In retrospect, it seems the best adventures on our trip were the ones that weren’t planned by the cruise line. We arrived in Kotor, Montenegro with no excursion from the cruise line for the day. After pulling into port we decided to climb the mountain and maybe go to the fort at the very top. If we didn’t make it to the top, we would stop at the small church that is part way up the climb.

Just like many of the ports we visited, Kotor had walls around the city to protect itself from folks who thought the Kotor port was really neat and they should take it for their own. We entered the city and headed for the hills so to speak. Once you find one of the entrances to the stairs the climb up the hill, you pay the person sitting a the little table waiting to collect your money ( 5 Euros each – it seems the price is higher when a cruise ship is in port ) and then you are on your way to the top. As we started a little late, the plan was make it to the Church on the Hill, and then see if the top was a possibility. While many people call it the church on the hill, the real name is Church of Our Lady of Remedy. From down below in the city, the church looks regular sized, but when you arrive it’s much smaller than you thought.

Here is the iconic view of the Bay of Kotor and the Our Lady of Remedy church seen as you climb toward St John ( San Giovanni ) castle.

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Yes, that is a church in the middle of the Bay.

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Why is this guy taking a picture of his reflection?

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Cruise ships guests view the mountains the Bay of Kotor as the Holland American cruise ship pull into port

What is important about this photo isn’t the German cruise ship Mein Schiff #3 ( unless you are on it ), it’s the church and castle atop the hill behind it. You can see the wall leading to the castle just above the sun light part of the hill just above the ship.

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The old town is on the right protected by the stone walls, while “new” town is on the left side.

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You pass through the Sea Gate to enter the old city.

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Once you reach the church, you realize how small it is. It’s also time to ponder whether to continue the climb. We did. Note – the price of water the vendors were selling on the trail gets more expensive towards the top.

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The views are amazing when you reach the top, and certainly well worth the climb.

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When you reach the top, you must of course take a selfie.

Once you reach the top of the hill and arrive at the castle it is selfie time - Kotor,Montenegro

It of course was much more fun going back down. On the way down I took the time to count the steps. There were 1304 of them. I didn’t really want to count them on the way up.

There are 1304 steps that take you to the top of the castle - Kotor, Montenegro

Once you are back in the old city after the climb it’s time for food and free wifi. We found both at the Pizzeria Sara right next to the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon which is in the photo below. I read several reviews of the place while trying to find the name, a couple mentioned it having the worst food ever. The food would at best rate 3 out of 5 stars, while the location might be 5 out of 5 stars. The price was right for a 3 star pizzeria with amazing views.

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This Post Has One Comment

  1. Sherry

    Beautiful! I am guessing you sample pizza all over the world. Lol. Why not?

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