April 11 – At Sea. Finally, a day off from touring and a chance to rest up. Not much different today.
The show tonight featured the two primary singers of the Prinsendam ensemble, Julie Bell and Jordan Miller, with brief interludes and support from the dancers. Julie and Jordan have excellent voices and it was a treat to have them do a show. It started badly with two Andrew Lloyd Weber tunes but after that it was fine. They performed songs from Porgy and Bess, Cats and other Broadway shows. Julie was the lead in the touring troupe of Cats and Jordan was with the San Diego Civic Light Opera for a few years. It was a good evening.
April 12 – Kotor, Montenegro. This is our first time in Montenegro (Black Mountain) so we were anxious to see it. The Republic of Montenegro is about two-thirds the size of Wales. That's small. Yet it has beaches, mountains, canyons, palaces, ancient towns and very friendly people. Their national identity was formed during the centuries when they resisted the Ottoman Turks as they swept through the area.
Various tribes lived in the area since 1000BC. The Greeks took over in about 400BC followed by the Romans. The Slavic people arrived around the 7th century AD. Two tribes came from north of the Danube, the Serbs settled in the interior and the Croats along the Adriatic shoreline. In 1920, after WWI, Montenegro was put into the kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and became the first Yugoslavia. During WWII President Tito declared Montenegro to be a republic and in 1992 they voted to remain part of Yugoslavia. In May of 2006 they voted again and this time they decided to re-establish their republic. In Kotor they speak Serbian and Albanian.
The city of Kotor is at the end of a long and winding flooded river canyon called Aoka Katopcka (Bay of Kotor). The mountains rise so steeply on both sides of the river that it looks like a fjord even if technically it does not qualify as one. The city is surrounded by a very impressive wall that was built when they were allied with Venice. It's nearly 3 miles long, 50 feet thick and up to 65 feet high in spots. The wall not only surrounds the city at sea level but also climbs the steep mountain behind it to link the town with San Giovanni Castle that's 1,350 stairs up the hill. It then descends the mountain on the other side joining the city wall at the opposite end. It reminds me of a mini Wall of China.
The Venetians were here for 400 years of the cities development and left a definite Venetian mark on the baroque architecture. Kotor's Stari Grad (Old Town) is another UNESCO World Heritage Site as it is a wonderfully preserved medieval village. We'll be touring the town later but first we are headed into the mountains to visit a traditional village, Gornja Lastva.
Our bus took us about 30 minutes out of town to a parking lot where again we are transferring to smaller vans. The reason for this was evident almost immediately; the vans were having a tough time negotiating the steep, narrow, switchbacks of the road headed up to Gornja Lastva, the buses would have had no chance whatsoever. We climbed to almost 1,000 feet before we arrived at the little village. It's situated on the west slope of Vrmak Hill almost to the crest and overlooks Kotor. It is reputed to be the best-preserved traditional mountain village in Montenegro. The buildings are of simple unpainted, medium gray stone construction with little or no exterior adornment of any kind. The green shutters fitted to the windows provide the only color. And every building has exactly the same shade of green. Since the village is on the slope of the hill it has many retaining walls to provide flat space for gardens and homes. These walls are of the same stone as the houses. Many of the homes have been rebuilt or updated using the same stone. Most of them date from the 1800s but a few are older.
The village church, St. Mary's was built in the 1300s and is largely unchanged. Early in the last century the church was in need of refurbishment. All of the men in the village named Joseph contributed the money necessary for the job or participated in the work. All 26 names were inscribed on a plaque and placed at the foot of the statue of St. Joseph holding the baby Jesus that stands to the right at the front of the church. A man from the village is helping the guide explain the life of the villagers and the history of the area. He says his grandfather is one of the 26 men represented.
The church is very small but it was originally smaller. It was doubled in space for the worshipers but the apse and sacristy remained the same. The front façade is about as simple as a church can be. It has a single entrance; the door is painted blue, with a small round window between the door and the bell tower. The window's tracery looks like an 8 wooden wheel with eight spokes. The spokes are actually four mini-columns with Doric capitals at each end bisected by a central circle that has a small cross with 4 equal arms on it. The bell tower is the open form three bell structure often seen on Spanish mission churches.
