Montenegro and the Bay of Kotor

Montenegro is an independent nation along the coast of the Adriatic Sea bordered by Croatia to the west, Kosovo to the east, Serbia to the north-east, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, and Albania to the southeast. When Venetian sailors saw Mt. Lovcen in the distance, they named the area “Monte-negro” because it looked like a “black mountain”.

Montenegro over the centuries has been independent, conquered by the Romans, Turks from the Ottoman Empire, Venetians, Austria-Hungary and others. They were part of the communist Federation of Yugoslavia but constantly fought for independence. 

Our three-hour drive to Kotor, Montenegro was beautiful.  While the actula drive took about two hours each way crossing the border between Croatia and Montenegro was a different story.   The boarder crossings took about an hour both coming and going.  Our driver said one time it took 9 hours and 15 minutes for a one-way crossing!

On the way to the city of Kotor we stopped and visited a small island with a church called “Our Lady of the Rocks”.  Legend has it that fishermen saw Mary in the reef and began dropping a stone on the spot every time they sailed by. Eventually an island was formed, and "Our Lady of the Rocks" church was built. 

Inside the church is a 25 year-old embroidery made with silk and from a woman's hair. The woman’s hair turned from dark brown to white over the years and her progress and aging can be seen in the angel’s hair in the embroidery,

Kotor, Montenegro is a much smaller than Dubrovnik. It is a walled city with striking mountains, a beautiful waterfront and great history.

All in all Montenegro appears to be a few years behind Croatia in infrastructure (e.g., highways) and there is definite influence from Turkey as Montenegro was once part of the Ottoman Empire. The country is also predominately Eastern Orthodox while Croatia is predominately Roman Catholic.