Climbing the mountains behind Kotor

 After waiting small eternities for the skies to clear so we could climb the fortifications behind teh ancient city of Kotor, we found a few hour window to make the climb amidst cloudy skies and a tough beginning to the day.  While I did my morning routine just fine, Kristin was really dragging.  She managed to spill Cheerios all over our sink and accidentally put her pants on backwards.  I remember thinking, "yup, that's my climbing partner."

Of course, it was more of a pace up a few thousand steps than a true climb.  The weather was less than ideal, but the views were dizzying.

Kotor at Night

 The Kotor waterfront with the black mountains behind it - the black walls mark the sea gate wall

Dining at Galion in Montenegro

Galion is the best restaurant in Kotor, so we had to eat there.  The main dining room is built over the bay of Kotor surrounded by Mediterranean fjords (above).  It is dramatic and the food is absolutely perfect.   The meal blew our minds.

We liked it so much that we asked for a reservation the following night, and they declined us because we were dressed like slobs.  Our server was gracious the entire night, but we were dressed like we had been exploring in the rain all day, which we had been.  He said in broken English, tomorrow is very busy., maybe not come. 

That said, I would eat there again - it was that good.

 Rolls the size of donut holes

 menu 

 Fresh catch 

 Salad 

 The best, I mean the best, risotto ever 

 Montenegro steak

 The Saint Pierre fish in truffle with polenta and pesto = heaven

Dessert

The greatest sandwich ever

Tarifa, Spain 2008.  I ate the best sandwich ever much to the ire of my brother.  It had traveled to two continents prior to being consumed.  It was a foot long and about 1 inch wide.  It was a weird little sub, long on flavor and perfect in its simplicity.  I think it was filled with egg and cheese, but who really knows for sure.

I don't even remember.  I trudged back to my time capsule of a myspace page to read the old blog about this sandwich.  Information is scarce and I could only find a few lines.  How good was that sandwich?  I may never know again.  If I ever invent a time machine, then I will investigate this before I tell my old self to stay in college for a few more years.  Oh wait, I already did that.

Rain in Kotor, Montenegro

Some places you can just look at on a map, and by some combination of location and name, you know they will probably be really cool.  Such is the case with Kotor.  Cradled by the black mountain fjords of Montenegro and sitting at the end of a long and dramatic Mediterranean bay, it is a place of fiction come alive.  It is also a place of rain.  Of our 4 days in Kotor, it rained for 4 days.  During our visit, Kotor had the highest rainfall in Europe. Yay.

Still, we loved our time with this strange old city.

The story of Sveti Stefan

Beginning as a Muslim fishing village in the 15th century known as Divic, Sveti Stefan has undergone a series of peculiar makeovers in the last 500 years.  It was built to defend against invaders, similar to Dubrovnik.  It housed Adriatic pirates for a number of years, while also protecting against them.

Budva - The Russian Riviera of Montenegro

Heading south along the coast of Montenegro, we came upon the strange city of Budva.  For some reason, wealthy Russians have built Budva into a home away from home, and it is a strange and in parts beautiful place.  We saw totally chrome Audis, Lambo Aventadors, and all manner of other luxury brands - most driven by Russian looking men.  

The harbor is filled with yachts.  There is no shortage of upscale restaurants. But, the place is sort of this weird dicothomy of run down 80's Yugoslavia and nouveau riche Russia shipped in morsels into Budva.  So while some buildings decay, others are built up unchecked.  It is a weird place, especially around the beach outskirts.

Stormy Perast in Montenegro

Too often we travel by plane.  It is fast, but we miss the transitions that connect one place to another.  The ride from Dubrovnik to Montenegro was all about transition.  We began in decent weather and passed into storms as we drove through "no mans land" - and area spanning the border between Croatia and Montenegro.

The coast line changes in Montenegro to the largest Mediterranean fjords in the world.  The black mountains rise out of the dark emerald waters, and small villages and roads delicately hug the coastline.  It is incredible that this is coastline at all.  With the storms and lack of open water, it is an easy point to forget.

Leaving Dubrovnik, Croatia

Leaving Dubrovnik was like leaving a friend's house too early.  But at least we were able to leave.  Croatia's national airline was on strike, stranding many in town.  We left by car, hugging the cliffs, piloted by Olga heading south for Montenegro - Black Mountains.

We left behind Croatia and its 4m Croatians, 1200 islands, and perfect water for a country we knew little about.  Here are some final pictures of Croatia.

Visiting Lokrum Island in Croatia

Lokrum Island is just a 20 minute ferry from the old harbor of Dubrovnik.  The island has great rocky beaches and supposedly the cleanest, clearest water in the Mediterranean.  Also, a lot of the Qarth scenes were filmed on Lokrum, so there was a lot of, "Hey I recognize that."

Scene from Qarth...I mean Lokrum

The small coves just outside old Dubrovnik

Just outside old Dubrovnik are small coves, beaches, and relative peace.  We found a small empty bar perched on the rocks, a Croatian boy and girl playing some kind of one on one water polo, and even accidentally stumbled into someones private courtyard house entrance.  In Dubrovnik, it is impossible to get lost,but you never really know where you are going.  That is what makes it so charming.

The charms of Dubrovnik do not end with the gorgeous old town.  This is a city built around water, so to the water we must go.  The cool Adriatic sea glimmers like a jewel up and down the coast.  Sometimes it is blue.  Sometimes it is green.  It is always beautiful.

Duborvnik's harbor on a summer day

Here are some shots from the grand Dubrovnik harbor, which is lined with boats, great restaurants, and plenty of spots to stop and chill.  It is a tough place to translate to photos, especially on a nice day.