On the road again... just can't wait to be on the road again (or in our case water, sorry Willie)

 

Kotor Bay- Montenegro

 The wind instrument was replaced but then, as forecast, the wind blew hard for several days.  Not wanting to battle a 30 plus knot head wind we opted to stay put until the wind was more in our favor.  In order to make up for the lost time we decided to skip Albania and just sail directly to Italy.  It was a good decision as our friend who decided to set sail for Tunisia regardless of the wind forecast reported back that for all his effort trying to tack with the headwind he made very little progress.  It was just a painful slog and both he and his crew member were sick. 

Leaving Kotor Bay - Montenegro

 On April 17th, we headed to the customs dock early to check out of Montenegro.  Which was futile as the customs folks don't come to work till nearly 0900 :(.  So much for that planned early departure 😉. Once we were all checked out we set off for Otranto, Italy, which would be an overnight sail.  It was a beautiful morning and the clouds were lying low on the land.  A bit crisp outside, but nice.

Sunset at sea

The passage was uneventful and all our instruments worked properly, thank goodness.  In the night the wind died off completely and we became a motor boat 😞 but still reached Otranto in 26 hours.  Our plan was to spend a couple nights in the marina at Otranto and visit the little town.  However, for most of the day before we departed, I tried in vain to reach the marina by phone and email.  We knew we would be tired and want to sleep the day away when we arrived so we did not want to mess with anchoring.  Sadly, I was never able to reach anyone so our new plan was to just go into the harbour and see if we could get a slip when we arrived and if not we would just anchor in the harbour.

 

Rainbow - Welcome to Italy

 The morning brought some brief rain showers.  But more importantly, Italy greeted us with a rainbow as we returned to her shores.  We found that to be a nice, little welcome after a long night at sea.  

Otranto, Italy - Harbour

Unfortunately, we were unable to get a berth so we dropped the anchor in the harbour.  Which was totally fine but.... the outboard for the dinghy decided to act up.  The outboard would only idle (it has not been run for months) so Michael ended up having to row over to customs for check in and row back.  Ordinarily, that would be fine also but we were dog tired... so not so fine.  

 

Otranto, Italy - Harbour

And now the Schengen countdown begins.  We intend to make the most out of our allotted ninety days in the EU! 

 

The Gremlins remain...

 

Ostrog Monastery

So we left on Good Friday and then we returned.  We had no sooner reached the end of Kotor Bay and entered the Adriatic when our wind instruments stopped working.  All of our electronics were replaced at Navar boatyard in Tivat and are under warranty ... so we thought it best to just turn around and have Navar come and take a look.

Ostrog Monastery - blankets for sleeping outside

Since it was the start of Easter weekend Navar folks would not be by until Monday.  As the saying goes when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  Well our version of that was "well we may as well fix a big Easter dinner".  So I started baking bread and planning a big feast.  It was only Michael and I, along with a new friend from Rhode Island (John) who ate but we enjoyed the meal and the day. 

Ostrog Monastery

On Monday, Borko from Navar came by and found that the new wind instrument is defective.  On Tuesday he will take it down and on Wednesday hopefully put up a new one.  On Thursday the wind comes again so we will likely wait until next week and then just go straight to Italy.  

From the top of the Monastery mountain

We didn't really expect that the installation of all new electronics would be completely problem free.  And truly everything else works fine.  Apparently, the new WS310 wind instrument has been an issue, a lemon perhaps?  Borko says there are many that he has installed that have failed.  We are crossing back over the Atlantic later this year and really need everything to work properly.

Durmitor National Park

So to explain the photos, Michael and I did take a day to go on a tour of Montenegro before our first departure.  It was a 14 hour day but we felt we got a good look at most of the country.  In particular, I wanted to visit the Ostrog Monastery which is built into the side of a mountain.  The monastery is an Eastern Orthodox Monastery and most Montenegrins will do a pilgrimage there at least once in their lifetime.  Some of the more dedicated believers will walk there, even from as far as the coast.  The more extreme walk the whole way barefoot.  The monastery itself has space for 40 people to sleep, so the rest sleep outside.  The drive up to the Monastery is a downright scary ride.  Way, way up the mountain the road hugs the mountain on one side and there is nothing on the other - just a potentially deep fall with absolutely nothing to break that fall.  You just have to close your eyes and trust the driver.  Unbelievably cars will try to pass on the wider hairpin turns - inshallah. The monastery was amazing to see however so we were so glad we braved the drive up.

