September 19, 2018 – Kotor

September 19, 2018 – Kotor, Montenegro
This was supposed to be a tender port but last night we were informed that we would be docking. We were given the green light to get off at 7am. All aboard was 1:30pm.
I had been here before. I got off at 7:15am and within 5 minutes returned to the ship to get my spare camera battery. I should have checked before going out.
We docked just down the street from the main gate. Getting through the group of local guides was a challenge but I made it. Kotor is a wonderful walked city. It was under Venetian rule for most of its history. It has a much more European feel than Dubrovnik had.
I got there so early that many street were empty. This made for good photo opportunities. After wandering around for an hour, I sat and had a cappuccino at a outdoor cafe. More and more people were pouring into the city. I did one more walk around and headed back to the ship at 9:30am. I noticed another cruise shipped moored further down the bay. That explained the sudden crowds.
The city is known for the number of cats that run wild. I took quite a few pix of them.
At 2pm I went to a premium wine tasting. We got to try 5 wines with different foods. We had 2 reds, 2 whites, and champagne . Sasa, the sommelier, is very knowledgeable and funny.
As we left the Captain mentioned that the other ship used to be the ms Noordam. This was the 2nd Holland America ship that Brian and I sailed on. We also saw it in 2011 when we stopped in Istanbul during a Black Sea cruise.
Tomorrow we get to Venice around 1pm. The passengers getting off in Venice get off the following morning. The next batch of passengers will start getting on around noon. I am going to wander around Venice and try not to get lost.