Split & Game of Thrones

Split & Game of Thrones

I got to Split yesterday afternoon and after some stressful time I made contact with the manager for the apartment where I'll be staying the next few days. It's lucky for me that so many people speak English here! The building for my room fronts right on the Riva, a promenade along the waterfront portion of Split Old City. This whole area is filled with shops and restaurants, and, even in October there are many visitors.

The harbor is filled with both cruise and tour boats. Not what I had expected, but still kind of exciting. Tonight there is some kind of rock-n-roll stage just outside my front door with bands performing. I'm glad that my room is to the back of the building so that when I want to sleep I will be protected from some of the loud sound.

Today was my Game of Thrones tour. It was a small group, only about 10 or so people so we could be close to our guide, a very enthusiastic and informed GoT fan! He had a notebook prepared with still shots from GoT that he could display as we visited key locations and see how imagination and computer generated imagery combined to create the fantasy of the show.

First stop was the Fortress Kris which was the location for much of the city of Meereen. It was a good distance out of the city and located atop a precipitous hill overlooking Split, the harbor, and the islands. I enjoyed being taken back to he GoT scenes through his descriptions and pictures. In the museum which displayed arms from various periods of Croatian history I immediately stepped forward when there was a chance to don an 'Unsullied' outfit: greaves, shield, helmet, and spear.

Second stop was the Diocletian Palace, first built about 450AD by the Roman emporer Diocletius. It has since gone through numerous changes and modifications including a conversion of the Temple of Jupiter to a Christian church and control by both Muslims and Venetians. The last significant building occurred in the 1400s. Today some of the buildings have apartments and people live there.

We saw several interior locations for GoT including the dungeon where Danaerys kept her dragons.

This was a very full day for me, shuffling about on hard surfaces and my feet were aching by the end. I even took a 2-hour nap in between delivering and picking up my laundry.

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