  Kotor is located on the Bay of Kotor, inside the mountains from Adriatic Sea.  It is apparently a popular cruise ship port of call as we saw three different cruise ships docked during our visit.

It was an easy drive from Dubrovnik, and because both countries are not in the Schengen zone of the European Union, we had to stop at the border to show our passports and be admitted into the country.  Once in Montenegro, we were quickly next to the water and drove around the Bay until we reached the town of Kotor about 2 hours after we left.

The Town and Bay of Kotor

Main Square and Clock Tower

The Old Town in Kotor still has its defensive walls surrounding the town and extending up into the adjoining mountain until it reaches the St. John Fortress at the top. We hiked halfway up to the Church of our Lady of Health. This church was built in the 1500s.  The views of Kotor and the bay are excellent from this vantage point.  Because it's tucked into the mountains, it reminds us of the fjords we've visited in New Zealand and Scandinavia.

Cathedral of St. Tryphon

The Old Town is very well preserved with the stone lanes and narrow alleys.  One of the best preserved structures is the Romanesque Cathedral of St. Tryphon which was first built in 1166.  It's most recent extensive preservation efforts were in 2016.  One of the interesting features is that instead of a side chapel as you find in many cathedrals, St. Tryphon has a small chapel on the 2nd level.  I was able to visit the second level and onto the balcony between the two towers overlooking the square.

Compared to Croatia, Montenegro is not as wealthy a nation and we could see that on our drive to Kotor as we passed a number of abandoned and dilapidated buildings.  Grittier might be a good term to use.  Kotor seems to be in better shape, probably in no small part to the number of tourists like us.  Definitely a place worth visiting.