Bit of an early start this morning as we headed out in the morning traffic to get on the road out of town, heading to Montenegro or Crna Gorna or Black Mountain - take your pick.
On route though, a quick visit to Shkoder, an Albanian town with a fortress which was never penetrated. Location Location Location: oh and water within the walls of the fortress called Castle of Rozafa - all key to a good standoff. This fortress has a lake on one side (the largest lake in the Balkans), a river on the other side, and fairy tale ramparts. To celebrate the walk up the steep road to the fortress, we had a glass of honey rakia.
Shkoder itself seemed like a nice town - so many people on bikes, people strolling (always young women together and young men together - only walking in couples if there was a wedding ring. Just an observation and it may have been a coincidence. But a gentle calm atmosphere.
Further down the road the passport check from Albania to Montenegro - took a while - enough time for Joe to dry off some of his laundry. Gotta do what you gotta do.
And then back in Kotor, the walled city in Montenegro - I was here a year ago (remember, I lost my bag in . the storage hold on the bus when a tourist took my bag by mistake). This is a gorgeous walled city dating back to the 168 BC in the Roman times - don't panic History in a Nutshell will just say that the Romans were here, the Illyrians, the Venetians about 800 (hence the gorgeous architecture) the Austrian Hungarian Umpire, the Italians....
Although not in the European Union, the euro is the currency used. The main gate to the walls states "what belongs to others we don't want, what belongs to us, we don't give". Tito.
I realise that I've missed being by the Adriatic, missed the Croatian Language. I feel at home again.
So, first for a cocktail, and then a guided walk around the city, which means looking at all of the churches in the city walls of which there are a few. Mainly catholic, and the cathedral very nicely has two steeples, one for the Orthodox Christians and one for the Catholics. Sharing is caring and this city boasts religious tolerance. There are about 1000 permanent residents in the city and I'm picking they just every so often wish the tourist season was finished. The walls to the city stretch about three ks up the mountain behind the city - and the front of the city faces directly out to a gloriously deep and majestic fjords (as only fjords can be). It seems as though the rest of the world has found this gem now and naturally the cruise ships have followed (tourist destination with a deep water anchorage, makes sense): = crowded streets, although you can still find a quiet corner.
So here are a few photos of the various churches and some of the baroque architecture -the walk around the city was just as the sun was setting and the colours were lovely.
I'm sitting in my room, slightly bigger than a nun's room in a convent, with the gentle murmur of people sitting in a bar below my window. It's lovely. Tomorrow I will hike to the top of the fortress walls - just for you dear reader, to provide some photos!
On route though, a quick visit to Shkoder, an Albanian town with a fortress which was never penetrated. Location Location Location: oh and water within the walls of the fortress called Castle of Rozafa - all key to a good standoff. This fortress has a lake on one side (the largest lake in the Balkans), a river on the other side, and fairy tale ramparts. To celebrate the walk up the steep road to the fortress, we had a glass of honey rakia.
Shkoder itself seemed like a nice town - so many people on bikes, people strolling (always young women together and young men together - only walking in couples if there was a wedding ring. Just an observation and it may have been a coincidence. But a gentle calm atmosphere.
Further down the road the passport check from Albania to Montenegro - took a while - enough time for Joe to dry off some of his laundry. Gotta do what you gotta do.
And then back in Kotor, the walled city in Montenegro - I was here a year ago (remember, I lost my bag in . the storage hold on the bus when a tourist took my bag by mistake). This is a gorgeous walled city dating back to the 168 BC in the Roman times - don't panic History in a Nutshell will just say that the Romans were here, the Illyrians, the Venetians about 800 (hence the gorgeous architecture) the Austrian Hungarian Umpire, the Italians....
Although not in the European Union, the euro is the currency used. The main gate to the walls states "what belongs to others we don't want, what belongs to us, we don't give". Tito.
I realise that I've missed being by the Adriatic, missed the Croatian Language. I feel at home again.
So, first for a cocktail, and then a guided walk around the city, which means looking at all of the churches in the city walls of which there are a few. Mainly catholic, and the cathedral very nicely has two steeples, one for the Orthodox Christians and one for the Catholics. Sharing is caring and this city boasts religious tolerance. There are about 1000 permanent residents in the city and I'm picking they just every so often wish the tourist season was finished. The walls to the city stretch about three ks up the mountain behind the city - and the front of the city faces directly out to a gloriously deep and majestic fjords (as only fjords can be). It seems as though the rest of the world has found this gem now and naturally the cruise ships have followed (tourist destination with a deep water anchorage, makes sense): = crowded streets, although you can still find a quiet corner.
So here are a few photos of the various churches and some of the baroque architecture -the walk around the city was just as the sun was setting and the colours were lovely.
I'm sitting in my room, slightly bigger than a nun's room in a convent, with the gentle murmur of people sitting in a bar below my window. It's lovely. Tomorrow I will hike to the top of the fortress walls - just for you dear reader, to provide some photos!
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