Adventure to the Balkans Travelogue Pt 4.: Kotor, Montenegro
Tuesday, May 05, 2020
Day trip to Montenegro, one of the countries in ex-Yugoslavia which united the Slav people in the region. This is the Bay of Kotor, a picturesque bay in the country. There are 4.5 million Montenegro people worldwide but only 600k in actual Montenegro. The country is 13,500 sqkm while in comparison, Singapore is 700 sqkm. Montenegro became independent in 2006 after separating from Serbia and was the last to leave the Yugoslavia-bloc in 2006.
Ready for a trip to Kotor? Jump right in!
Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy!
Really digging my sweater dress on that day which I bought from UNIQLO. I had to go to a few different outlets to find the right size and design.
Breakfast was of delicious hams, cured meats, roast vegetable, cheeses and omelettes. Yum!
Not forgetting these fruits!
Soon, we were on our way to Montenegro from Dubrovnik (where the hotel is located) for a day trip to Kotor.
An interesting van parked where we alighted at Kotor.
Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia share the same language with different dialects or accents. Macedonian sounds a little "childish" while Slovenian sounds close to German.
The Island we visited in the middle of the lake is named Perast, and it is where the powerful families of Montenegro used to live. The people in the Bay of Kotor subsist on mussel fishing among other types of seafood and in the olden times, salt, which was dubbed "white gold" and worth its weight in gold.
The church on the Perast Island is named Our Lady of the Rocks and it is customary for sailors to give offerings to the church in the form of silver decorative plates in exchange for their safety at sea.
Here we see 68 paintings which took 10 years to complete, documenting the life of Lady Mary in the 15th century.
These silver plates were offerings to the Church from sailors for safe passage.
The Church was built with red, yellow and the very rare green marble.
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Weddings would be officiated at the Church, and the bride would leave her coronet behind as an offering for a happy marriage.
You can see a picture here of a silk painting of Our Lady made by a Montenegran woman whose husband was lost at sea. To pray for his safe passage, the woman spent 25 years making this painting, using a multitude of expensive materials like silk, diamonds, silver and gold string and even her own hair to complete the offering.
Montenegro has close ties to Venice, the latter who provided economic and defence benefits to the fledgeling country for 400 years in olden times.
At the Old Town's gate, a Venetian lion is holding an open book. The lion is the symbol of Venice, while the open book represents the peace and friendliness that the Venetians feels toward the Montenegrins.
At the entrance of the old town, there is a French-architecture inspired building which is the theatre of the city, reflecting the French influence on the city of Kotor. There is the longest balcony in Montenegro at the start of the old town as rumour had it that the mayor's wife would stand on the balcony listening to the town's gossip of the day.
A break for lunchtime!
Delicious seafood spaghetti and risotto.
Again with the quaint flooring of the city of Kotor.
We had some free time where we explored the walls of the city, leading to the Wall of Kotor. The city of Kotor has the third-longest wall in the world at 4.7km.
Here, you see the Wall of Kotor which looks very much like Asia's own Great Wall in Beijing.
Reaching the end of the city wall and the start of the Wall of Kotor. What a sweltering 20 minutes in the 30-degree weather! For some reason, this part of the trip had pretty hot weather.
The clock house of the city of Kotor.
Cute kitties along the way.
Back in the hotel for some pictures! We finally come to Dubrovnik on the next day after a splendid time in Kotor, Montenegro, so stay tuned!
Dubrovnik Croatia Kotor Montenegro Travel Itinerary EU Travels Singapore Review Seafood Pasta Seafood Risotto Our Lady of the Rocks Perast Island Review Wall of Kotor Europe Balkans Travelogue Vibes Wanderlust Balkans Singapore Travel Diary
Dubrovnik Croatia Kotor Montenegro Travel Itinerary EU Travels Singapore Review Seafood Pasta Seafood Risotto Our Lady of the Rocks Perast Island Review Wall of Kotor Europe Balkans Travelogue Vibes Wanderlust Balkans Singapore Travel Diary
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