Kotor, Montenegro
Aboard Regal Princess
Stateroom C512
Friday, November 11, 2022
Sunny, 70ishF
Today, Veterans Day, is a day of remembrance to honor veterans of all wars from past, present, and future. Personally, I honor my dear mother, 1st Lieutenant Alma F. Hall Phillips, U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II, my TK, U.S. Navy aboard the U.S.S. Columbus from 1968-1972, my dear brother Bill, U.S. Army stationed in Germany in the early 70s, and many more ancestors back to the Revolutionary War. We do not forget.
To further honor
our own heroes as well as others, we attended the Veterans and Remembrance Day
Service after dinner. Officers of the Regal Princess, a pianist, and a
trumpeter all conducted a very nice tribute to veterans. It was a solemn
service and very well organized.
Readings included “For the Fallen,” “Why Wear a Poppy?,” "Flanders Field,”
and “What is a Veteran?” Hymns sung were
Amazing Grace and Eternal Father, Strong to Save (the Forces
version). After “The Act of Remembrance,” there was the Last Post, a minute
of silence, and Reveille. It was
a very moving ceremony.
___________________________________________
TK and I met
Audrey, John, Vick, and Lynn for our tour of Kotor today so that we could take
the water shuttle to the port to meet Filip, our tour guide. He guided us to a
comfortable van, and we were off to a “vista.”
As his assistant drove, Filip spoke of his country. The population of Montenegro is about 625,000 and the population of Kotor is about 14,000. The origins of Montenegro are a neolithic culture. Since then, the area has been subject to Greek, Roman, Hungarian, Serbian, French, Italian, Venetian, Bosnian, Russian, Nazi, and Yugoslavian rule, not necessarily in that order. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, the republics of Serbia and Montenegro together proclaimed a federation. After an independence referendum in May 2006, Montenegro declared its independence and in June 2006 the confederation was dissolved.
Along the way were
palm trees, flowers, olive trees, pomegranate trees (with fruit that is ripe
now), pine trees, fig trees, and the limestone mountains that seemed like walls
surrounding us. At our first stop we
could see the fjord and the Regal Princess—a beautiful view. Filip told us that
the weather was unusually warm—we have heard that in every country so far. He mentioned the wildlife, fox, wolves, coyotes,
deer, boars, and even the horned viper snake. He showed a picture of a grizzly
bear he encountered on a hike in the mountains near a cave—there are many caves
in the mountains. The sea creatures
include, sea bass, sea bream, swordfish, shark, calamari, mussels, and oysters.
There are many refugees living in Montenegro, including Ukrainians and Russians. He also mentioned that 75% of the people are Eastern Orthodox (not Russian, but Serbian-Montenegro), 5% Roman Catholic, and 18% Muslim, and there are many churches. We were headed to a town called Peraste, where there are 300 people and 22 churches.
Montenegro is the newest member of NATO (2018) and the country is not yet in the European Union, but they use euros as their monetary system.
We arrived at Peraste and saw two small islets off the coast. We took a short boat ride to the Our Lady of the Rocks, a Catholic church. According to legend, the islet was made over the centuries by local seamen who kept an ancient oath after finding an icon of Madonna and Child on a rock in the sea on July22, 1452. Upon returning from each successful voyage, they threw a rock into the bay. Over time the islet gradually emerged from the sea. Every year on the sunset of July 22, the local residents take their boats and throw rocks into the sea, enlarging the area of the small island. The other islet is the Island of St. George, considered a cemetery—there is a small monastery there.
I asked Filip
about the language of Montenegro. He said that each country that was part of
Yugoslavia claims the language as their own, Serbian, Montenegrin, Croatian,
Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovenian, but they are the same with different dialects.
According to Filip, who knew
the archeologists, the masterpiece of these mosaics is the primary bedroom
where the god of sleep, Hypnos is portrayed reclining on cushions. This is the only mosaic in the world that
depicts Hypnos.
The bedroom
The image of the god of sleep, Hypnos, at the center of the floor
Close up of another restored mosaic floor
The walled city of Kotor was our final stop. We had lunch with our tour mates at Pub/The Square. TK ordered charcuterie and Coke Zeros and it was good to sit for a while and then we shopped some. Finally, we walked to the water shuttle to return to the ship.
Walls of the Kotor
Wall and river--another view
A few street scenes in the walled city---
We boarded the water shuttle back to the ship--Kotor is very near to the port, but the ship could not dock there. This was a pleasant city and we enjoyed the tour. Filip was an outstanding tour guide, very congenial. I love the outdoor cafes and restaurants.
Tonight’s dinner
was roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. The beef was like thin cut prime rib and
Yorkshire pudding is almost like an American popover. No pudding involved. This
meal was tasty tonight!
We must get up tomorrow before 6 a.m. for our tour of Dubrovnik, Croatia. The intensity intensifies!
TK’s Takes: There were no
seats on the water shuttle we were assigned to, or should I say people would
not move over to make room for us. This was not acceptable, but the Princess' personnel would not
let us off. There were a lot of cats in the town, but no
rats!
Hmm TKs Take, different cultures seem that they are rude, and actually they are but that is why you travel to share the experiences and oddities in people but on the other hand you will experience really nice natives...
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