When I arrived Kotor was pretty much closed! It was pouring rain, and those locals who were out were shuttling between needed destinations. I braved what I thought might turn into a flood to get from my Airbnb outside the old city to make it first to a modern shopping center where I got an umbrella and then quickly around the old city. The next day, though, the rain dispersed people emerged. First there were locals hanging out at cafés they set up, followed in an hour or so by several tours – one French and another I did not overhear.
Kotor is jam packed with churches! You wiggle though back streets, and come out in a square with a church. One piazza is a small church and a big church, but it is not cathedral square – that’s elsewhere! There’s also a church tucked dramatically in the hills overlooking the city. Medieval folks would have had to go to church really often to keep all these in business!
The Catholic cathedral costs three euro to enter, and has a more Orthodox style chapel and a museum of religious artifacts around the upper floor. It also had this old clockwork just sitting off to the side!

The smaller churches were closed, but the large Orthodox Church and the Franciscan church of St. Clare were also open.

Around the town there are Venetian palaces, reminders of the Stato di Mare. And by the Sea Gate you can see the lion of Saint Mark.



My Airbnb host and my guide both recommended that I walk to the Yellow Bastion, and pointed to (I thought) a large yellow 19th century building on a hill. Reviews online speak of it as an Ottoman era fortification; I was a bit confused and even more so when I came to stone earthworks with couples and families enjoying the view, but with the yellow building still above me and no signs pointing toward it. I walked along a local road, to the outskirts of a neighborhood, and was now circumambulating the building and its grounds. On the back side I finally had a clear view inside; it is a dramatic ruin clearly shot up during the siege.
It turns out that this is the Jajce Barracks, built by the Austro-Hungarians. A little reading tells me that the Dayton agreement forbids the government(s) from selling government of land, because neither the Republika Spska nor the Bosnian government will trust the other to do so. The result is that some places, like this, are slower to redevelop than others. By the way, the view is indeed gorgeous and while heading to the barracks isn’t necessary unless you like ruins, just beyond the actual Yellow Bastion is the café kamarija. It was hopping on this sunny Saturday afternoon.
Finding myself with a little extra time, I decided to take the tram out to the new part of town and the Avra Twist Tower, the tallest building in the Balkans. I thought I was heading into the center of the modern city, but it turns out it is slightly beyond that – next to the seemingly abandoned rail station, some empty houses and littered lots. On the way one passes a huge gray walled compound with multiple police patrols and ubiquitous CCTV cameras – unsurprisingly, the Embassy of the United States of America. The tower itself is what one would expect: modern, express elevator to the top, bar/café on the 35th floor (with a good number of people there) and observation deck on the 36th. My impression was one of a government trying hard – rather than a natural next step from the modern part of the city it seemed like a highly intentional “project.” But I don’t know the finances or the plans for the train station or areas surrounding it – perhaps it will be a success, or at least the root of more development.

Of the churches in Sarajevo, in my opinion the one not to miss is the Old Orthodox Church (Sts. Michael and Gabriel). It echoes with history and meaning. Quite small, its main floor is set partway below ground. It is surrounded by a compact balcony on the “second” floor. Something about the size and the age spoke to me. Outside, the courtyard is one of those spaces that starts public and then fades into a personal area. I went up some steps and ended up in a backyard with a playset. The museum, while simple, has some very funny (to modern eyes) religious art. The 19th century Cathedral of the Nativity of the Theodokos has a gorgeous altar screen, stained glass windows and a good number of icons (though not jammed to the rafters with icons like Orthodox churches in Jerusalem.) One middle aged man was praying to an icon. The Catholic cathedral (Sacred Heart) isn’t huge and is to my eyes attractive but not unusual for a European Catholic Church. I finally got in on a Sunday morning during Mass before I left. Despite the sign I found it locked other times. At Mass there were about ten or twelve people – but it was an early service, perhaps more come later.