It’s a beautiful day in Kotor, Montenegro.
We have been here before at the end of the season and it has been cloudy and cool – and I believe, one time, we were caught in a deluge. Not today.
There are more ships here today than there are piers and the Queen Victoria – even though she is royalty – did not get an docking assignment. We will be tendering into the city – it is a very scenic ride through the bay so it is actually a bonus.
From the ship, we are afforded great views of Kotor Bay and the surrounding mountains (the Orjen and Lovćen ranges) and towns. The bay is 28 km long and was once thought to be a fjord – in fact, it is a drowned river valley or ria. We can even see the ships that are docked.
Views from the Ship
The tenders started running pretty early and, since we are not on tour today, we went down to the Queen’s room to pick up our ticket. By the time we got down there, most of the excursions had departed and our wait for a tender was short.
Tenders Running
It is a very scenic tender ride into the city but from my seat, I am unable to get any pictures – maybe, I’ll have better luck on the way back.
Tender Pier – Kotor
I believe this is the first time that we have been here and not on tour, so instead of going right into the old city, we instead headed left off the pier to check out some of the city surrounding the walls. We found some shops and restaurants along with a hotel.
We also came across a very nice fountain in what was a park area.
Near the fountain in a grassy area, we discovered a small monument. This monument was dedicated to Jan Karski.
Jan Karski, who died in 2000, was a Polish World War II resistance movement fighter. In 1942 and 1943, he reported to the Polish government in exile and the Western Allies on the situation in German-occupied Poland. He shared information on the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto as well as the Nazi extermination camps.
As we walked, we got great views of the old city walls as well as the harbor.
We have been here before on the Azamara Journey. The Journey was docked here today.
Azamara Journey
Fred Olsen Cruise Ship
Entrance to the Old City
Just before we got to the gate to enter the Old City, we spotted a health spa – we spoke to the owner, who told us she was all booked up for today (lots of ships) but she did quote some very low prices, so we will look her up next time we are in Kotor.
Kotor is a remarkably preserved walled city as evidenced by the photos below. The steepness of the peaks behind the city are incredible as well.
Kotor and Environs
The old city is also quite spectacular with its narrow streets (no cars), several restaurants, and souvenir shops. We explored the city for a while.
One of the sights we have seen several times before was St. Tryphon Cathedral.
This Roman Catholic cathedral was consecrated on June 19, 1166. The cathedral was seriously damaged and rebuilt after the earthquake of 1667. During the rebuilding process, some parts of the towers were not perfectly duplicated resulting in today’s appearance.
After walking through a good portion of the old city, we explored the city to the right of the old city. This area was not as quaint as the other parts of Kotor and some shops were shuttered. After a few blocks, we headed back to the tender pier to catch our ride home. This time, I got a very good seat and was able to get several shots of Queen Victoria in Kotor Bay.
Once back on the ship, we had lunch and headed for the warm open deck.
Relaxing on the Open Deck
After a very nice dinner in the Britannia Restaurant, we attended the show. Tonight’s headliner was the British group, Fly Right (from the Nat King Cole song). They were energetic and entertaining and the audience really liked them. What I liked was the choreography and synchronized dancing.
A great day in Kotor.
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