Inside it's an interesting place. For a small village church there are some fine sculptures and extensive use of very nice marble in the altar. A very wealthy merchant from the period probably financed the construction, as was the custom at the time. The reredo has a large painting of the Holy Family surrounded by other couples and angels. The painting is attributed to Andrea Trevisano, another sign that the church had a wealthy patron. The statues of Jesus and St. Joseph with the baby Jesus that flank the apse are very nicely executed but with no indication of their history.
We walked along very narrow lanes from the church through the village past small houses with gardens. The lanes are seldom level but ascend and descend along the hillside. We arrived at what appeared to be a communal building of some sort, perhaps the town meeting hall. Just in front of the hall was the largest flat space I've seen anywhere around. Along the front of the building they have set up three long tables with chairs for us to have a 'snack'. A group of 7 men had gathered who, accompanied by a guitar and mandolin, were going to sing some traditional songs for us.
The 'snack' started off with some large bowls of fairly round, small doughnut like balls sprinkled with powdered sugar. They were light and I have to admit that any meal that begins with something sweet is off to a good start. Next came bowls of olives and dried figs. I am often ambivalent about figs. They're ok but that's about it. I don't know what they did to these as they dried them but they were excellent. This first barrage of food was accompanied by small glasses of a clear liquid, grape brandy. Call it what you will but in Italy this is grappa. It will get to you quickly on an empty stomach. Most Italians I know serve it last but here it's part of the appetizer.
I noticed that the men's chorus was also being served so things should be hopping shortly. It's a sunny, cool almost wind free day and just being outside is a pleasure. Here on a hillside in Montenegro, it's just about perfect.
Well it appears that the grape brandy was just the opening volley, her come bottles of red and white wine. The white is a Rhine style Riesling and the red is a medium dry of some sort. I'm certainly no wine expert but I had a small drink of each and liked them both. Next came large platters of thinly sliced dried ham and thicker slices of homemade cheese. The ham looked a lot like Parma ham and the taste was similar. The cheese was white with a pale yellow rind and dotted with small air bubble holes. It was not exactly soft but firmly set and creamy with a very mild flavor that went perfectly with the ham. Large baskets of sliced bread came with the ham platters and the temptation to make a sandwich got the better of me.
A few of the locals had set up small tables and were selling honey, grape brandy, lemon brandy, olive oil, olive wood carvings and terra cotta pottery, all locally made. Once again the alcoholic beverages were bottled in recycled bottles of various kinds. The honey and olive oil were in appropriate packaging for the product.
The brandy and wine are kicking in pretty well. Some of the ladies on the tour are dancing with the singers and the music, which was very serious and folksy is not getting faster and livelier. Everyone appears to be having a good time, locals and tourists alike. Our snack turned into quite a meal and there were lots of leftovers. I hope the locals ate it all, it was certainly too good to waste.
On the walk back through the village to get to the vans I spotted a cow in a small field alternately pulling on and releasing a tree branch causing it to whip through the air. It looked odd enough to justify a picture. A local man was walking by and stopped to see what I was photographing. He laughed and rattled out a string of words I didn't even begin to comprehend. I smile and shook my head while shrugging my shoulders, the universal tourist signal that you don't have a clue. He walked over to the fence and picked something off the ground to show me. It was the remains of a fig. He pointed at the cow and then his mouth and viola, comprehension. The cow likes the figs and is picking them off the tree by biting down and backing up until the tension on the branch causes the fig to come loose. I'd never seen a fruit-picking cow before. Maybe they only exist in Montenegro. The vans delivered us to the valley and our waiting bus, which in turn returned us to Kotor.
The main gate to the old city is right across the street from where our ship is docked. Appropriately called the Sea Gate, it was built in 1555. There's a new marble plaque over the keystone with the date 11/24/1944 the day the city was liberated from the Germans in WWII. As the guide was standing in front of a large city map beside the gate I tried to get a picture of it without a pretty girl coming through. It wasn't possible. Apparently the shop where they produce them is just inside the gate.
