Dubrovnik and The Game of Thrones

DubrovnikEven if you’ve never traveled to Dubrovnik, Croatia, if you’ve watched The Game of Thrones you’ve see it. Many of the outdoor scenes of the hit HBO series are filmed in the city, along with other Croatian locations in Split and Trsteno. Ironically, the main filming is done at the Titanic Studios in Belfast, Northern Island. But Dubrovnik provides some of the most stunningly ancient auras of any of the locations.

I visited Dubrovnik as part of my summer tour that included Serbia and Montenegro. The ancient part of the city of Dubrovnik juts out into the Adriatic Sea in a region called Dalmatia (for which the famous spotted dogs of fire trucks are named). The vista is awe-inspiring, to say the least.

Dubrovnik

It takes 2 to 3 hours to walk the high wall surrounding the city. Taking the gondola to the top of the mountain gives you an overview that is guaranteed to take your breath away.

Dubrovnik

For those interested in Game of Thrones, you’ll be swarmed by guides even before you reach the city walls eager to take you on the Game of Thrones tour! To get a preview, check out this guide to the “10 Best Filming Locations” in Croatia. While I didn’t sign up for the formal tour, I did see many of the locations used in filming.

So take the tour if you’re interested, but more importantly, walk the wall, go up to the mountain vantage point, and eat at one of the quaint alley-way restaurants in the old town. One doesn’t just visit Dubrovnik, one experiences it.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, is scheduled for release in summer 2017.

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A Quick Look at Montenegro

One of the stops on my recent trip to the Balkans was Montenegro. Sitting on the coast of the magnificent Adriatic Sea, Montenegro was once part of the former Yugoslavia, along with Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and others. Independent since 2006, Montenegro’s name comes from its mountainous geography, most notably the black shadow cast over its beautiful coastal waters by the looming mountains.

Przno, Montenegro

Our base for three days was the resort area of Pržno, near the town of Budva. Nestled into a cove surrounded by rocky ledges and pebbly beaches, the views were gorgeous. A short walk through the pine woods along the shore brings to you Sveti Stefan, a narrow islet now connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. A home for the rich and famous, guests shell out considerable Euros to stay in one of the 50 rooms, cottages, or suites on the exclusive resort.

Sveti Stefan, Montenegro

A short drive away is the old city of Kotor with its ancient walls and narrow lanes. I’ll have more on Kotor in the future.

Kotor, Montenegro

Leaving Kotor we wiggled and waggled up the narrow switchbacks of the aptly named Lovcenske serpentine, seen below in a photo from our tour organizer, Sherry Kumar. This is only a small segment; you can see more of it in this photo.

Serpentine road Montenegro_Sherry Kumar

The trek up was harrowing, especially when we turned a corner and narrowly missed getting rammed by a car coming down. Worse, at one point near the top we were forced to back down the winding road to find a spot wide enough (barely) for a large hay-filled truck to assertively get past us. But once we got to the top (or nearly the top), the view was worth it.

Kotor, Montenegro

And there was much more – a drive through a National Park, a long climb on foot up to a famous mausoleum, and visit to the old capital of Cetinje were wrapped around a delightful lunch at a renowned restaurant in the middle of nowhere. More on all of this later.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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Visiting Tesla’s Homeland – Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia

Nikola TeslaNikola Tesla was born 160 years ago at midnight of July 9th/10th. His father was a Serbian cleric; his mother the daughter and sister of Serbian clerics. In a portent of his future, Tesla came to this Earth during a lightning storm – “a child of the light” – in the little town of Smiljan, then part of the Austrian empire in what is now Croatia. This year’s birthday celebration will be held in Serbia, along with Montenegro and Croatia.

After a day in Amsterdam, Serbian Airlines will swoop us into Nikola Tesla Airport in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade. First stop is the Tesla Museum, which will be launching a virtual reality exhibition the day of my arrival. I’m looking forward to a personal tour by the new Director, Dr. Branimir Jovanovic. An updated permanent exhibit will open the next day. Also part of the Tesla celebration are an art exhibit, a conference, and an evening gala, at which an award is waiting for me in recognition of the fantastic distribution of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. I plan to donate a copy to Dr. Jovanovi at the Museum on my arrival.

Of course, I’ll also be visiting with HRH Prince Alexander and HRH Princess Katherine of Serbia during an evening reception at the Royal Palace. When not dining with royalty I’ll be doing a walking tour of Belgrade and a day tour into the interior of Serbia, complete with castles, monasteries, and wineries.

Then it’s time to hop on Montenegro Airlines to Sveti Stefan for some of the best beaches on the Adriatic Sea on the coast of Montenegro. Over a few days we’ll see the historical capital of Cetinje, the National Park of Loveen, and the Fortress of Kotor.

From there it’s up the coast to Dubrovnik in Croatia where the plan is to spend a day on a yacht enjoying the coastline. Another day will be on foot, exploring the famed walls surrounding the city. From here we fly Croatia Airlines (have to get all three airlines into the itinerary) to Frankfurt, where we’ll explore the old city for a day before heading back home (on a fourth airline).

Watch this space for plenty of great photos of Nikola Tesla’s heritage homelands.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget you can enter to win free copies of both Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World on Goodreads.

Nikola Tesla

Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in July 2016.

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Visiting Nikola Tesla in Belgrade

I’m going to visit Nikola Tesla in Belgrade, Serbia. Last month I mentioned that my originally planned trip to Machu Picchu had hit a snag and that an opportunity to see the Tesla Museum in Belgrade had popped up. After examining the options I decided on Serbia for this July. [A bigger and better trip to Machu Picchu with my friend from Argentina will be done in 2017]

This particular Serbia trip was too good to pass up. Organized by famed Eurocircle travel guru Sherry Kumar in conjunction with an international Tesla Conference , the trip will take us to three countries and a cocktail party with royalty.

HRH Prince Alexander and HRH Princess Katherine

Yup, royalty. After a day of touring around Belgrade we’ll change into formal attire for an evening reception at the Royal Palace with HRH Prince Alexander and HRH Princess Katherine of Serbia. We’ll also get a tour of the royal palace.

While in Belgrade we’ll also visit the Nikola Tesla Museum, whose director I met here in the U.S. some time ago. Since I didn’t have a chance to visit the Museum itself prior to publishing my book, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, I’m eager for this chance. We’ll even have dinner in the Bohemian quarter.

Kotor

After Belgrade we’ll head to Montenegro, where we’ll have a chance to see the historic environs of Tivat and the island of Sveti Stefan on the Adriatic Sea, plus travel to see Kotor (photo above), Cetinje, and Lovcen. If that wasn’t enough, we’ll check out the Blue Cave.

The last few days will be spent in famed Dubrovnik, Croatia.

I’ll have a lot more information before and after the trip, which we’ll do in July, but to give you a feel for what we’ll see, check out these cool videos.

It should be an exciting trip. We still have to work out flights into Belgrade and out of Dubrovnik, but the deposit is down and we’re committed to visiting a part of the world I haven’t seen yet.

So who is coming with me?

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

[Photo of HRH Prince Alexander and HRH Princess Katherine by By Holger Motzkau 2010, Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons (cc-by-sa-3.0)]