#3068 The Trip: Split, Croatia

 

ussie in Split

For our stop in Split, we decided to buy a Game of Thrones (GoT) themed tour from the ship. The menfolk have watched the series a couple of times through, and I've caught glimpses of it while they watched, just enough to recognize and name some characters like Daenerys, Jon Snow, and Cersei. I also know Peter Dinklage is in it, but I didn't know his character's name. I also know there are dragons in the show. 

When we got out to the busses, there was a guy in a shirt that said "I drink and I know things" and I was thinking, "Okay, sir." Turns out that guy was our guide and that shirt is a GoT shirt with a saying from one of the characters, Tyrion Lannister. I would come to find out that Tyrion is Peter Dinklage's character. Needless to say, our guide, Ivica (Johnny in English), was a GoT dude who was really into it! For the most part, I had no idea what or who he was talking about for several hours, but I had a ton of fun on the tour. Now I am watching GoT and I get what the fuss is about. It's an epic story!

Anyway, here are some GoT related pics. I won't go into details because I don't remember and I don't think the seven of you who read this are really into GoT anyway, so it doesn't matter LOL

We left the city and drove up to the mountains to the town of Klis where this fortress as featured in seasons 4 -6. It was desperately hot, but the views were amazing!

the fortress is up on the hill above the town

had to walk up a large hill to get to the fortress itself

there were gobs of people

the view of Split and the surrounding islands was great

We rode back to the city and went into Diocletian's Palace. It's a pretty big draw in Split, but for our purposes on the GoT tour, we were interested in only a few spaces in the palace, and the main draw was the dragon's dungeon. Apparently, this is where the dragons had to go when they were naughty.

I managed a photo without any people!

From there, we went out of the dungeon to an area that was so incredibly packed with people that I can't even tell you where I was. Ivica did stop to tell us about this sphinx. It is Egyptian from the 15th century BC and was brought to Split by Emperor Diocletian around 297 AD. It's been there for 2000 years! That's just mind-boggling to me. It got cracked in an earthquake, I think he said.

Split's sphinx

there were gobs of people

When the tour was over, we left the palace and walked around the rest of the old town where we saw some incredible Venetian architecture, a giant statue that looked like a wizard but is actually a statue of Gregory of Nin, a Game of Thrones store which actually has an Iron Throne in it, and a Game of Thrones museum. We did not wait in the line for the photo opportunity, but we did go in the store. 

Game of Thrones Museum (we didn't go in)

Venetian architecture in a plaza

more Venetian architecture

Palace gate

statue of Gregory of Nin

We wandered around buying souvenirs, eating gelato, and sweating. (It was really hot!) On our way back to the ship, we walked along the pretty promenade that has palm trees, cafes, and local artisans selling their wares. At the end of that street, we came upon an open air market with lots of shade, so we had to go over there to look around.

flower stalls at the local market

We were quite tired and quite hot, so we headed back to the ship for a late lunch and drinks on the pool deck. 

view of Split from the ship

Overall, I'd say that I like Split, and I would like to go back when there are not four or more cruise ships in port. I would be glad to see more of Diocletian's Palace someday. The Game of Thrones tour was fun! Ivica, the guide, was funny and knowledgeable about the show. He had a few insider stories because his neighbor was an extra, or so he says. It may or may not be true, but it made it more fun. He also had still photos of GoT that he held up in exactly the spots the scenes were filmed. I thought that bit was really cool.

We're coming up on our final port of call, Zadar, Croatia. See you soon!

xo