A Journey of 1000 Steps

This morning began with an alarm and the sad song if a drunk Scottsman. I think he has been drunkenly signing since I went to bed the night before. There was no one else with his this morning. I'm not even sure he knew I was there when I walked outside. He was drunk when I went to bed the night before so I have no idea how much more he had overnight

Back down to the Old City to grab a pastry and coffee from a shop, and then it was time for today's bus tour. This tour was into Kotor Montenegro. This tour was even smaller than the one the day before with only 8 people with the tour guide. I like the smaller tours. They are much nicer.

Our first stop was just through the boarder patrol area in Montenegro. We stopped at a small cafe overlooking one area of the bay. Here there was time to snack, enjoy another coffee and take more photos. Once we were done it was back to the bus and on to Kotor. Along the way the guide told us more on the history of the area. 

Old town Kotor is located on the water at the heart of Kotor city proper. It is built similarly to Old Town Dubrovnik but it has more squares for meetings and town events. There were some old and beautiful buildings we got to see. There were also nice churches we were able to look inside. We had a quick tour with a guide through the city. From there it was time for our own free time.

We decided to hike up the city wall. It is over 1200 stairs to climb to the top. This wall is built into the mountain and not only is around the city but goes on to an old fort built at the top of the mountain to protect the city. The wall is in pieces in areas and it can be challenging to climb up. It is the third largest wall of it's kind in the world and the second largest in Europe. 

Initially the plan was to go about a third of the way up to a beautiful old church. We did do that walk, taking lots of stops to get pictures and rest along the way. We went on switchback trails beyond the church and decided to keep going all the way. It was either climb the wall or go shopping. The wall seemed like a much better option. There we lots of switchbacks to go up the mountain. I took more breaks for photos and to catch my breath. 

The view from the top was great. The views from the base of the fort were my favorite. The sites overlooked the mountains on one side and the bay and port on the other side of the wall. You could see the old city and much more from up on the mountain. It took about an hour to climb up and just over 30 minutes to go back down. The hike was very much worth it.

After finishing the hike there was some time left to explore. We checked out a few stores and some more buildings. I also walked through the open air market. Of course I took even more photos as I wandered around.

Once everyone was back at the bus we headed to Perest. Here we caught a boat to Our Lady of the Rock. It was a nice, quick ride. There we explored the church and learned how the church came to be there. I touched the rock where the church was originally built and it was said if you made a wish then it would come true so I made a wish. Inside the church was very beautiful, with wonderful paintings and beautiful marble works. I liked the view from the island the best.

After visiting the church it was time to catch the bus back to the mainland. We went into a church where there is a saint's body preserved. The church is old and full of history so we explored a bit. This church had different areas, some with old robes and relics and another area with an original alter made or marble. 

We were hungry so it was time for food. I had a Mediterranean inspired pasta dish that was okay. I enjoyed the bread and olive topping for the bread. While I don't normally like olives I am trying to try some local dishes. It was actually pretty good. 

Lunch finished with enough time to explore some more and take more photos. I got a lot of photos of the mountains. I really enjoyed the mountains. This area of Europe is very beautiful. So many wonderful things to take photos of.

Finally it was back on the bus to head across the boarder and into Dubrovnik. Getting through customs took a little longer as it was busy today. We wandered around for a while to find food. After dinner we took the long uphill walk to the hostel to relax for the evening.