The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Balkan beauty
Bridget enjoys a steamy trip to Montenegro amid pine-clad mountains, a turquoise sea, colourful fishing boats and elegant yachts
While Montenegro is named after its magnificent mountains, the ancient port of Kotor is said to come from the old Greek word Katereo, meaning hot.
My first experience of this charming town was definitely living up to its steamy reputation.
It was early morning on a June day, but the exertion of climbing the seemingly never-ending steep stairway behind the Old Town in sizzling sunlight towards the faraway silhouette of St John Castle, perched high on a rocky outcrop, was certainly taking its toll. I felt like I was melting and reckoned those selling cool drinks on stalls lining the 1350 steps were nothing less than life savers.
Yet, in no time at all, the views of Kotor Bay below, a World Heritage UNESCO site, were breathtaking for all the right reasons. Pine-clad mountains, turquoise sea, colourful fishing boats, elegant yachts and the fortified walls of the red-roofed Old Town could all be photographed from our elevated vistas.
Umpteen shots with phones and cameras gave us all an excuse to take a breather as we toiled further and further uphill.
Unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – we didn’t have time to make it all the way to the top, but were relieved to reach around halfway at the Church of our Lady of Remedy. I decided my best remedy was to head downhill before I evaporated…
I hadn’t quite realised how easy it was to reach this gem of a country, half the size of Wales.
Not only are there two airports close to Kotor –Tivat, nine kilometres away, and Podgorica, a one-hour drive – but Dubrovnik in neighbouring Croatia was only a two-hour transfer when I arrived on a late flight the evening before.
I was enchanted when the taxi driver dropped me off outside the city walls to enter the pedestrianised Old Town through an ancient, arched gateway guarded by canons, where our very comfortable and ideally located Hotel Vardar was to be found.
The central square with its polished slabs, clock tower and outdoor cafes immediately reminded me of Dubrovnik – only smaller and less commercialised and all the more charming for that.
I was instantly smitten.
Our international group of journalists from the UK, Russia and Georgia were here to find out about a luxury project being launched by Swissôtel Residences (swissotel.com).
Although the 175 holiday apartments and five-star hotel in a pristine, waterfront location with private beach just three kilometres from Kotor’s Old Town, won’t be completed until 2020, the properties are already on sale.
First, though, we were encouraged to discover just why you might want to holiday here.
A private speedboat tour after a delicious seafood lunch at the luxury Regent Hotel in swanky new Porto Montenegro with its millionaire’s rows of superyachts took us to the
I hadn’t quite realised how easy it was to reach this gem of a country, half the size of Wales
mesmerising Blue Grotto with its incredibly translucent water.
We then called in at the tiny island of Our Lady of the Rocks, where a quaint, blue-domed chapel was intricately decorated with a painted ceiling, silver and other icons. Legend has it that the man-made islet was formed by sailors throwing rocks into the Adriatic as a thank you to the Madonna and child for a safe voyage home.
We took the short crossing across Boka Bay to the pretty town of Perast with its many churches and palazzos.
As well as being beautifully designed and appointed with sea and mountain views, if you’re not a Brexit fan, then buying a holiday home here could give you back membership of the EU in a few years to come – or otherwise provide a peaceful retreat away from all the political bickering.