Blog

By Brent Hoffmann, Class of 2005

After the wrap-up of the multi-award-winning TV series “Game of Thrones,” I longed to visit the lair of the series’ three flying dragons.  But where to find them?  In ancient days, cartographers sited such creatures in the uncharted corners of the world with the written warning “here be dragons.”  Meaning, don’t sail into unknown areas where (imaginary) sea monsters might dwell.

“Game of Thrones,” or “GOT” as it was known to fans, was a wildly popular series produced by Home Box Office.  The HBO show began in 2011, spanned 73 episodes, and wrapped up in 2019.  It was set in three fictional continents populated by royal families and sword-swinging commoners who battled to claim the Iron Throne of the kingdom of Westeros.  The show was filmed in Northern Ireland, Canada, Iceland, Malta, Morocco, Spain, and Croatia.

The cast favorites included three dragons.  They were formidable weapons when wielded by a super-blonde princess named Daenerys, aka, the “Mother of Dragons.”  In the final season, Drogon, the fiercest of the fire-breathers, was set loose — with Daenerys riding like a jockey — to incinerate “King’s Landing” in Westeros, played by the Croatian city of Dubrovnik.

In 2019, my wife-to-be Susan and I signed up for a two-week tour, the “Best of the Balkans,” that took us to some of the show’s locales in cities of the former Yugoslavia.

.A poster promotes the final season of “Game of Thrones.”  Compared to these dragons, Godzilla was a pacifist.  (HBO illustration)

Dubrovnik, “King’s Landing” in the show, is a major Croatian seaport on the Adriatic Sea, across from the heel of Italy.  Founded in the 7th century, the city is a World Heritage Site famous for its medieval architecture and fortified old town. (Photo/Hoffman)

A massive defensive wall encircles Dubrovnik. You can walk on the wall for an aerial view in about an hour. (Photo/Hoffmann)

The scrawled message means something like, “Real people live here, in what tourists believe to be “King’s Landing.” (Photo/Hoffmann)

Our guide shows a photo of the dragon Drogon as it was depicted setting fire to “King’s Landing.”  “GOT” begot a major tour industry for the Dubrovnik locals, many of whom worked as extras during the filming.  The guide claimed that, as an extra, he’d rehearsed for hours just so he could be seen convincingly leaning against a wall in the background.  (Photo/Hoffmann)

We were encouraged to goof off with props from the show. This Chicago tourist hefts a (dull) sword and shield preparatory to heroic combat. (Photo/Susan Robertson)

Susan, always a good sport, relaxes in a replica of the show’s Iron Throne, enshrined in a Dubrovnik souvenir shop and available for photography for the cost of a refrigerator magnet.  (Photo/Hoffmann)

In Split, Croatia, we visited the Roman Emperor Diocletian’s fourth-century palace, which covers about half of the ancient city on the Adriatic coast. (Photo/Hoffmann)

Here be dragons, Not.  In “GOT,” they were kept in the catacombs of the Palace of Diocletian.  Although we didn’t see them (away on vacation?), we still enjoyed the guided walk-through of their underground home.  (Photo/Hoffmann)

CLICK HERE for more stories on The Bridge