Sunday, August 11, 2013

Nieuw Amsterdam 2012 - Kotor, Montenegro

We started our day with scenic cruising. The Bay of Kotor is so beautiful. They sometimes call it Europe’s southernmost fjord but in actuality it is a river canyon that is flooded. We were on deck 5 again on the forward bow. Around 9 or 10 a.m. it was already 25-30 degrees celsius. Really great.

Entering the Bay of Kotor.
Entering the Bay of Kotor.

Bay of Kotor.
Bay of Kotor.

Bay of Kotor.
Bay of Kotor.

The passage into the bay is very narrow, great navigation skills needed! Right after entering the bay we saw two small islands in the bay.

Islands in the Bay of Kotor.
Islands in the Bay of Kotor.

Kotor is a tender port, so the lifeboats were lowered and the guests were tendered ashore. The guests that had booked a tour through HAL went first. We had tickets for 12:45 p.m., the hottest part of the day.
Kotor is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It used to be Venetian, so narrow streets, cobblestones, large churches and, of course, the lion, that is the symbol for St. Marc, are seen all around the city.

Kotor.
Kotor.

The heat was quite bearable, but we went up the town ramparts. The ramparts not only surround the city bayside like Dubrovnik, they go up all the way to the fortress of St. Ivan (St. John). We didn’t get all the way up. The cobblestoned ramparts are a bit slippery and the part that looks like stairs is only wide enough for one person. With kids it was quite an achievement to get up two-thirds of the way, to the Chapel of Our Lady (Gospe od Zdravlja). We had great views there of the Bay of Kotor and, of course, of Nieuw Amsterdam awaiting our return.

Kotor Ramparts.
Kotor Ramparts.

Kotor and Nieuw Amsterdam.
Kotor and Nieuw Amsterdam.

Kotor and Nieuw Amsterdam.
Kotor and Nieuw Amsterdam.

We hiked down to the tenders. At the pier, we were welcomed by stewards who gave us a cold towel and some ice water for freshening up. Not every cruise line does that, but they should. You feel right at home again.
During the sail-away through the bay we had a nice barbecue on the aft deck featuring Kotor specialties. Delicious! The show lounge featured Marc Donoghue, a multi-instrumental talent. He sang but also played piano, guitar, violin and harmonica. From Queen to Mozart and again accompanied by the HAL Cats. So again, no dancing in the Queens Lounge afterwards, pity, but there were lots of other things to do.

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