Eesha Dukle, a resident of Tonca, Caranzalem is a lawyer by profession and loves to travel to
different places in India and abroad as well. She believes that travel gives
her sufficient time to recuperate, spend quality time with family and a break
from the usual monotonous lifestyle. “I love to travel abroad almost once a
year with my family and also I have friends with whom I have enjoyed a couple
of holidays. I love to explore the culture and bask in the touristy spots of
the places I am travelling to,” says Eesha, who travelled this year with her
husband Pranav and her cousin Nilay for her last trip.
They planned the trip themselves. Pranav
planned the travel itinerary, booked the places to stay and travel while Nilay
coordinated the intra- city navigation, Eesha planned the sightseeing in each
city. They visited a total of 12 cities including Budapest in Hungary, Prague
in Czech Republic, Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia, Vienna, Salzburg and
Innsbruck in Austria, Munich in Germany, Zurich, Geneva, Lucerne and
Grindelwald in Switzerland.
A huge fan of Game of Thrones (GoT), Eesha
has watched all the seasons of the television series and was excited to visit
the locations where most of the iconic scenes were shot. “When we were
travelling to Croatia, the last season on GoT was on air. Hence, we decided to
plan and visit the locations where GoT was shot in Croatia. I did a background
study online which told me that GoT has been mainly shot in Diocletian Palace,
(Daenerys’ Throne Room and where the Dragons were kept), Split and Fort
Lovrijenac, (where the Red Keep, Kings Landing is portrayed), Dubrovnik Old
Town, (where the Lannisters say goodbye to Myrcella and the place where
Jeoffrey’s death scene was shot), Dubrovnik West Harbour (Blackwater Bay,
Starks say goodbye to Jon Snow in the last episode of Season 08), Pile Gate
Entrance (King Jeoffrey returns to the Red Keep and is attacked by a mob with
dung) and the Baroque Staircase of Church of St Ignatius (Cersi’s Walk of
Shame), Lokrum Island. We did a Game of Thrones guided tour in the old town of
Dubrovnik which showed us all these locations where the series was shot in the
earlier season. The tour guide informed us that many sites were edited and
photoshopped to look grander in the series.,” informs Eesha.
She further adds, “The old towns of Croatia are beautiful by
themselves and our expectations were truly met. The places were buzzing with
tourists from all over the world, all excited about the GoT last season
simultaneously being on air. The thrill of actually seeing the place where the
last scenes were shot could be seen amongst all the tourists and we were also
equally excited about it. The towns have attracted a lot of tourists due to the
GoT craze but the locations and forts are scenic and worth seeing irrespective
of the GoT fandom. Dubrovnik old town is more hyped up and crowded because of
Game of Thrones as compared to Split. However, we got to know that the locals
are not very happy due to the excessive influx of tourism. Some locals also
told us that earlier Croatia attracted only elderly retired folks who visited
the place to admire their culture but now it’s visited mostly by youngsters
just for GoT and they fail to appreciate the culture and simplicity of the old
town.”
While travelling, trying different cuisines is out of the
question. How else will one know the essence of the place without its culinary
delights? Eesha sampled different speciality dishes in various parts of Europe.
“We ate a chimney cake named trdelnik or trdlo at Prague, which is made from a
dough rolled and wrapped around a stick. It could be combined with several
assorted toppings but we chose to eat it with whipped cream, strawberries and
nutella dip. We had our brunch at a traditional Viennese Cafe in Vienna named
Cafe Sperl, where I tried the Austrian Sacher Cake known as Sachertorte, a
chocolate sponge cake with apricot jam and is the most famous Viennese culinary
specialities. I also tried the Swiss national dish, the Cheese fondue at a
restaurant named Fribourger Fonduestübli at Zurich which only served cheese
fondue. I had a cheese fondue which was a combination of two cheeses, blends of
gruyère and vacherin fribourgeois with bread and boiled potatoes. For those who
love cheese, it’s a must try.”
Their most memorable experience of the entire trip was their
stay in a cabin on a mountain in Grindelwald, a town of Switzerland. They got
to experience three different weathers, rain, snowfall and sunshine during
their three day stay at the cabin. The only access to the place was a cable car
which operated only from 8.30am to 5pm hence they had to return back to their
base as early as they could. However, the stay was truly memorable and the view
from the mountain Bort was truly breathtaking.
Her
advice to young travellers is to save their earnings so that they can go for a
holiday. “I always believe that one should save money to pursue their hobbies
and if travelling is one such hobby then one can be assured that the money
spent on it will never be money wasted. It is best when the travel is planned
by yourself as you get to explore the new place as you want to and not as a
planned itinerary by an agent. Exploring a place by yourself, using local
transport helps to understand the local vibe of the place much better. The
internet is always at our aid and we have a plethora of booking websites to
assist us with the planning. Hence, see the place by yourself, it will also
help you save a lot more on the expenses,” concludes Eesha.