Actually, just inside the gate is the Square of Arms. (The town has 6 squares and I'm going to try to see them all.) The old Prince's Palace, Town Hall, Town Clock and Venetian Arsenal are here. The Arsenal is a remnant of when the Venetian City State controlled almost the entire Adriatic, especially the north. In front of the Town Clock is the medieval pillory. It was here that the prisoners were brought to hear their verdicts read.
A short walk on the narrow street between the Bizanti and Besuica Palaces brought us to The Square of Flour. This square's name derives from old flour storage warehouses that once stood on this spot. Now the square is lined with old palaces. Built in 1667 the Pima Palace has both Baroque and Renaissance attributes. The vaulted loggia, the architectural way of saying a long but narrow porch with a terrace on top, is definitely Renaissance. The rest of the front façade, doors, windows and third floor balcony are Baroque. Seems a bit odd that the most prominent feature of the building would be of an older style but there's no denying its heavier, sturdier look.
The Buca Palace is not a very elaborate building. The original, built in the 1300s was a very ornate structure but after the earthquake of 1667 it was restored to the appearance it has today. Since the Baroque period starts in about 1600 it's appropriate that it was rebuilt in that style. While Baroque churches are very ornate in general, the houses tend have a little more classical restraint, at least on the outside. Inside is another story altogether. The building on the south side of the plaza was the town's high school in 1863. Now it's the College of Tourism and Hotel Management. A group of students were doing research by observing the tourists from a second floor window.
From the Flour Square it's just a short walk to Saint Tryphon's Square where the major attraction is St. Tryphon's Cathedral. The relics of St. Tryphon were brought to Kotor in 809 by Venetian merchants. The city saint at the time was our old friend the dragon slayer, St. George. With the arrival of the relics the cult of St. Tryphon grew and at the completion of the new cathedral in 1166 he was the city's new patron.
While the basic design is Romanesque it retains some features of Byzantine architecture. A little odd since the classical Byzantine era had been over for 500 years when it was started. The spread of Roman influence solidified much of the Mediterranean architecture and starting in about 500AD Romanesque was the predominant style until the early 1200s. It's characterized by heavy, stocky buildings featuring rounded arches. St. Tryphon's is the archetypical building of this type. One main entrance under a large arched porch, two heavy square towers flanking the front façade, a single and small rosette window above the terrace. The bell towers are not set flush with the front façade. They stand forward of the façade joining it at the back. The space between the towers is a portico on the entry level and a terrace on the second level. I'm told that this is a feature on many Norman Romanesque cathedrals but it's the first one I've ever seen. It's a practical and very attractive look. The flat fronts of most Romanesque churches are pretty austere.
Another short walk down a very narrow street you arrive at Museum Square (previously City Administration Square) home of the Maritime Museum of Kotor. It's housed in the 18th century Baroque Gregorina Palace. The structures rooms retain their original configuration and construction. The most striking feature is the parlor floors. They're red and black tile set in a checkerboard pattern. This sounds a little heavy handed but the result is very attractive. The halls are set with the same red tile but the alternative color is cream making a nice contrast. The collection of antique weapons, some captured in battle from various enemies, was the most interesting. Somehow the devices humanity have (sometimes I default to British noun/verb agreement rules when I like them better) devised to inflict harm on ourselves holds a bizarre fascination for me. Maybe my background as a military medic has some influence on that.
Just a very short walk along another very narrow street (One of the blessings of Kotor is that the squares are only one or two building lengths from each other. You could visit every one of the city's squares in less than 20 minutes if you kept moving.) brings you to my favorite space, Saint Luke's Square. This 'L' shaped plaza has two churches. Saint Luke's is a very small Serbian Orthodox church set at a 45-degree angle to the sides of the square in the short side of the L. On the far side of the plaza is Saint Nicholas', another Serbian Orthodox Church, a much larger structure. It was originally a Dominican monastery built in 1540 but after a fire destroyed it in 1896, the Serbian church rebuilt it in 1902. The Serbian Orthodox Church is closely to related to the Russian and Greek churches which compose the largest part of the so called Eastern Orthodox Church that split from the Roman Orthodox church over liturgical and theological matters only to split again on largely ethnic lines.
