KOTOR, MONTENEGRO

2016-01-07, 22:45, THORIN

STAY: OLD TOWN HOSTEL

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We arrived in Kotor, Montenegro in the afternoon of April 9th, 2014 on a bus from Dubrovnik. The bus journey was absolutely stunning, down the Montenegrin coast from the border to Herceg Novi, then wrapped around the Bay of Kotor. Montenegro is a small country residual of the Yugoslav breakup, separating from neighbouring Serbia in 2006. In fact, the two countries separated by the world cup, so when (as it was known) Serbia & Montenegro competed it was no longer a country! 

Montenegro is one of the most stunning countries I have ever travelled through, with great looming cliffs towering over the Bay of Kotor. The Montenegrin name for the country is 'Crna Gora' which translates to black mountain (which is the Italian translation of its name in English), the landscape is absolutely breathtaking. Even to just drive through on a coach was awe-inspiring.

We walked into the old town which is essentially an un-bombed version of Dubrovnik, but a fifth of the size, and dropped into our hostel. The hostel was built into the side of the city walls, and had a nice vibe to it. We chatted to the hostel owner and he suggested to eat a butcher's just outside the city walls. We made our way over and had one of the best burger's of our lives, with a bunch of different sides he had prepared to try, all for €2.5 each! 

After eating, we decided to climb up to the top of the city walls, perched onto the hill rising behind the city. We immediately regretted wearing trousers as it was incredibly demanding, but as we went up the views of the city were stunning. The city walls are not maintained, and parts were falling apart - at the top huge steel beams were a blinding hazard as well as some concrete flooring that someone had filled in at some point that was crumbling. Marks of decades of vandalism and use made for an incredible experience through essentially a time capsule of discontent in Montenegro. All of the vandalism and repair-to-disrepair through the years, all on top of these city walls 300+ years old gave for an unparalleled atmosphere - really cool stuff. Also, half way up the top there is a path through the walls to a huge valley on the other side, with remains of a ruined church and someone's house. Apparently he guy who lives in the house often invites hikers over for some local cheese an rakija, but we were not so lucky. Anyway, the city walls were a definite highlight of the trip, and as Kotor increasingly becomes a commercial and cruise destination, the atmosphere and disrepair is bound to change. 

Mountaineering

We walked around the city after going through the walls, which proved to be equally stunning. Quasi-repaired walls over dis-repaired structures gave the old town a remarkably old feeling. We had some dinner in the town and then went out for some drinks with the hostel owner and a few other guests. Then it was up early the next morning to cross the border into Albania, which is all documented in our section on Berat!