Croatia

A friend may be travelling to Europe shortly, which reminded me I wanted to write about Croatia. Located on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, west of Hungary and Serbia, south of Slovenia, and wrapping around Bosnia and Herzegovina to the north and west, Croatia is considered part of Eastern Europe.

Also known as "The Pearl of the Adriatic", Dubrovnik is a World Heritage City. Image from Geece and Mediterranean Travel.
Also known as “The Pearl of the Adriatic”, Dubrovnik is a World Heritage City. Image from Greece and Mediterranean Travel.

Croatia is an up-and-coming fandom travel destination. Although several movies have been made there, none of them have made an impact on the Fandom community. Game of Thrones, however, has filmed quite a few scenes in King’s Landing Dubrovnik. There are plenty of choices for fandom travel. Viator offers several tours, including the cities Dubrovnik and Split. “Memorable locations from the series include the Minceta, Bokar, and Lovrijenac fortresses; the Dubac quarry; the island of Lokum, just off the coast of Dubrovnik; the village of Mlini; and the island of Mrkan just off the coast of Cavtat” (Viator). Dubrovnik is also a great place to soak up the sun in a Mediterranean climate.

Zagreb, Croatia's northern capital. Image from Lonely Planet.
Zagreb, Croatia’s northern capital. Image from Lonely Planet.

If you want to visit the interior of Croatia, the capital Zagreb has tons of geeky things to offer. The Technical Museum offers a planetarium, an underground coal mine replica, and Nikola Tesla’s laboratory, where you can become a test subject. There’s a bar called Tolkien’s House next to a monastery. There’s more, check out this link for short descriptions of all the cool things to do!

Koprivnica, Croatia becomes a Renaissance town in August for a festival. Image from Croatia Tourism.
Koprivnica, Croatia becomes a Renaissance town in August for a festival. Image from Croatia Tourism.

Further inland is the city of Koprivnica. What drew my eye is its Renaissance Festival, held the 25-28 of August 2016. Over ten European countries will be competing in this year’s events, the central theme of which is “Equestrian Knight’s Tournament”. Hundreds of performers from Croatia and the other ten countries will be in full costume, and welcome the chance to interact with tourists and locals alike.

If you’d like help booking this trip. You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca


References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_shot_in_Croatia
http://www.viator.com/Croatia-tourism/Game-of-Thrones-TV-Locations-in-Croatia/d730-t10599
http://www.likecroatia.com/news-tips/destinations/the-geeks-guide-to-zagreb/
http://www.mdc.hr/tehnicki/en/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/Tolkiens-House-16990844511/
http://croatia.hr/en-GB/Activities-and-attractions/Events/NewEvents/Renaissance-festival
http://www.renesansnifestival.hr/renesansni-festival-0-22.php

Ringwraith!

The Ringwraith has the TARDIS! Who will save the Doctor?

SONY DSC

I am helping to organize a new craft fair that is happening March 21, 2015 (TOMORROW!!). It is called CON Creative Ottawa Nerds. You can say that you’re going to the event here, and you can like our Facebook page here. Éric wrote about it here.

Gimli and Legolas

I wonder if Gimli and Legolas would continue their kill-counts if they travelled with the Doctor?

SONY DSC

I am helping to organize a new craft fair that is happening March 21, 2015. It is called CON Creative Ottawa Nerds. You can say that you’re going to the event here, and you can like our Facebook page here. Éric wrote about it here.

Middle Earth family

Another family with a great theme – this time from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. I didn’t ask, so I hope I’m not wrong, but this is Bilbo Baggins, Tauriel and Gandalf heading off on an adventure on the TARDIS. I think they would be excellent companions for the Doctor, don’t you?

Sean Astin

Sean Astin was at Ottawa Comic Con this past weekend. He was absolutely amazing! I loved his panel, and I loved talking (briefly) with him when I got his autograph. I asked him “Do you wish ‘The Scouring of the Shire’ had been included in the movie?” He said that a lot of people ask him what he thought should have been included (“[The list] certainly doesn’t include Tom Bombadil!) and that they had to do a lot of sword training for that part of the movie, and then they didn’t even film it! He said that at least he got to fight with a frying pan.

Then I asked if he would be OK if I took a picture with him holding the TARDIS. He was very interested in it and asked me how long it took to make. Totally made my day!

Roverandum

Silver Stag Entertainment hosts a review panel once a week called Nights at the Round Table, and this week the creator of the Travelling TARDIS was a panelist! Here is a picture of the three panelists who discussed Roverandum by J.R.R. Tolkien. Go check out the panel here!