Tara River

 We also went to see the Tara River and the bridge that crosses the Tara river canyon.  North and south Montenegro are separated by the 4300 feet deep canyon that stretches over 50 miles.  The Tara river bridge is the only way to get across that canyon.  This fact became very important in WWII as the Italians had crossed into Montenegro and wanted to reach the other side of the canyon.  The architect of the bridge was sought and he told the Montenegrins to take out the center arch.  That would keep the Italians from bringing  heavy artillery across and foot soldiers would just be shot as they tried to cross.  And it would preserve the bridge.

Tara River Bridge

Eventually the Italians were able to get enough soldiers across and when they did they went on a hunt for the architect.  When they found him they brought him to the bridge and killed him.  It had rained off and on all day that day so while the young folks went zip lining across the canyon, Michael and I had a cup of hot tea in the nearby restaurant.  But now we are done - we feel like we have seen quite a lot of Montenegro.  It is beautiful but we are ready to move on.  Hopefully by the end of the week we will reach Italy.

 

Slow progress...

Mountains upon Mountains

 We intended to stay at Porto Montenegro Marina for one week, thinking that would give us time to get all the new equipment checked out and put the boat back together.  Two weeks turned into four weeks of nonstop work!  A few days were spent just cleaning and putting things away.  And then the low water bilge pump decided to quit working.  So... at least three more days replacing the float switches and the low water pump.  Next our transformer also decided to stop working.  In Europe they use 220V power, in the US we use 110V.  So in order for us to hook up to shore power we use a transformer that steps the power down from 220V to 110V.  We contacted an electrician to see if it could be repaired and were told that indeed it could be repaired.  They told us it would take four days to repair, that was three weeks ago!!

Rainbow Surprise

 For several days the wind has been howling from the north at 45 plus knots.  When the north wind blows the air is cold.  Fortunately, we have a down comforter to keep us warm at night and a propane heater to keep us warm during the day so we have managed these last few weeks.  But hallelujah, as I write it is seven thirty pm and the transformer just arrived!  And it works!!  That is phenomenal as right now the north wind is blowing at 50 plus knots.  Fortunately, we now have our little space heater on and all is right with the world (or at least our little world).  

City of Niksickco in the distance

 Initially, when we moved back onto Talaria the solar panels were not charging our batteries.  We thought that the problem was the batteries, that they were not taking the charge.  But as it turned out the boatyard had taken a fuse out and therefore the solar panels weren't charging.  We replaced the fuse and voila the solar panels started working as they should.  Looks like we won't have to replace the house bank after all.  Super great news.

The beautiful turquoise Tara River

 Finally, all boat systems are working.  So we moved on to checking the new electronics installed by Navar boatyard.  The only issue we were having was with the new single side band radio (like a HAM radio but for marine use) and the pactor modem which allows us to use to radio to reach a station and get weather information.  There was a communication issue that after a lot of tracing wires and communication with SailMail support we finally resolved.  So... now I think we are good.  Our plan is to leave Tivat on Friday but it may be Saturday depending on the weather.  Moving on... finally!

Back in Montenegro

Talaria at NAVAR boatyard

 Eight months and many, many emails later we FINALLY settled with the insurance company.  Was it fair and equitable?  Were were made whole minus our deductible?  The answer is a resounding: NO.  But rather than go through arbitration and months upon months of further delay we got the best deal we could obtain and settled.  We knew full well that there may be more that comes up that will not be covered now that we have settled and we may end up taking an even greater loss.  Anyway you approach it, its a losing game so we took the gamble.  Just days before we were due to fly back to Montenegro, London Marine Insurance finally deposited money to our checking account.  

Boxes of now worthless electronics

 The work that NAVAR boatyard was doing is complete but our work begins.  We took a chance and brought some boat parts back with us to repair the inverter and air conditioner.  Circuit boards mostly that we were praying would not be confiscated by customs.  We also brought back a new controller for our wind generator and a new battery monitor.  One whole day was spent just repairing the inverter but I am happy to report that it now works!!  Our goal is to complete our work in two more days and then have the boat surveyed while she is out of the water.  We are aiming to have Talaria back in the water by Thursday - March 9th.  

