Kotor and Birthday!!

Another birthday over seas! As Tanya said to me on the day of "you seem to be collecting overseas birthdays". The first being my 11th in New Zealand. I spent that one with lots of family and friends then jumped off the bridge at Patau. I was so scared but upon my most recent trip back, that bridge isnt so big:

This is obviously not me but this is the bridge.

On my 25th birthday, I can now say I spent it in Montenegro in a seaside town called Kotor. The day began with an AMAZING french toast breakfast then it was off to climb the fortress walls that surround the Old Town of Kotor and snake their way up the mountain behind it.

 

As if a caution sign would stop us... pffft! 

 

This is the splendid view from about half way up. One of the guy I was with was convinced the tall skinny trees are imported from Italy. Not so, they are native to the area but he would have nothing to do with this fact stated in the hiking guide. He was so sure of this because he had seen the "exact same trees on my last trip to Italy"... as if that makes sense. 

 

Over 1300 steps to the top... this is in the "medium risk zone" of the walls. Up ahead you can see the steps just stop but the wall continues. Onward we went. 

 

Our efforts kept being rewarded with more and more magnificent views of Kotor Bay. The old part of the town is where all the red roofs are at the bottom of the photo. The sea is out around the bend to the left if you kept sailing. 

Looking back down the way we came up. 

 

St. John`s Fortress at the top. Lots of evidence of "other" troops having built on top of and modified John`s fort.

Formatting is not working out for me today.. this caption goes with the photo below: Oh the retched thorny bushes that snagged my clothes anbushes d pierced my skin on the hike back down! We took the road less traveled on the way back so encountered too many of these nasty things.

 

 

 

 

 

Birthday cake and a couple of beers followed this delightful hike! 

I am working on putting together a "snow post" from my "adventure" in Mostar when I was stuck in this tiny town for 7 day with no news as to when I would be able to leave. It was the first time I had seen over 3 feet of snow fall over night. No, that does not happen where I come from. 

Ahhh, my time here is slipping away. Soon I will be back to the motherland not knowing what to do with myself!

~KRG