Guest Cats

Guest Story: Cats of Kotor

Posted on by Marc-André
01
Feb

Hi everyone,

Today’s guest post comes from Esauboeck:

https://esauboeck.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/p1100216.jpg

Between Google shenanigans and Croatian connectivity issues, I am being driven crazy trying to download the many photos I want to include in my blogs, but there is so much I want to write and am afraid I’ll forget if I keep postponing it, that I’m just going to put up text and what photos I can. I’ll just have to add the images later when I get somewhere with decent internet connections, and when we can get back a computer that isn’t a stupid Chromebook which will only let me do things ”the Google way.” This in itself is worth a blog entry, but right now I want to write about more interesting topics.

Yesterday we drove from Wolfgang and Nora’s house in Mlini, outside of Dubrovnik, over to Montenegro, the border of which is only about 40 minutes away. (Be sure to carry your auto documents with you, though; we forgot our rental papers, and the P1100192border control made us turn around and go back for them!) We had a lovely lunch and found a great bookshop in the first Montenegran town we came to, Herceg Novi. The bookshop owner was a frustrated poet, extremely well-versed in English, French, and Slavic literature; we bought his book of poems, as well as a book on the character of the Serbs that he recommended. The shop even had a copy of Charles Bukowski poetry in Montenegran (or Croat, I’m not quite sure)!

We then continued on to Kotor around the stupendous bay with forbiddingly gargantuan mountains on each side. The drive offers stunning views, but is at times a bit daunting to negotiate. The road is sometimes so narrow that one car has trouble getting by, but the traffic comes both ways, and George felt like he was going to drive into the water.

https://esauboeck.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/p1100251.jpg

Kotor is an ancient walled town nestled into the rocks and on a nearly-hidden bay surrounded by the craggy hills of the region. Its picturesque maze of alleyways and charming churches has now made it a favorite stop on the Adriatic cruise-ship circuit, and the super-rich (mostly Russians) have docked their yachts here.  Consequently some accommodation has been made for the bling-tourist set in the form of chic shops and Eurotrashy cafes, although the setting makes it nearly impossible to destroy its charms entirely. We parked in the one parking lot that charges 10 Euros (!), and meandered the streets looking at some beautiful structures, finding evidence of the centuries-long Venetian rule of the place in the form of St. Mark’s lions on many buildings and the city walls.

Looking for a cafe, we turned into one of the small plazas and saw the most amusing site: on the side of one of the old buildings, a sign said Cats Museum. We had to investigate. The exhibitions were essentially collections of books and postcards with images of cats through the ages, but the purpose of the Museum is to support the efforts of an international group based in Venice, Italy, to feed and care for street cats

all over Europe. For reasons that are a bit unclear, the organization chose Kotor, because, as its website explains in its charming English translation, ”As a seat for our Museum we chose Cattaro (Kotor) in Montenegro, a city on the extreme part of Dalmatia for various reasons: its quietness, charming position and its situation of ” ideal city for cats” as the population  is fond of felines”. And so the town has adopted the idea of P1100242being a feline-friendly place: feeding stations have been placed all over town, and most of the souvenir shops have cat-related items. (And yes, I DID purchase one:  a kitchen mitten with Kotor cats on it…)

After walking through the narrow streets of the walled city and wandering across the picturesque bridge where the Skurda River flows rapidly into the Bay of Kotor, we paid the outrageous parking fee of €10 and headed

around the other side of the Bay to take the car ferry back across the inlet to drive back to Croatia (this is the scary side to drive on, since the car is on the water side when other cars come barrelling around the corners). A beautiful day, filled with cats, gorgeous scenery, and old buildings. What could be better? Oh, and finally, a Montenegran cat lounging at the border control.

We hope you enjoyed her story and don’t forget to subscribe to our Newsletter! Oh and please do check out her blog.

Thanks,

Marc

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Marc-André

We regularly write about all things relating to cats on our Blog Katzenworld! My partner and I are owned by five cheeky cats that get up to all kinds of mischief that of course, you'll also be able to find out more about on our Blog If you are interested in joining us by becoming a regular contributor/guest author do drop us a message @ info@katzenworld.co.uk .

33 thoughts on “Guest Story: Cats of Kotor”

  2. simon7banks says:

    Those photos and description do take me back. What struck me most about Montenegro (Crno Gora, if I remember, Black Mountain) was the extremely narrow coastal strip with almost vertical barren rock towering above it – and right up there on the steepest of slopes, old buildings such as churches. I understand they were placed there for safety from raiders.

    Reply

  11. Pingback: Guest Story: Cats of Kotor | My Health Selections

  12. AATIF says:

    HI,
    I AM ENGINEER BY PROFESSION & A POET BY PASSION.SO MAY I HAVE A GUEST POST OF MY ENGLISH SELF COMPOSED POETRY ON YOUR BLOG?
    YOU MAY GO THROUGH MY WEBSITE & READY MY ENGLISH CREATIONS & ALLOW ME TO HAVE A GUEST POST, IF YOU LIKE MY COMPOSITION & FEELINGS

    THANKS
    AATIF

    Reply
  13. Lorna Flaws says:

    Hi there,
    Great story! I’m heading to Kotor in a month and will definitely pay a visit to the Cats Museum. Can you let me know how much is the entrance fee? 🙂

    Reply

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