Replacing the wind generator controller

However, we have already run into problems.  Our starter battery is dead (a victim of the lightning strike) and our house bank of batteries are not taking a charge.  All of the batteries were just purchased in 2021.  We are hoping that the house bank will improve but its not looking good.  Of course, that will all be on us as we already settled with the insurance company.  Absolute crooks - a scam in every sense of the word.  

Beautiful Montenegro

 We still have been unable to check to make sure the electronics are working properly but hope to do a sea trial on Thursday to test it all (realistically it may be the following week).  At the moment the inside of Talaria is a mess!  We have to complete some projects before we can even begin to put things back together inside.  So we will see if the survey can be completed on Wednesday, probably not  They need to be able to walk around and look things over which is impossible at the moment.

Che Boat

On another note, we found it interesting that the little NAVAR boat parked in front of us celebrates Che Guevara.  Is there a connection between Montenegro and Cuba?

Che Boat

Or a personal connection to Cuba?  Don't know, nor does it matter - just found it interesting to see outside of Cuba.  In Cuba you can buy Che souvenirs on every corner.  Virtually everything has Che's image on it - T-shirts, coffee mugs, key chains etc...  But this is our first sighting in Montenegro😏. 

Marine Insurance Chicanery

Excuse my absence - I have been slowly burning in the fire of marine insurance hell.  Turns out at least some industry players practice a shell game that is unmatched in the devious realm of flim flam.  Or at least that has been our experience thus far.  Helpful folks who have similarly experienced lightning strikes on their sailboats have reached out to share their, for the most part, positive experiences.

Berlin Graffiti

Sadly, that has only served to indulge my unhealthy immersion in self pity and anger, as our experience has been precisely the opposite of positive.  It is such a long story that I will not bore you with all the details - just a brief update.

World Clock - Berlin

July 8th we were at anchor behind a little island in Tivat, Montenegro.  Our peaceful sleep ended with a sudden boom of thunder.  Where there is thunder, there is rain (or at least that has always been true in our world) so we jumped up and started to close hatches.  Instead of a rain shower we had a "lightning shower".  Unfortunately for us lightning struck right beside our boat which caused very significant damage to our electronics.  Dutifully we secured the boat and notified the insurance company.

Holocaust Memorial - Berlin

From there it has all gone even further downhill.  Eventually the underwriter sent a "loss adjuster" who basically determined that since the equipment powered up it must be fine.  No matter that we have no data (imagine a blank screen on a computer).  We ended up hiring a surveyor ourselves but even that did not solve the what works and what does not issue.  The underwriters do not believe the electronics experts at the boatyard or the surveyors electronics engineer.  Instead, they prefer to process the claim on the basis of the Volvo-Penta dealer that they sent out who is neither a credentialed surveyor nor an electronics engineer.  Meanwhile, the insurance companies are playing hot potato with the policy.  The broker claiming that we really have insurance with the Underwriters - that is who our contract is with.  Even though our policy clearly says "London Marine Insurance".  It could not be more shady.  So we have now had to take it further and are preparing to file a formal complaint with the UK Financial Ombudsman.  

Carillon in Tiergarten Park - Berlin

Regardless, we will be returning to Montenegro in March and fervently hope that the work will be completed.

 

 

Ich bin ein Berliner

Brandenburg Gate

 "All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner" -  that is what President John F. Kennedy said in this city way, way back in 1963.  And yet that wall separating Berlin into a Communist side (East Berlin) and Democratic side (West Berlin) continued to stand until 1989! 

Checkpoint Charlie

And now here we are 33 years later after the wall came down once again worrying about democracy.  And so I say - as JFK said, if you think communism is not so bad - then you should come to Berlin.  Because here in this city there are stark reminders of the pain and suffering endured by many not only due to WWII but also the Cold War that followed on its heels.

Checkpoint Charlie Museum - demonstration of escape strategies

 

There was a reason folks contorted themselves into almost impossible positions to fit into "modified" amplifiers in hopes that they could be successfully smuggled out of East Berlin.  The lengths that folks went to from homemade planes to homemade hot air balloons serve as a testament to their utter despair.  Risk be damned, so many were just determined to escape or die trying.  And many, many did die trying.  All because they wanted "freedom".  Unwilling to live a life under de-humanizing Communist rule, for many no life was preferable to that life.  For those who worry about the current state of affairs in the US and other countries it is worth remembering and mulling over.

