Kotor, Monte Negro

Monte Negro is a small country on the east side of the Adriatic Sea. It is bordered by Croatia, Albania,Bosnia, Herzogovina, Kosovo and Serbia. Kotor is a small port city, population about 14,000, located at the foot of the mountains at the end of a long inlet. It took at least an hour to get by ship from the mouth of the inlet on the Adriatic to Kotor. The inlet looks very much like a fjord, but according to the geologists it is not a fjord but a flooded river valley. Oh, well...it looks like a fjord, it quacks like a fjord...

 In the photo above we are just entering the inlet from the Adriatic. The photo below shows a commercial mussel farm up the inlet a little ways.

The photo below shows a church halfway up the mountain.

Below is a village and two churches.

 
Kotor owed allegiance to, and received protection from, Venice from 1420 to 1797. The sea wall above and the city wall shown below are both Venetian. Note the Lion of Venice. For much of this time period the Adriatic Sea was a Venetian lake.

This deep green color shown on the shutters  in the two photos below is typical of Kotor.

Kotor is basically a medieval town, with very narrow streets and some small squares. A typical street is shown above.

The photo above shows a typical street lamp, the ubiquitous red tile roofs and the domes of a church with the rugged mountains rising in the back ground. Because of the abrupt rise of the mountains from the sea there is very little room for a town.

Above are a gate and a door. I believe the door is a side door to a church. I don't know where the gate leads.

I believe this is the Cathedral of St. Tryphon, shown from a side street.

This dog was minding its own business on a small square when a tourist took its photo. A gypsy woman immediately claimed the dog was hers and demanded money for its photo. Of course the dog was not hers and she was quickly sent packing. We had several encounters with gypsies, but only the one in Kotor.

Small square. I believe the church is Serbian Orthodox, but I am not sure.

Small dress shop off a square.

 I like the above building. I think it has a lot of character. Note the dark green shutters.

I think this is a tower on a church. Note the flower growing out of a crack and the rugged mountains behind.

This is a water fountain on one of the squares--apparently no longer used.

Above-- note the flowers growing out of the cracks in the wall.

A typical narrow medieval street. Note the green shutters and the wash hanging from the third story windows.

Mykonos

Mykonos is one of the Cyclades Islands of Greece in the south Aegean Sea. It is a small island, only 33 square miles. The main town is also called Mykonos; a main, perhaps the main industry now is tourism. Mykonos is noted for its nightlife. The town is small with narrow streets, mainly pedestrian. It is a very colorful place with a lot of blue and white. The photo below is of some waterfront buildings.

Below are two photos of a small church.

Window with lace curtains and beautiful blue shutters.

Doorway, probably to a house.

Small church in background in above photo. Below is a building with another prominent color, red. Also note the bougainvillea.

The two photos below show white with blue trim on a wide spot in a street.

Below is another small church.

 There is a knit goods shop in the building shown below.

 Typical narrow street shown below.

 Another small church.

The three photos below show the beautiful white with blue trim seen so frequently.

I really like the door shown in the photo below. I don't know what sort of building it leads into, perhaps a church.

More bougainvillea on a building that houses a bar.

Below is another small church.

The last two photos are of some of the iconic windmills of Mykonos. The ones shown here are located on the edge of the harbor. There are some 16 windmills remaining on Mykonos. They were built by the Venetians in the 16th century and used to mill wheat. They ceased being used in the middle of the 19th century.

Corfu

Corfu is a Greek island located in the Ionian Sea off the northwest tip of Greece and a stone's throw across the water from Albania. The main city is also called Corfu and has an old section that has narrow cobbled streets, colorful buildings and shops.It is protected by two castle fortresses, one of which is shown above. Corfu was controlled by Venice for 400+ years and was never conquered by the Turks. The Italians and the Germans occupied it during WWII and the city suffered some bomb damage. It is a favorite vacation spot for northern Europeans and a stop for some cruise ships.

The building above is on a small square. Below are typical streets and shops.

The shop shown below sells olive products. The bottles on the shelves are different varieties of olive oil.

The photos below show a building with close ups of  some of it's windows. 

This door and building have seen better days. Below are photos of another cobble stone street with shops and a door.

I'm not sure what's going on with this fish spa shown below. Maybe the fish are nibbling away on customers' feet or the fish are coming in for a little relaxation. Colorful, anyway.

Below are some more colorful buildings and windows.

Above is another narrow street and the doorway of a shop.



Below is a small square and a bell tower.

Below is a very colorful door.

Below is a narrow street with the bell tower of the Church of St. Spyridon in the background. St Spyridon is the patron saint of Corfu.

Can you guess what kind of shop is shown below?

The Durrell family lived on Corfu from 1935 to 1940. Gerald Durrell  became a naturalist and wrote three books about being a boy on Corfu: My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods.  I can personally vouch for them as great reads. Lawrence, Gerald's older brother and renowned novelist, also wrote about Corfu in Prospero's Cell-a Guide to the Landscape and Manners of the Island of Coryca(Corfu). Enjoy!