Game of Cellos

On John’s birthday (in May) we visited Dubrovnik, and we were just culturally ignorant enough to not know that a monster part of that city’s tourist draw is its connection with the filming of Game of Thrones. But strolling the ancient streets, we immediately noticed that every souvenir shop outdid itself touting Game of Thrones trinkets and swag. We eventually figured out that several locations were jammed with people taking selfies to prove they visited the precise sites of iconic scenes in their favorite drama.

No, I am nerdy enough that for years, my reason for wanting to pilgrimage to Croatia was to visit sites where the 2 Cellos filmed their videos. If this post causes even one person to find and love the 2 Cellos, I will sigh deeply with blogger bliss.

The 2 Cellos are a pair of young Croatian musicians who teamed up for a decade or so to tour, record albums, and create entertaining videos of themselves performing classical and popular music. Before they were 2 Cellos, Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser were classically trained teens who inevitably competed against each other at music festivals (let’s just say this is a bigger thing in Europe than in the US). I don’t know the story of their decision to pair up and diversify their repertoire, but we can all be glad they did. As well as being virtuoso musicians, they are gifted entertainers, and easy on the eyes, at that. Besides featuring great performances, their YouTube videos showcase breathtaking Croatian landscapes and landmarks. During Covid, I would allow YouTube to autoload their videos on the TV for hours, and enjoy the company of full-length concerts as well as single-piece videos, often created around a popular song or movie theme and filmed in their homeland. For this reason I have dreamed for years of visiting the Roman colosseum at Pula, Skradinski Buk waterfall at Krka National Park, Dubrovnik city wall, Zlatni Rat (included because it’s sooo fun to say), and other iconic Croatian sites.

All good things must end, and eventually Hauser and Luca stopped working together and now pursue individual careers. If you are a Portlander, you just missed a Hauser performance this month; I heard it was really great. In case you are not yet a 2 Cellos fan, please sample these videos (and find the many more out there!) Let me know if you become a fan, either of Luka and Hauser or of Croatia.