East Side Gallery - Berlin Wall

 Many people we talked with felt that Berlin was now just like any other modern city - breaking with its past, it was rebuilt for more modern times.  Unlike Munich that seemed to want to put all the pieces back together the way they were prior to WWII.  But for us WWII seemed to resonate loudly in Berlin.  I am sure if you lived there you would get used to the leftovers from the war and maybe not see them like a visitor would.  However, we could not help thinking how unsettling it would be to see that constant, ever present reminder.  Depressing, really.

Berlin Cathedral

 Nonetheless, Berlin is a great city and well worth a visit or two or three.  We actually will fly back to Berlin when we return to Europe in February.  So... we may get to spend a few more days there before heading to Montenegro.  There is still so much more to discover there! 

 

 

On to Germany...

An hour train ride from Salzburg and we were in Germany.  Munich is just the other side of the mountain.  Hitler actually had his little hideaway not too far from Salzburg (the Eagles Nest) and apparently on a clear day you can see Salzburg from the Eagles Nest.

Hofburg Haus

The decimation of Munich during WWII was near complete.  Hitler refused to surrender which led the Allied forces to attempt to bomb them into submission.  Not wanting the population to have a poor view of their chances of winning the war he made the decision to not move valuable art, furniture and the like into a secure location.  That would look defeatist.  At least not the large conspicuous items, he had moved many, many other smaller precious works of art.  So ... instead knowing that they would be severely bombed Hitler had his folks take lots and lots of photos. 
 

Shell Grotto

And that is how the Germans came to re-create that which had been completely destroyed, like this shell grotto.  Re-created from shells collected by locals after the war to perfectly match the original grotto you would never know that the grotto is in fact not ancient.

Dining hall

In the Munich Residenz, the room in the photo is the only room in the entire palace that actually dates to the 1600's.  Everything else was rebuilt guided entirely by the Hitler photos.  The level of craftmanship, dedication and commitment to re-create not only the palace structure but the items inside is nothing short of extraordinary. 

Theatinerkirche

And it wasn't just the Munich Residenz - the entire city was re-built with history and re-creation in mind.  Where other cities in Germany saw a clean slate, an opportunity to build a modern city however they chose, Munich was committed to preserving history.  Its a great illusion - you think you are strolling through history but in reality its re-created history.  That certainly does not diminish Munich - if anything it is even more astonishing.  

Work will set you free

 While in Munich we felt it necessary to visit Dachau.  Not because we wanted to be severely depressed but because everyone should bear witness.  That is why the concentration camp became a memorial so people will never forget.  As it turned out the weather was such that the only nice day for walking around Dachau was my birthday.  So... I may now have the best story for "worst things to do on your birthday"😀.  

 

Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial

To read about Dachau or Auschwitz or any of the other camps is one thing, to see it is another.  There were things we could not bring ourselves to witness.  We were totally unable to step foot in the "gas chamber" - it was enough to see the building but no way were we stepping inside.  The other thing we refused to see were the videos in the "museum" - it was just too much for us.  So we walked around and contemplated how human beings can be so cruel and evil.  And the other thing that struck us was how people in the town of Dachau could possibly say that they did not know what was going on there.  There is just no way that they did not know.  We can believe that maybe they did not know the manner in which some folks died but they certainly knew that many, many people were dying there.  The concentration camp is just not that far out of town - there are residences nearby.  Granted it may have been further out back in the 1940s but still we can't believe that folks were ignorant of the killing taking place. 

Foundations of baracks for prisoners

We tried to not have this be a WW II trip but its hard to be in Germany and not be immersed in WWII history.  So after a very depressing birthday we decided to look for some Indian food for dinner (our favorite) and switch gears completely.  For the next day we decided to go visit the BMW museum.  

 

BMW Museum

The BMW museum was a surprisingly popular museum and very well done.  I did not think I would be too interested but it was actually very interesting.  A thoroughly enjoyable day!

 And surprisingly they were very honest about their part in abetting the war.  They had one whole display outlining their part in subjugating and abusing Jews as well as others.  There was an honest confession to lying and manipulating in order to support the war and Hitler.  And then they discussed how they had to face what they as a company had done in order to change.  So... now they are multinational and multicultural with a commitment to respecting all humans.  It was both eye opening and refreshing.  

There is much to see in Munich and so unique in their approach post WWII.  Would recommend visiting in the off season however as its another popular place.  It is also cheaper in the off season which is a definite plus - Munich is not cheap.