St. Luke's was open and the priest, with his long black robes was in attendance inviting people in to visit his church. He's a large, very friendly fellow who understood more English than he spoke. He was happy to have you look around and take photos. The public part of the sanctuary was very small but can accommodate more worshipers than a Western church because everyone stands for the entire service so no room is taken up by pews or chairs. Like all Eastern Orthodox churches, the sacristy is separated from the public area by an iconostasis. Only the priest is allowed behind this partial wall to the altar area. While I was there a lady came in to ask the priest for some sort of special prayer. He took her by the hand while he went behind the iconostasis and when he reemerged he had a silver cross in his hand. He took her over to the icon of Saint Luke and started praying. Since Saint Luke was a physician I'm guessing the prayer was for some sort of sickness. It was interesting to see the process. He then took her over to an icon of Mary and they said a final prayer. He placed his hand on her head and the ritual was over. I really don't like to intrude on these personal moments but the priest had invited me in and I stood off to the side at the rear of the church but that was still only about 25 feet from the front.
The Plaza of Saint Luke was such a pleasant place we decided to have lunch there instead of going back to the ship. The Café Scorpio was on the end of the square where the two legs of the L meet so we sat down there and looked at the menu. There were a lot of interesting items on it but I've been craving pizza. Ok, Ok, I can hear you all saying, "What, you just left Italy and now you're having pizza?" The short answer is yes. They had one that was called The Montenegrin so that's what we got. I ordered a 'grilled vegetable salad' and a large bottle of water for us to split. The pizza and grilled vegetables arrived together and looked so appetizing I almost destroyed them before I thought of taking a picture.
The pizza was mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and the same dried ham we'd had up in the village. The crust was about a quarter of an inch thick and had just enough chew to make the pizza last longer. It wasn't sweet like so many pizza crusts are in the USA. (I think they cater to the sweet tooth of children and teens.) Also they weren't afraid to use some cheese and sauce on the pizza, most US pizzas are way to skimpy on these items. Plus the sauce had some spice to it. On top of the whole thing they sprinkled a mixture of very finely chopped herbs. Are you getting the idea that I liked it? You should be. It was great!!
The grilled veggies came basted in olive oil and what seemed to be the same herb mixture sprinkled on top. I have got to figure out how they do it. There was sliced eggplant, tomatoes, something like an Anaheim pepper and a firm squash that looked like a zucchini but was much denser. The perfect match for the pizza's spiciness. We munched and watched the mixture of tourists and locals stroll by. Actually the tourists strolled, the locals walked much more purposefully. The warm sun and cool breeze made the experience all that much more perfect. I can't remember when I enjoyed a lunch more.
We left Saint Luke's Square and walked up to the River Gate Square. This is the older of the city's gates and goes directly through the bastion wall to a narrow bridge over the river. Saint Mary's Church at the River is in this square but it was locked up tight. This is the site of the city's first cathedral. In 1221 that structure was built on the ruins of an early Christian church. The most unique thing about the church is its front door. Cast in one piece of bronze, it has scenes from the life of Blessed Ozana who, together with Saint Tryphon are the patron saints of Kotor. She lived in a small cell attached to the church and was instrumental in rallying the city to defend itself against the attacks of the Turks. When they attacked with 70 ships and 30,000 soldiers she roamed the city encouraging the defenders and is given credit for urging them on to victory. Her remains are in a crypt in the church that is also decorated with scenes from her life.
We retraced our steps back to the Arms Square passing the Monastery of Santa Clara that was the home of Benedictine Nuns but is now used by Franciscan monks.
After doing a little more shopping we headed back to the ship to prepare for sail away. We are going to be sailing through four bays that were formed when the previous river valley flooded. It promises to be very photogenic. Since we will still be in the fjord when dinner starts we'll go up to the Lido for casual dinner.
The sail out was spectacular. The route was dotted with small towns and villages. In the second bay we came to were two small islands, each occupied by a religious structure, on one island has a convent and the other has a monastery. It was a pretty trip back out to the Aegean Sea.
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