a country that is rather unknown to us europeans. why? since the russian travel industry has a firm grip on the country, not so many of us make our way here.
in the afternoon we arrive in the bay of kotor. 30 km long, it has a fjord-like shape and is framed by high slate coloured mountain flanks. along the way we see enchanted cottages with wild gardens and many colourful flowers.
kotor is actually a cute little harbour town. sand-coloured stone houses, arranged in a criss-cross pattern. the narrow lanes open onto inviting squares with cafes and shops. the city wall is star-shaped. kotor lies at the foot of the “holly ivans”, from where you have a magnificent view of the bay. in front of it extends the harbour quay, where every day the ship colossuses fight their way through the lagoon to spit out thousands and thousands of rubbernecks. within minutes the city resembles an overcrowded pedestrian zone.
opposite, we look at the former luxury hotel “fjord” which has been standing abandoned by the water for many years. what has remained is the shell overgrown with nature and your own imagination as to how it once flourished. a surreal scenery.
the local people use the pier of the building as a bathing beach. young and old meet there for a sunbath, a beer or simply enjoy the wonderful view of the bay.
next door we discover the dukley art center. an old light-flooded quarter transforms into a unique gallery. montenegrin and russian artists who deal with the country as a topic create temporary works of art here and present them.
a friendly employee is happy about our visit and talks a little about the works and the art collective.
inspired, we set off the next day. further along the coast, innumerable raw buildings up to entire ghost towns catch our eye. they grimly line the rugged coastal region.
russian investors are buying a lot of land in order to make the country suitable for tourism. a huge number of hotels, resorts and even entire holiday villages can be erected in no time at all. due to the lack of sustainable tourism development, many investors speculate and only a fraction of the schemes will be operated on a long-term basis, the rest remains abandoned.

montenegro, thanks for the short intermezzo.