Hopping from one country to another, one really doesn’t know what to expect. We had very high expectations of our upcoming stay in Kotor, Montenegro. The walled city, towering fortress, and ancient churches all were a strong draw. However, our optimism quickly waned at the airport when the couple in front of us in line for the rental car were visibility irritated with the staff. When it was our turn in front, we discovered why. The dishonest dramatic upsell began immediately, with the agent purporting that we needed insurance because he would have to put 12,000 euro on the card as a deposit otherwise. He was shocked when I said no worries, I have more than one credit card. Dejected he said he only needed to hold 5,000 euro. Our issues did not subside though. When we walked to get lot for our car, the couple ahead of us seemed more upset and the woman stomped back to the office. When we stepped up, they informed us the car wasn’t here and it would get here eventually, it was being washed. “How long” we asked? We were not given any real answer. So, I joined the woman at the office and then magically our cars showed up. Why is it that renting a car is always such a slimy experience?

Our challenges continued as we navigated the super narrow streets to our hotel. The GPS took us directly to the Astoria Hotel, but much to our dismay, it was the wrong Astoria Hotel. We very specifically picked this hotel for its easy access to the hike we wanted to do for a dress shot. The desk worker was more concerned with whether she made a mistake than our plight. Fortunately, the issue was just a GPS snafu and we were reserved in the right hotel and it wasn’t very far.

Once at our hotel, we couldn’t be more pleased. Greeted by a warm, vibrant and engaging young lady, Jana she made us feel right at home. A boutique hotel, that was above our normal budget, we picked it hoping to get great service. Given our next stay was ~$30/night we figured we could splurge a bit and were incredibly happy we did. The attention to detail was unrivaled. The indoor restaurant felt like you were eating inside an upscale wine cellar with the focal point of an expansive tree branching through two floors. The backdrop was an ancient Hellenic poem focused on the alphabet. Rooms didn’t have numbers, but instead followed the theme with each room being named for a letter in the alphabet.

While Kotor was beautiful and staying within the walled fortress was picturesque, it was not without drawbacks. We’ve never stayed in a port city where the influx of multiple cruise ships flooded the narrow streets beyond one’s comfort. The stupidity of many visitors was highlighted both in print and action when we hiked up to the Lady of the Remedy church partway up to top of the fortress wall. One woman coming down in the near dark wore a shirt that apparently is a new trend for the intellectually challenged. It said, “think less, live more.” On the steep slippery steps, a lack of thinking could lead to the opposite. Darwin was ready to pounce. Countless people came down in flip flops, babies on their back and no lights whatsoever. By the time we were complete, it was pitch black and people were still descending.

An interesting take on recycling we were impressed with their creative reuse of plastic bottles. While of course it’s best not to use them in the first place, their sculptures were an interesting way not to add to a landfill.

Kotor is known as the “City of cats” and each shop had their own spin to lure you in. One-liners were around each corner in a not so veiled attempt to liberate you from your euros. The chorus became tiresome. We did however spot one simply, yet attractive necklace that we decided would be great for a friend. We were both confident we could find the shop again after we completed our first lap of all the shops. We were very wrong. We circled, retraced our steps, we crossed streets off a map, and were left empty handed.

We took a cruise out to the “Our Lady of the Rocks.” Which was a taxi to another town to spend money, yet there was very little to spend on. The nicest part was just being out on water and away from the masses.  

Walking around Kotor you have to keep your eyes open for the more subtle gems.

Overall, we enjoyed our time in Kotor, it is a perfect port city and if you choose to stay the Astoria Hotel is an excellent choice. All that said, we typically like a less touristy destination and that was coming up next in Lake Skadar.